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Krsna (rapper)
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Krishna Kaul, known mononymously as Krishna (stylised as Krsna or KR$NA) and formerly as YoungProzpekt, is a rapper from New Delhi, India.[1][2] He is one of the earliest rappers to emerge in the Indian hip hop scene in the mid-2000s under the stage name Prozpekt. He also briefly featured in the 2019 Bollywood film Gully Boy as himself.[3][4] He is known for his writing and technical skills as a rapper, along with his infamous beefs in the Desi Hip-Hop scene.
Early life[edit]
Krishna Kaul was born on 4 October 1989 to a Kashmiri Pandit family in New Delhi. He spent a part of his childhood in South London, where he was raised and schooled for a few years. Krishna started rapping at the age of fourteen in an effort to blend in with other children in his school in London.[5]
Career[edit]
Kaul started recording and releasing songs on his MySpace page in 2006, by 2008 he had gained a small local fanbase in New Delhi and racked up features with artists in the U.S. and Canada.[citation needed] His first shot of success came with the release of the music video for "Kaisa Mera Desh" in 2010,[6][7] becoming the first Indian hip hop song on YouTube and earning a #2 ranking as one of the most watched music videos in India overnight following its release.[8] He also released a song titled "Vijay" in collaboration with international NGO Save The Children in 2013.[9]
After sporadic underground releases, Kaul switched from Prozpekt to his current stage name KR$NA after signing a record deal with Universal Music in 2013.[10] In May 2014, he released his debut album Sellout, an all-English effort on Universal Music with its lead single "Last Night" peaking at #5 on the Vh1 Music Charts in India.[11] Kaul became the first hip hop artist in India to do a five city album tour with a band.[1][2] Following this, the music video for the title song "Sellout" was released but failed to make a large impact due to lackluster marketing and shrinking label budgets.[12][13]
After a 2-year hiatus, Kaul made his return in 2016 with his Hindi release "Vyanjan".[14][15] Following the success of song, he signed to the artist management agency DNH (now KALAMKAAR) Artists in 2017 and became the partner in 2018, whom he is represented by along with the likes of Raftaar and Ankit Khanna.
In 2020, Kaul accused the IPL and Disney+Hotstar of permitting the plagiarism of his 2017 song "Dekh Kaun Aaya Waapas" when creating the 2020 IPL anthem "Ayenge Hum Wapas", an allegation which was dismissed by composer Pranav Ajayrao Malpe. Kaul responded by stating that "his team[...], will take the legal route and approach Disney+Hotstar, which commissioned the song".[16][17]
In the month of January 2021, KR$NA was featured on American rapper Hi-Rez's song "Crossroads" with popular American rapper, Royce da 5'9''.[18] Later in July, another collaboration with Hi-Rez was released, titled "Playground" which also featured former Slaughterhouse member, KXNG Crooked. The music video for the same was released on Hi-Rez's YouTube channel.[19] Kaul with Brodha-V won the Radio City Freedom Awards 2023 on 31 March 2023, for the Best Indie Collaboration. The two won the Freedom Awards 7 for the song "Forever" which was released back in September 2022. [20]
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
Sellout (2014)
| Year | Song | Artist (s) | Produced by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Glorious First Step | KR$NA | Bradley Dhawan |
| Faded | KR$NA
ft. Cory Jones | ||
| Sellout | KR$NA | Tony Fadd | |
| Getting Away | KR$NA | Breathtaking Beats | |
| Last Night | KR$NA | MetroGnome | |
| Erryday | KR$NA ft. Sonny Brown | Tony Fadd | |
| Tripping | KR$NA | ||
| Last Song | KR$NA | Bradley Dhawan |
Still Here (2021)
| Year | Song | Artist (s) | Produced by | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Still Here (Intro) | KR$NA | Safin | |
| What's My Name? | KR$NA | Raftaar | ||
| Roll Up | KR$NA ft. Badshah | Josh Petruccio | ||
| Villain | KR$NA ft. Karma & IKKA | Depo | ||
| Dream | KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | ||
| Fall Off (Interlude) | KR$NA | Kapellmaister | An extended verse was added with the release of the music video. | |
| Saza-E-Maut | KR$NA ft. Raftaar | Rill Beats & Young Grape Beatz | ||
| Na Hai Time | KR$NA | J Caspersen | ||
| 2020 | Living Legend | KR$NA ft. Rashmeet Kaur | Didker |
Singles and collaborations[edit]
| Year | Track | Artist (s) | Produced by | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | I Want it All | Young Prozpekt | Samples hook from the Queen's song, "I Want It All". | |
| 2006 | Bitch Please (Remix) | Big T ft.Young Prozpekt | Remix of Eminem's Bitch Please II | |
| 2007 | I Go Go | Young Prozpekt ft. Soldier Hard | ||
| 2008 | F$ck Wit Us | Pacifik ft. Young Prozpekt | ||
| 2009 | Fancy Gill | Rabbit Sack C, Young Prozpekt | Rabbit Sack C | |
| That's me/ Shahzaade | Rabbit Sack C, Bluntz, Young Prozpekt & NYCE | From the album 'BackLog' | ||
| Yellow Taxi | Rabbit Sack C, Young Prozpekt, Big T & Slim Neil | |||
| Naam Toh Pukar/ Get Out Of My Way | Prozpekt | |||
| 2010 | Kaisa Mera Desh | Prozpekt | DJ Corbett | |
| Khatarnaak | Prozpekt ft. Sonny Brown | |||
| 2011 | Imran Khan – Amped Up (Amplifier Remix) | Rabbit Sack C & Young Prozpekt | Rabbit Sack C | Remix of Imran Khan's Amplifier |
| DISCONNECT | Su.1, Prozpekt & Ashish D'souza | Su.1 | ||
| Poocho na Yaar Kya Hua – Remix | Rabbit Sack C & Young Prozpekt | Remix of the song Poocho Na Yaar Kya Hua from Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai | ||
| Lokpal Freestyle | Prozpekt | |||
| 2012 | Peeche Na Dekh | Rabbit Sack C ft. Prozpekt | Rabbit Sack C | |
| Put Ur Lighters Up | Rabbit Sack C ft. Su.1, Prozpekt | |||
| Vijay | Prozpekt | DJ Corbett | ||
| 2013 | Whatchya Know About It | Rabbit Sack C, Young Prozpekt | Rabbit Sack C | From the album 'BackLog' |
| Cold Blooded | Prozpekt ft.Twisted Insane | MetroGnome | ||
| How You Like Me Now | Lost Stories ft Krishna Kaul | Lost Stories | ||
| 2014 | Bang Bang | Rabbit Sack C, Young Prozpekt, Agrim Joshi & Nishit Bhatia | Rabbit Sack C | From the album 'BackLog' |
| 2015 | NO HASHTAG | KR$NA & SU REAL | SU REAL | Released via SoundCloud |
| I'm Back | KR$NA & FuzzCulture | FuzzCulture | ||
| Patli Gali | Pankaj Awasthi, KR$NA | From the movie, '"Yahaan Sabki Lagi Hai'" | ||
| Beyond The Matrix | Rabbit Sack C ft. Prozpekt | Rabbit Sack C | ||
| Shots Fired | MojoJojo, KR$NA | MojoJojo | ||
| Jungle Raj | ||||
| 2016 | Vyanjan | KR$NA | Insane | |
| Desi Wrap Up | ||||
| Keep It Real | Tony Fadd | |||
| 2017 | Meri Baari | KIDSHOT ft. KR$NA | REKOIL | |
| Teri Bas Ki Na Hai | KR$NA | |||
| Dekh Kaun Aaya Wapas | Breathtaking and LAD | |||
| Woofer | Deep Kalsi and KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | ||
| Mumbai Se Delhi Tak | Emiway Bantai and KR$NA | Insane | ||
| I'm Ready | KR$NA ft. Raftaar | Breathtaking and LAD | ||
| Alag | KR$NA | J.P | ||
| 2018 | Hip Hop Holi (MTV) | KR$NA, Deep KalsI & Harjas | Deep Kalsi | Released via Facebook |
| Aakhir Tumhe Aana Hai | Suryaveer ft. KR$NA | Boney John | ||
| Muqabla | KR$NA | KR$NA | ||
| 2019 | Voice of the Streets Ep.04 – KR$NA | Siddhant Shirodkar | 'Voice of the Streets' is a capsule series from the movie Gully Boy. | |
| Solo | Certi | |||
| Warm Up | Deep Kalsi, KARMA, Harjas, KIDSHOT & KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | ||
| Janta Kyun | KR$NA | |||
| No No | Deep Kalsi, Harjas & KR$NA | |||
| Farak Nahi Padta | KR$NA | JCaspersen | ||
| Aadat | ||||
| Freeverse Feast (Langar) | Raftaar | A response to Mumbai-based rapper, Emiway Bantai's track, Freeverse Feast (Daawat) | ||
| Seedha Makeover | Call Me G | A diss track aimed at Emiway Bantai. The name of the track, "Seedha Makeover" is a jab at Emiway's song, "Seedha Takeover" | ||
| Dum Hai | Dannyetracks | |||
| 2020 | Untitled | Dansonn | ||
| Maharani | A diss track against Delhi-based rapper, Muhfaad. | |||
| Sher | Deep Kalsi ft. KR$NA, Karma & Harjas | XPLICIT | ||
| Makasam | KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | Another diss track aimed at Muhfaad. The second and last one from KR$NA in their feud. | |
| QUARANTINE | Young Stunners, KR$NA | Jokhay | ||
| Damn | Raftaar ft. KR$NA | Raftaar | From Raftaar's album, Mr. Nair | |
| Down | ||||
| Tokyo Drift Freestyle | KR$NA | The Neptunes | Features the beat of the popular track, Tokyo Drift by Teriyaki Boyz; Released via Instagram. | |
| Window Shopper Freestyle | C Styles, Sire | Features the beat of the 50 Cent song, Window Shopper. | ||
| Bag | DIVINE ft. KR$NA | NDS, Stunnah Beatz & Progression Music | From DIVINE's EP , "SHUTDOWN" | |
| Chaukanna (Hotstar Specials Hundred) | Raftaar & KR$NA ft. Karan Wahi | Raftaar | Inspired from Hotstar Specials’ Hundred | |
| Woofer 2 | Deep Kalsi ft. KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | ||
| Gallan | Deep Kalsi, KR$NA, Fateh, Karma & Harjas | |||
| No Losses | KR$NA | Roclegion and Danny E.B | ||
| Say My Name (Hindi) | Call Me G | Released in both Hindi and English | ||
| Say My Name (English) | ||||
| Saath Ya Khilaf | KR$NA & Raftaar | Raftaar | ||
| The Key Freestyle | KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | ||
| Baap Se | Fotty Seven ft. KR$NA | Frisk | From Fotty Seven's "Asli independent" EP | |
| Bohot Sahi | J Trix, KR$NA & SUBSPACE | SUBSPACE | From J TRIX's "Bohot Sahi" EP | |
| 2021 | Crossroads | Hi-Rez ft. Royce da 5'9'' & KR$NA | Ryan Summer | |
| Khauf Hai | KR$NA | Haji Springer | A collaboration with Realme India | |
| Playground | Hi-Rez ft. KR$NA & KXNG Crooked | Ryan Summer | ||
| Zaruri Nahi | Karma ft. KR$NA | Deep Kalsi | From Karma's debut album "M.Y.P" | |
| Taazi Saans, Taazi Soch | KR$NA | Subspace | A collaboration with Center Fresh and MTV India |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sridharan, Apuurva. "Krsna: Rap is about the situation you". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rodricks, Allan Moses (5 June 2014). "No Plan B for this rapper". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ↑ "The 4th episode of Voice of the Streets featuring rapper Krishna Kaul is here and it's brilliant". mid-day. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ↑ "Krishna Kaul". IMDb. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ↑ Understanding Rap ft. Kr$na, RAFTAAR, Rohan Cariappa, retrieved 19 March 2021
- ↑ "Desi rapper slamming CWG is a hit". mid-day. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "'Yeh Kaisa Mera Desh: - Young Prozpekt's Rant against the Commonwealth Games". Men's XP. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "Hip hop hustle". Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "Young Prozpekt playing for change". 23 July 2013.
- ↑ "Contrabands signs on indie artist, rapper and hip-hop musician – KRSNA". Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "I live and breathe rap: Indian Rapper Krsna". Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ IANS (1 November 2014). "Krsna's 'Sellout' title track video released". Business Standard India. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ Ferreira, Verus. "Musicunplugged.in : news". www.musicunplugged.in. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "How I made a rap song using the entire Hindi alphabet". www.dailyo.in. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "Rap Scene Today is Bigger, Less Friendly: KRSNA of 'Vyanjan' Fame". The Quint. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ↑ "Rapper KR$NA says IPL 2020 anthem is plagiarised from his 2017 track 'Dekh Kaun Aaya Waapas' – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ↑ "IPL 2020 anthem faces plagiarism charges, composer dismisses allegations". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ↑ "Rappers KR$NA, Hi-Rez collaborate with hip hop legend Royce Da 5'9". The Siasat Daily. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ↑ "New Music: Hi-Rez, KRSNA & KXNG Crooked – Playground". HipHop24x7 | Hip Hop News & Music. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ↑ http://www.firstlytoday.com/2023/04/KRSNA-Won-Radio-City-Freedom-Awards-2023-For-Best-Indie-Collaboration.html