HT Brunch cover story: What makes ‘gully boy’ Divine the coolest voice of contemporary Indian hip-hop

“When everyone tells you that something will not work, usko karne mein zyada maza aata hai!”

“At the end of the day, your music will do the talking”

“I was a Christian boy, but never spoke English. Both my nani and mom spoke Konkani. I went to church and started writing a lot of Gospel music”

“In Mumbai, Bollywood overshadows everything. Yet, we [gully rap artists] are getting heard on our own.”

“Punjab has its own [rap] scene, the music scene down South has always been vibrant. But Bombay was about Bollywood. I’m glad Bollywood came to us instead of us going to them!”