KR$NA

KRSNA (rapper)

KRSNA (rapper)

Indian rapper

Krishna Kaul, known mononymously as Krishna (stylised now as KR$NA; previously as Krsna; known formerly as YoungProzpekt) is an Indian rapper .[1][2] He was one of the earliest rappers to emerge in the Indian hip hop scene in the mid-2000s under the stage name Prozpekt. He was briefly featured in the 2019 Bollywood film Gully Boy as himself.[3] He is widely acknowledged within the Desi Hip Hop community for pioneering a lyrical revolution in the genre, infusing a new wave of poetic depth and lyrical complexity into hip hop's narrative. [4]

For other people named Krishna Kaul, see Krishna Kaul (disambiguation).

Quick Facts KR$NA, Background information ...

Early life

Krishna Kaul was born on 4 October 1987, into a Kashmiri Pandit family in Delhi. He spent a part of his childhood in South London, where he was raised and schooled for a few years. Kaul started rapping at the age of fourteen in an effort to blend in with other children at his school in London.[5]

Career

[6] His first shot of success came with the release of the music video for "Kaisa Mera Desh" in 2010,[7][8] 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.[9] He also released a song titled "Vijay" in collaboration with international NGO Save The Children in 2013.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] Kaul became the first hip hop artist in India to do a five-city album tour with a band.[2][1] Following this, the music video for the title song "Sellout" was released but failed to make a large impact due to lacklustre marketing and shrinking label budgets.[13][14]

After a 2-year hiatus, Kaul made his return in 2016 with his Hindi release "Vyanjan".[15][16] Following the success of the song, he signed to the artist management agency DNH Artists (now Kalamkaar) in 2017 and became a partner in 2018, with the likes of Ankit Khanna and Raftaar. Kaul shares a brother like bond with Raftaar.

In 2020, Kaul accused the IPL and Disney+ Hotstar of permitting the plagiarism of his 2017 song "Dekh Kaun Aaya Wapas" 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".[17][18]

In the month of January 2021, Kaul was featured on American rapper Hi-Rez's song "Crossroads" along with Royce da 5'9".[19] Later in July, another collaboration with Hi-Rez was released, titled "Playground" which also featured former Slaughterhouse member, KXNG Crooked. His collaboration in Hi-Rez's song "Overdrive", was released in November 2021, featuring A-F-R-O, Joell Ortiz, Bizzy Bone, Tech N9ne and Twista. The music videos were released on Hi-Rez's YouTube channel.[20] In 2022, he featured on Karan Aujla's song "Ykwim".

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.[21]

Discography

Albums

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EPs

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Singles and collaborations

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References

  1. [1]
    Sridharan, Apuurva (16 July 2014). "Krsna: Rap is about the situation you". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  2. [2]
    Rodricks, Allan Moses (5 June 2014). "No Plan B for this rapper". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  3. [3]
    "The 4th episode of Voice of the Streets featuring rapper Krishna Kaul is here and it's brilliant". Mid-Day. 5 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  4. [4]
    Maheshwari, Aman (18 April 2023). "KR$NA And The Rise Of Indian Hip-Hop". Youth Incorporated Magazine. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  5. [5]
    Understanding Rap ft. Kr$na, RAFTAAR, Rohan Cariappa, retrieved 19 March 2021
  6. [6]
    Joshi, Sakshi (20 May 2022). "How a Rapper named KR$NA changed the whole Rap scene in India". Medium. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  7. [7]
    Solani, Dhvani (6 October 2010). "Desi rapper slamming CWG is a hit". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  8. [8]
    Anand, Kunal (26 November 2012). "'Yeh Kaisa Mera Desh: – Young Prozpekt's Rant against the Commonwealth Games". Men's XP. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  9. [9]
    Marwaha, Ekta (19 August 2013). "Hip hop hustle". India Today. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  10. [10]
    Bedi, Shibani (23 July 2013). "Young Prozpekt playing for change". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  11. [11]
    "Contrabands signs on indie artist, rapper and hip-hop musician – KRSNA". Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  12. [12]
    "I live and breathe rap: Indian Rapper Krsna". Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  13. [13]
    "Krsna's 'Sellout' title track video released". Business Standard India. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  14. [14]
    Ferreira, Verus (29 October 2014). "Musicunplugged.in : news". www.musicunplugged.in. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  15. [15]
    Kaul, Krishna (18 November 2016). "How I made a rap song using the entire Hindi alphabet". www.dailyo.in. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  16. [16]
    Ray, Badsha (24 November 2016). "Rap Scene Today is Bigger, Less Friendly: KRSNA of 'Vyanjan' Fame". The Quint. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  17. [17]
    Purkayastha, Pallabi Dey (9 September 2020). "Rapper KR$NA says IPL 2020 anthem is plagiarised from his 2017 track 'Dekh Kaun Aaya Waapas'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  18. [18]
    "IPL 2020 anthem faces plagiarism charges, composer dismisses allegations". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  19. [19]
    "Rappers KR$NA, Hi-Rez collaborate with hip hop legend Royce Da 5'9". The Siasat Daily. 2 January 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  20. [20]
    "New Music: Hi-Rez, KRSNA & KXNG Crooked – Playground". HipHop24x7. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  21. [21]
    "Radio City Freedom Awards (RCFA) 7 Winners". Radio City Freedom Awards. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  22. [22]
    KR$NA - Prarthana | Prod. Bharg | Far From Over EP, retrieved 31 August 2023
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