Vivian Fernandes

Born on October 2nd, 1991 in Andheri, Mumbai, Indian rapper Vivian “DIVINE” Fernandes wrote his first rhymes in English, perfecting his craft at school before joining local collective Mumbai’s Finest. Heavily influenced by nostalgic boom-bap sonics, he debuted in March 2013 with “Voice of the Streets”, a jaunty, sample-driven mission statement recounting his humble upbringing and setting out his lofty ambitions as a musician. He soon realised, however, that he was better-placed to find success in his home country as a Hindi-speaking emcee, making the transition ahead of the release of his second single, “Yeh Mera Bombay”. Arriving in November of the same year, the song proved to be a sleeper hit, leading Sony Music India to offer Fernandes the record deal of his dreams. His 2015 single “Mere Gully Mein”, a swaggering electronic collaboration with fellow breakthrough star Naezy, was a national success, with the pair’s rapid-fire exchange of multi-syllabic rhymes achieving viral status. Making strides in the ensuing years with a string of frank, yet light-hearted singles reflecting on working-class life in his city, Fernandes went on to exhibit an increasingly international outlook, landing high-profile appearances on radio shows by the UK’s Charlie Sloth and the United States’ Ebro Darden and collaborating with Indian-American musician Raja Kumari. After severing ties with Sony, he signed jointly to hip-hop legend Nas’s Mass Appeal label and Universal Music Group, with whom he promptly released his debut album, Kohinoor, in 2019. Featuring contributions from Dave East, Sanjoy and Nas himself, the LP secured Fernandes’ footing in the international arena, and he followed it up in 2020 with an eclectic sophomore album entitled Punya Paap, packed with an even more dense run of collaborations including contributions from UK dancehall-pop specialist Stylo G and UK drill’s former man of the moment, Dutchavelli. In 2021, he returned with a new single entitled “Jungle Mantra”, taken from the Netflix original film The White Tiger.