MC Stan

Altaf Tadavi—better known as MC Stan—has taken the old-school-leaning gully rap sound pioneered by Divine and Naezy and re-imagined it for Gen Z, incorporating the languid, autotuned hooks and mumble-rap flow of contemporary trailblazers like Young Thug. A perennial outsider, he first grabbed ears with a series of darkly funny diss-tracks aimed at the reigning orthodoxy of gully rap, including “Wata” and “Khuja Mat”. His 2020 debut album Tadipaar—named after the Pune slum where he grew up—offers a masterclass in lyrical storytelling, with its complex, multifaceted narrative playing out over inventive beats that sample traditional Indian instruments. On follow-up LP Insaan he leans further into his wavy flow, setting him apart from his trap-focused contemporaries. Having already conquered the Indian hip-hop scene—and ridden a massive wave of popular attention thanks to his appearance on reality TV show Bigg Boss—Stan is now gearing up to take his brand musical rebellion to every corner of India and further still.