The Best Indian Hip-Hop Albums: 15 Records That Built Desi Rap

Indian hip-hop had its breakout moment around 2014–15. Mumbai's street rap went viral, Gully Boy turned it into a film, and a few years later a generation of rappers began releasing full albums instead of one-off singles. This list covers those albums. It's not about who was the biggest. It's about the records that still work start to finish.

Every album below is on Apple Music India, and the dates, track counts and label lines come from there, checked on 28 October 2026. We list them in order of release. One caveat: Apple shows the date a record was listed in its catalogue. For a few albums that were first released elsewhere, that date can differ from the original release.

For the wider independent canon, see our essential Indian independent albums.

At a glance

• Sellout — KR$NA · 15 Apr 2014 · 8 tracks · ℗ Universal Music India
• Class-Sikh — Prabh Deep & Sez on the Beat · 16 Oct 2017 · 12 tracks · ℗ Azadi Records
• Bayaan — Seedhe Maut & Sez on the Beat · 28 Dec 2018 · 12 tracks · ℗ Azadi Records
• Little Kid, Big Dreams — Ahmer & Sez on the Beat · 5 Jul 2019 · 8 tracks · ℗ Azadi Records
• Kohinoor — DIVINE · 9 Oct 2019 · 8 tracks · ℗ Mass Appeal India / Gully Gang
• Chetavni — Swadesi · 7 Feb 2020 · 10 tracks · ℗ Azadi Records
• Mr. Nair — Raftaar · 13 Apr 2020 · 16 tracks · ℗ Zee Music Company
• Tadipaar — MC Stan · 31 Dec 2020 · 8 tracks · ℗ MC Stan
• Tabia — Prabh Deep · 4 Mar 2021 · 15 tracks · ℗ Azadi Records
• Nayaab — Seedhe Maut & Sez on the Beat · 27 May 2022 · 16 tracks · ℗ Azadi Records / The MVMNT
• Gunehgar — DIVINE · 10 Nov 2022 · 12 tracks · ℗ Gully Gang / Mass Appeal
• RUAB — Dhanji · 8 Aug 2023 · 11 tracks · ℗ Thaltej Publishing Company
• Lunch Break — Seedhe Maut · 19 Aug 2023 · 23* tracks · ℗ Azadi Records
• Kshama — Seedhe Maut · 14 Dec 2024 · 8 tracks · ℗ DL91 ERA
• Monsoon Season — Hanumankind · 25 Jul 2025 · 12 tracks · ℗ Capitol / Universal Music India

Apple's album count shows 30 items for Lunch Break*, which includes non-track entries. Its tracklist lists 23 songs.

The albums

1. KR$NA – Sellout (2014)

The oldest album on this list. Sellout is eight tracks on Universal Music India: "The Glorious First Step", "Faded" (feat. Cory Jones), the title track, "Getting Away", "Last Night", "Erryday" (feat. Sonny Brown), "Tripping" and "Last Song". It's mostly in English and sounds very different from the Hindi-first KR$NA of Still Here (2021) and Yours Truly (2025). It's here because the long story of Indian rap albums starts at a major label, years before the independent boom.

2. Prabh Deep & Sez on the Beat – Class-Sikh (2017)

Azadi Records' early landmark: Prabh Deep over Sez on the Beat's production. Our Prabh Deep artist page has the rest of his catalogue. It has 12 tracks, from "Intro" through "Suno", "Kal" and "Murder" to "Classsikh". If you only hear one album on this list, make it this one.

3. Seedhe Maut & Sez on the Beat – Bayaan (2018)

Encore ABJ and Calm's first full album, on Azadi, also produced by Sez. Its 12 tracks include "Shaktimaan", "Uss Din", "Dehshat", and "Pankh" with Bawari Basanti, plus two skits. It's among the hip-hop records readers name in r/Indianindieheads "essential albums" threads. More in our Seedhe Maut albums guide.

4. Ahmer & Sez on the Beat – Little Kid, Big Dreams (2019)

Kashmiri rapper Ahmer, on Azadi, produced once again by Sez. It's eight tracks, with "Kasheer" at its centre. It's short and specific, and a reminder that Indian hip-hop was never only about Mumbai and Delhi.

5. DIVINE – Kohinoor (2019)

DIVINE's debut album, released under a Mass Appeal India / Gully Gang ℗ line. Nas himself turns up on "Nas Interlude (Skit)". The guests include Shah Rule, Dave East (on "Remand") and Sid Sriram (on "Too Hype"). "Chal Bombay" is the city anthem. It has 8 tracks, and our DIVINE songs guide and artist page cover the rest of his catalogue.

6. Swadesi – Chetavni (2020)

The Mumbai collective's protest album, on Azadi, with ten tracks credited across MC Mawali, MC Tod FoD, 100RBH, Maharya, RaaKshaS Sound and more. Swadesi had already worked with Bandish Projekt (the Katal Kalaa and Khulle Naagde EPs on Apple). Chetavni is their own statement.

7. Raftaar – Mr. Nair (2020)

Sixteen tracks, from "Me and My Pen" to "Proud", released on Zee Music Company. Raftaar is the most mainstream name here, and Mr. Nair is his full-length album statement. It's long by Indian rap standards.

8. MC Stan – Tadipaar (2020)

Self-released, with eight tracks including "Ek Din Pyaar", "Amin" and the title track. Apple dates it 31 December 2020, though the ℗ line reads 2021. It's the Pune rapper's debut album and the record most listeners start with.

9. Prabh Deep – Tabia (2021)

Four years after Class-Sikh, and this time credited to Prabh Deep alone. It's fifteen one-word titles ("Qafir", "Paapi", "Preet", "Babur", "Safar") on Azadi.

10. Seedhe Maut & Sez on the Beat – Nayaab (2022)

At 16 tracks, the duo's biggest statement. It includes "Nayaab", "Toh Kya", "Maina", "Rajdhani", "Teen Dost" and the closer "Marne Ke Baad Bhi…" with Aabha Pusalkar. It's released on Azadi Records / The MVMNT, and our Seedhe Maut artist page has the full discography.

11. DIVINE – Gunehgar (2022)

DIVINE's third album, after Kohinoor and Punya Paap (2020). Twelve tracks: "Gunehgar", "Baazigar", "Sitara", "Bhookh", "Street Lori", "Akela" and more. If Kohinoor is the city record, Gunehgar is the confessional one.

12. Dhanji – RUAB (2023)

Dhanji's debut album. The 11-track RUAB ("TEJI", "RVAB", "MAGAJ KA BIMARI") was later expanded into a 22-track Director's Cut (December 2024). Apple files it under Alternative, which is about right.

13. Seedhe Maut – Lunch Break (2023)

The mixtape that showed Seedhe Maut could do loose as well as tight: "11K", "Pushpak Vimaan", "Naam Kaam Sheher", "Luka Chippi" and many more. It's long, and that's the point. A sprawl of a record that feels like hanging out with the duo.

14. Seedhe Maut – Kshama (2024)

The concise counterweight to Lunch Break. Eight tracks on DL91 ERA, the duo's own label: "RED", "ICE", "Gourmet Shit!" with Raftaar, "Moon Comes Up" with Badshah, "Brahamachari" with GhAatak and Raga, and "Shakti Aur Kshama". It came after the four-track SHAKTI EP (15 August 2024).

15. Hanumankind – Monsoon Season (2025)

Hanumankind's "Big Dawgs" came out in 2024. Monsoon Season is his debut album, released through Capitol and Universal Music India. It has twelve tracks, including "Reckless", "Run It Up", "Holiday" and "Big Dawgs" plus a remix. Rolling Stone India counted him among 2025's hip-hop artists making "global leaps". See his artist page.

Honourable mentions

• Naezy – has mostly put out four-track EPs (Maghreb 2020, Tarqeeb 2022, Fateh 2025). There's no full album to list.
• Emiway Bantai – King Of The Streets (2023): 17 tracks, self-released on Bantai Studio.
• KR$NA – Yours Truly (2025): 15 tracks.
• AFKAP – Parat 1–3 EPs (2023–25), which Rolling Stone India included in its best of 2025.
• DIVINE – Walking on Water (Apple: 18 Dec 2025), too new to place yet.

For the songs behind these records, see our Seedhe Maut songs guide and DIVINE songs guide. For the full run of tracks, see our best Indian hip-hop songs list.

Sources

• Apple Music India (itunes.apple.com lookup, country=IN), 28 Oct 2026. IDs: 1444104236, 1649163036, 1804729497, 1804728103, 1481977846, 1804731377, 1529533849, 1548245520, 1556489570, 1804725962, 1653647754, 1861710944, 1703238277, 1784665627, 1827126547
• Rolling Stone India, "The 25 Best Indian Albums and EPs of 2025" (29 Dec 2025)
• r/Indianindieheads "essential Indian indie albums" thread (cited as reader consensus only)