Indian Hip Hop Producers: 10 Beatmakers Behind the Scene

The Indian hip hop producers who shaped the scene include Sez on the Beat, who made Mere Gully Mein and Seedhe Maut's early albums, and Karan Kanchan, the J-trap producer behind DIVINE's Baazigar. They also include Kalmi, the architect of Hanumankind's global breakout, and Kashmir's 30KEY!. Behind them is a deep bench: Circle Tone, Parimal Shais, Hrishi, adL and Zeek. This guide draws on Rolling Stone India's 2025 producer roundtable, Red Bull's 64 Bars coverage, Hindustan Times and Wikipedia, and every fact is sourced.

More facts

• Sez on the Beat produced Divine and Naezy's Mere Gully Mein (2015), which was recreated for the 2019 film Gully Boy (Wikipedia).
• Sez told Rolling Stone India that "the sound of Mumbai was being defined in a bedroom studio located in New Delhi."
• Kalmi produced Hanumankind's Big Dawgs and Run It Up, and sampled a Sunday choir he recorded at Notre Dame in Paris on Sicko (Rolling Stone India).
• Karan Kanchan says sampling a shamisen in 2016 started his identity as a J-trap producer (Rolling Stone India).
• Kalmi, 30KEY!, Sez, Hrishi and Karan Kanchan all named FL Studio as their first DAW in Rolling Stone India's roundtable.

Why producers matter in Indian hip-hop

In October 2025, Rolling Stone India asked a group of producers the same set of questions and argued that "India's hip-hop scene was built, beat by beat, by the producers putting in the hours behind the scenes." Its list of sources ran from South Indian drums and Kashmiri folk samples to field recordings and a church choir in Paris. Kalmi summed up the frustration many producers feel. He said the biggest misconception is that the artist creates the world with his voice, when "the producer is the one finding the right sounds to let you into that world." For the rappers these producers work with, see our best Indian rappers of 2026.

The architects

Sez on the Beat

Sez on the Beat is Sajeel Kapoor, a producer and composer from New Delhi. Wikipedia reports that he was part of an Orkut hip-hop community called Insignia where rappers and producers swapped tracks and feedback. In 2013 Divine asked him to produce Yeh Mera Bombay. He then produced Divine and Naezy's Mere Gully Mein (2015), which was recreated for the 2019 film Gully Boy with Divine, Naezy and Sez credited as composers. He went on to produce Prabh Deep's debut album Class-Sikh (2017) and Seedhe Maut's Bayaan (2018) and Nayaab. In 2020 he and music executive Faizan Khan set up The MVMNT, a collective and label for emerging artists.

He told Rolling Stone India that Mere Gully Mein "put hip-hop on the map for a larger audience" and that "the sound of Mumbai was being defined in a bedroom studio located in New Delhi." FL Studio is "the first and the only DAW" he has used. On Maina he built the melody's base from Encore ABJ's and Calm's humming. For Red Bull 64 Bars Season 2 in 2025, he produced Paal Dabba's Torrie Wilson, tricksingh's History Books, which was made over Discord, and MC Square's Kakori Kaand, which draws on Ragini folk. Delhi's scene is covered in our Delhi indie scene guide.

Karan Kanchan

Mumbai producer Karan Kanchan first made "J-Trap" as a tribute to his love of Japanese culture, Rolling Stone India reported. He moved towards hip-hop after meeting Naezy in 2017. He went on to work with DIVINE, join Gully Gang Entertainment and produce Baazigar. He told the magazine that sampling a shamisen in 2016 "flipped me from a wannabe DJ/producer to having my own identity," and that he spends most of his time on drums. He staged The Karan Kanchan Experience at Lollapalooza India 2024, passed one billion streams across platforms, and wrote his own Bollywood song, Ishq Nachaawe. For Red Bull 64 Bars Season 2 he made Sambata's Vazan, a Detroit-style beat with an Indian sample, and Raga's Soot Samet.

Kalmi

Rolling Stone India says Kalmi's "fingerprints are etched into some of Indian hip-hop's biggest explosions," including Hanumankind's rise. Kalmi wants to be remembered for Run It Up, which mixes the South Indian drums he grew up with and electronic music. He started on FL Studio on his mother's laptop in ninth grade. For Sicko, on the Monsoon Season mixtape, he sampled a recording of a Sunday choir he made at Notre Dame in Paris. On Big Dawgs, he points out the noise that comes just before "Wait a minute." He also loops radio through a Teenage Engineering OB-4 speaker for ideas, and has started singing over his own productions.

30KEY!

30KEY! "reps Kashmir loud and clear" as the producer behind the duo Straight Outta Srinagar, according to Rolling Stone India. He picks Czawul as the track that defines him, because it flipped traditional Kashmiri sounds in a way he had not heard before in the scene. On Kaalbaefi, named after the Kashmiri word for weaver, he sampled artisans weaving carpets by hand. He describes his sound as dark synths and heavy 808s.

The wider bench

Parimal Shais

Red Bull describes Parimal Shais as a Kerala-origin producer. On 64 Bars Season 2 he produced Reble's Kill Switch, Fejo's Top Tier Talk and MC Couper's track, building on an earlier EP and the single Ayyayo with Couper. He also features on Reble's song New Riot.

Circle Tone

Rolling Stone India credits Circle Tone with shaping India's underground through work with Dhanji, Pasha Bhai and others. He used FL Studio for about 11 years before switching to Ableton Live. His signature is "degradation, digital degradation, analog degradation," and he has used binaural audio since 2015. He chose Shatak, from the Ruab Director's Cut, as his defining track, and was working on an album, Tony Jokham.

Hrishi

Hrishi is "shaping South Indian hip-hop with a distinctly Malayalam edge," Rolling Stone India says. He mixes local textures and raw vocals with heavy bass. His unreleased Nayadi Kali is a UK dubstep track with folk vocals.

adL

Shillong-based adL made Tynrai, meaning "roots" in Khasi, as part of the duo adL x kly. The track uses sampled Khasi folk instruments and was due to be remade in early 2026. He started in GarageBand on an iPad and now works in Logic. He calls his style "bassline-led" and mostly avoids samples because of clearance issues.

Zeek

Zeek moved from Mumbai to Los Angeles and works across cultures. He started on Logic, then moved to Ableton. He likes half-timing tracks and used it on Sun Maahi, where it shaped Armaan Malik's final vocal. He also recorded the pitch-shifting sound of a metal candle lid struck while the flame burned out, and now uses it in many tracks.

What ties them together

Most of these producers started in FL Studio, often on a family laptop. Most also bring in regional sources: South Indian drums, Kashmiri crafts, Khasi instruments and Ragini folk. Kalmi predicts that "till now, we've ripped off the West, but soon the world will rip off our productions." For the electronic side of this world, see our guide to Indian electronic music producers.

FAQ

Who produced Mere Gully Mein?

Sez on the Beat (Sajeel Kapoor) produced the 2015 original by Divine and Naezy. It was recreated for the 2019 film Gully Boy, with Divine, Naezy and Sez credited as composers.

Who produces Hanumankind's music?

Kalmi. Rolling Stone India credits him with powering Hanumankind's rise, including Big Dawgs, Run It Up and Sicko.

What DAW do Indian hip hop producers use?

FL Studio is the most common starting point. Kalmi, 30KEY!, Sez, Hrishi and Karan Kanchan all named it as their first DAW. Circle Tone and Zeek later moved to Ableton Live, and adL works in Logic.

What is J-trap?

J-trap is the Japanese-influenced trap style Karan Kanchan built his early identity on. He says sampling a shamisen in 2016 started it.

Which producers worked on Red Bull 64 Bars Season 2?

Karan Kanchan, Sez on the Beat and Parimal Shais, according to Red Bull.

Sources

• Rolling Stone India, "Behind the Beat: Hip-Hop's Hidden Architects"
• Red Bull, "Break down the beats with Karan Kanchan, Sez on the Beat and Parimal Shais"
• Rolling Stone India, "Karan Kanchan: Future of Music"
• Hindustan Times, "Sez on the Beat: It was a dream to see hip-hop at this level"
• Wikipedia, "Sez on the Beat"

Cover photo: ArunTiwari9873 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0).