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Five women who forced their way into Indian hip-hop: a Kannada flag-bearer, a Kalyan original, a hit songwriter turned rapper, a Hustle trailblazer and a Shillong voice.
Indian hip-hop has been loud about its men. The women in the scene have had to work harder for the same stage, often producing, directing and managing themselves.
This list covers five Indian women rappers, from artists who started on internet forums and covers in the early 2010s to reality-show mentors and film-soundtrack regulars.
Each entry covers who they are and three tracks to play first.
For more Indian hip-hop, see Rising Indian Rappers 2026 and Tamil Hip-Hop Lineup.
SIRI (Siri Narayan) is a Bengaluru rapper who works in Kannada, English, Telugu and Hindi. She found rap while studying at NIFT Hyderabad and built her name with tracks such as "Gold", "Live It" and the Girliyapa anthem "Tu Bas Naach".
"My Jam" (2020), produced by Sez on the Beat, mixed Kannada and English bars and passed 13 lakh YouTube views within weeks; she produced, directed and edited the video herself. She has said she wants to put Kannada rap on the map.
Essential tracks
Dee MC (Deepa Unnikrishnan) is a self-taught rapper from Kalyan, on the edge of Mumbai, and one of the first women to make a name in the city's hip-hop scene. She wrote her first song at 18 and posted covers online before a 2017 tour of the UK and Germany.
Her album Dee=MC² arrived in 2019, the year she also featured on "Jagga Jiteya" from the film Uri. The 2022 EP MMM (Money Made Maniac) followed an alter ego tempted by fame and greed.
Essential tracks
Raja Kumari (Svetha Yallapragada Rao) is an Indian-American rapper and songwriter from Claremont, California, whose family hails from Andhra Pradesh. She co-wrote Fall Out Boy's "Centuries" and Iggy Azalea's "Change Your Life" before stepping out as an artist in 2016.
She moved into Indian hip-hop with "City Slums" featuring DIVINE, judged the first season of MTV Hustle and wrote and sang the Jawan title track. She runs her own label, Godmother Records, and in 2025 won an American Music Award for "Renegade".
Agsy (Agrita) is a rapper from Faridabad, Haryana, who created the fearless Agsy persona while growing up in a conservative household. On the first season of MTV Hustle in 2019 she was the only woman to win a direct Top 15 spot.
Her debut EP Rap Goddess (2023) closed with "Hip Hop", a look back at five years as an independent artist, and she made "Mother O.G." with producer Karan Kanchan for Red Bull 64 Bars. In 2026 she returned to MTV Hustle as a Squad Boss.
Essential tracks
Meba Ofilia is a Shillong rapper and singer who mixes hip-hop with R&B. Music runs in her family: her grandfather is a known folk singer-songwriter, and she began writing after meeting producer Lamonte Pakyntein of Khasi Bloodz.
"Done Talking" with Big Ri won her MTV EMA's Best India Act, and she later left law school to focus on music. Her album Untitled.shg came out in 2022, and she played Lollapalooza India in 2024 as a BudX Uncovered artist.
Essential tracks
Related reading is linked in the article above.
