Karma's Mad Dawg 101: The Dehradun Rapper's Independent

Five years after Made You Proud, the Dehradun MC returns with a 19-track, 52-minute tape half-written in a 15-day sprint — and he sounds like he has something to prove.

Earlier this year, Karma walked away from the safety net. The Dehradun rapper went independent, and he told Rolling Stone India exactly why: he wanted to find out whether he was "really the guy I say I am in the songs."

Mad Dawg 101, released on 8 October, is the answer. It is 19 tracks and almost 53 minutes long, it is his first major body of work since the 2021 debut Made You Proud, and it plays like a rapper who has been told to calm down one too many times.

A tape made in two halves

The making of it is half the story. Karma says he worked on the project for more than a year, cut about seven songs, then stepped away to finish work abroad. He landed back in India on 24 September with the tape due to be delivered on 4 October. The remaining songs were written and recorded in roughly 15 days, with 90-minute commutes to the studio and nights that never really ended. He compares the sprint to Tony Stark building the first Iron Man suit in a cave.

You can hear the two speeds. The early material has room to breathe; the late-stage tracks have the hunger of something finished at 4 a.m. because it had to be.

The features are the point

The guest list was built to catch people off guard, and it does. Arpit Bala turns up on "EK DIN", Naam Sujal on "101", Siyaahi on "UNDERPRESSURE", Hazaar on "HEADSHXT", and Vichaar and Ghildiyal share the six-minute "AM SO DOON", the tape's hometown centrepiece. Apple Music's editors put it plainly: every featured act brings their A game.

None of them outshine the host. Across trap, Brazilian funk-style beats and harder boom-bap turns, Karma's flow stays the constant — fast, fluid and unbothered by how much air he is supposed to need.

"BIG K" and the cost of Public Notice

The tape follows "Public Notice", Karma's single about the state of the country. It crossed a million views. It also drew heavy backlash and, by his account, cost him shows. He put that fallout into "BIG K", a near five-minute track that sounds less like an apology than an invoice.

That is the record's spine: an artist who took a hit for saying something, came back louder, and released it himself. In the same stretch he also landed "Game Over" on the soundtrack of Drishyam: The Conclusion — proof that independence and visibility are no longer opposites.

Where to start

Go to "AM SO DOON" for the Dehradun pride, "EK DIN" for the most surprising chemistry, and "BIG K" for the thesis. Karma says three music videos are already shot, and he wants to break his habit of disappearing for six months after a release.

On this evidence, he should.

Listen

Stream Mad Dawg 101 on Apple Music.

FAQ

When was Karma's Mad Dawg 101 released?

Mad Dawg 101 came out on 8 October 2026. It has 19 tracks and runs about 52 minutes.

Is Karma an independent artist now?

Yes. Karma went independent earlier in 2026, and the tape is credited ℗ 2026 KARMA.

Who features on Mad Dawg 101?

Hazaar, Siyaahi, Naam Sujal, Vichaar, Ghildiyal, Stunnah Beatz and Arpit Bala all appear as guests.

What is "BIG K" about?

Karma says he channelled the backlash and cancelled shows that followed his single "Public Notice" into "BIG K".

Sources

Rolling Stone India — Karma interview, 23 Oct 2026: https://rollingstoneindia.com/karma-mad-dawg-101-mixtape-interview-public-notice/
Apple Music album page: https://music.apple.com/in/album/mad-dawg-101/6819835426
Kora tracklist: https://koramusic.app/release/karma/mad-dawg-101
Chartoo (Apple Music India data): https://www.chartoo.in/apple-music/album/6819835426-mad-dawg-101