Key facts

  • Date and time: Saturday, 24 October 2026, 7 pm, Mumbai
  • Edition: Fifth edition of Spotify India's hip-hop showcase
  • Lineup: 23 artists across nine languages, led by DIVINE and Arivu
  • Access: Spotify Premium users only, via Spotify Premium Rewards; registration did not guarantee entry
  • RAP 91 playlists: More than 1.5 million followers combined; Marathi playlist up more than 155% in a year

Spotify RAP91 Live 2026 takes place in Mumbai on Saturday, 24 October 2026, from 7 pm. It is the fifth edition of Spotify India's hip-hop showcase, with 23 artists performing in nine languages and DIVINE and Arivu at the top of the bill. This year entry is open only to Spotify Premium users through Spotify Premium Rewards. Registration was limited, and as of 4 October the listing showed it as closed.

The bigger story is who else is on the bill. Most of the lineup is regional rappers who rarely share a national stage: Haryanvi, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Mizo and Bihari voices next to Mumbai's biggest name. Here is the full lineup, what each name represents, how access works and why the event matters for independent hip-hop in India.

More facts

  • Event: Spotify RAP91 Live 2026, fifth edition
  • Date and time: Saturday, 24 October 2026, 7 pm
  • City: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Venue: Not named on the public Rewards listing
  • Lineup: 23 artists across nine languages
  • Headliners: DIVINE and Arivu
  • Access: Spotify Premium users only, via Spotify Premium Rewards
  • Registration: Open until 20 October or until seats filled; listing showed closed as of 4 October

The full RAP91 Live 2026 lineup

Spotify India announced the following 23 artists, as reported by t2online and All Day Music Club:

DIVINE, Arivu, Panther, Real Boss, Hammy Muzic, Rocksun, Iqbal, OtaaL, Rawme Hooda, Hardbone Boy, Bhaktaaa, Prathamesh, Anohnymouss, STIC, Siroyi, Bhadrankar, VENGAYO, Gamak Sinha, Jelo, Saniya MQ, ARUN YDV, Arinar Black and JaiKishan.

Rolling Stone India described the event as "a big regional rap push" and set out where many of these artists come from. The table below uses only those descriptions.

  • DIVINE: Central to the rise of Mumbai's gully rap scene
  • Arivu: Draws from Tamil folk and Dalit traditions
  • Panther: Part of a newer wave of Hindi rappers from the independent circuit
  • Hammy Muzic: Haryanvi rap
  • Rawme Hooda: Haryanvi rap
  • Bhadrankar: Gujarati hip-hop
  • VENGAYO: Tamil hip-hop
  • Anohnymouss: Kerala's underground scene
  • STIC: Kerala's underground scene
  • Jelo: Mizoram
  • Saniya MQ: Mumbai's grassroots rap scene
  • Arinar Black: Bihar

The remaining names, including Real Boss, Rocksun, Iqbal, OtaaL, Hardbone Boy, Bhaktaaa, Prathamesh, Siroyi, Gamak Sinha, ARUN YDV and JaiKishan, round out what Rolling Stone India called a bill drawn "from across India's hip-hop ecosystem".

The headliners

DIVINE

DIVINE, born Vivian Wilson Fernandes on 2 October 1990, is a Mumbai rapper whose lyrics often draw on growing up in the city's chawls. He began as an underground rapper in 2011, gained attention with "Yeh Mera Bombay" in 2013, and broke through in April 2015 with "Mere Gully Mein", featuring Naezy. Zoya Akhtar's 2019 film Gully Boy was inspired by the lives of DIVINE and Naezy. In December 2020 he became the first Indian rapper to feature on Spotify's Times Square billboard in New York, for his album Punya Paap. His fourth solo album, Walking on Water, came out in 2026. For a wider view of where he sits among his peers, see our list of the best Indian rappers in 2026.

Arivu

Arivu, born Arivarasu Kalainesan in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu, is a rapper, singer, songwriter and composer. He came up through The Casteless Collective, the Chennai band formed by director Pa. Ranjith in 2017 that uses music to challenge caste discrimination. His debut album Therukural (2019) was named one of Rolling Stone India's top ten Indian albums of that year. He is best known for the independent single "Enjoy Enjaami" and for film songs such as "Vaathi Raid" from Master (2021) and "Neeye Oli" from Sarpatta Parambarai (2021).

How access works this year

The biggest change in 2026 is access. GIGX reported that RAP91 Live is offered through Spotify Premium Rewards and is "exclusively for Spotify Premium users, with limited seats available". Fans had to register through the Rewards platform. Registration stayed open until 20 October 2026 or until seats filled, whichever came first.

Registration does not guarantee entry. According to GIGX, entry is first come, first served and subject to capacity. All Day Music Club reported that the Rewards listing, titled "RAP91 LIVE 2026", showed registrations as closed as of 4 October. That is a clear shift from earlier editions, which All Day Music Club says were open to the public on a first come, first served basis.

The public listing also does not name a venue. If you registered, check Spotify Premium Rewards for your entry details.

RAP 91 in numbers

The event takes its name from RAP 91, Spotify's flagship hip-hop playlist in India. t2online reports that Spotify describes the playlist as language-neutral, featuring artists from across the country. Spotify shared these figures with the announcement:

  • RAP 91 flagship playlist followers: More than 470,000
  • Flagship growth over two years: More than 36%
  • Language playlists: Seven: Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Haryanvi, Tamil, Marathi, Bhojpuri
  • All RAP 91 playlists combined: More than 1.5 million followers
  • RAP 91 Marathi, past year: Up more than 155%
  • RAP 91 Bhojpuri, past year: Up more than 52%
  • RAP 91 Haryanvi, past year: Up more than 23%
  • RAP91 Live over five years: More than 130 artists, 25+ cities and regions, 15+ languages

Spotify said the growth shows rising demand for hip-hop in Indian languages. The fastest growth is coming from Marathi, Bhojpuri and Haryanvi rap rather than the Hindi and Punjabi scenes that usually dominate coverage.

Why it matters for independent hip-hop

All Day Music Club noted that Indian hip-hop spent years being described through two or three cities. RAP91 Live 2026 puts Haryanvi rappers, a Gujarati act, a Tamil rapper, two Kerala underground artists, a Mizo artist and a rapper from Bihar on the same Mumbai stage as DIVINE. As Rolling Stone India put it, the edition is "a snapshot of how scattered, language-specific scenes are increasingly becoming part of the same national hip-hop conversation".

That matters for artists working outside the big labels. A regional rapper who builds a following on a language playlist can reach a national audience at an event like this. If you want to explore the scenes behind the lineup, our guides to the Mumbai indie scene and the Kerala indie music scene are good places to start. We have also written about how Spotify's playlists act as gatekeepers for Indian indie.

The Premium-only format has a trade-off. It rewards subscribers, but fans on free accounts could not register this year.

FAQ

When and where is Spotify RAP91 Live 2026?

It is in Mumbai on Saturday, 24 October 2026, from 7 pm. The public Spotify Premium Rewards listing does not name the venue.

Can I still get into RAP91 Live 2026?

Entry is only for Spotify Premium users who registered through Spotify Premium Rewards. Registration ran until 20 October or until seats filled, and All Day Music Club reported it closed as of 4 October. Even registration did not guarantee entry.

Who is performing at RAP91 Live 2026?

23 artists, led by DIVINE and Arivu, with Panther, Real Boss, Hammy Muzic, Rocksun, Bhadrankar, VENGAYO, Jelo, Saniya MQ, Arinar Black and others, across nine languages.

What is RAP 91?

RAP 91 is Spotify's flagship hip-hop playlist in India, with more than 470,000 followers. Spotify also runs seven language versions, and all the RAP 91 playlists together have more than 1.5 million followers.

Sources

Cover photo: Musicmediacom / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Sources

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