Social media has a new obsession, and it comes in the form of an electrifying hip-hop track FA9LA sung by Bahraini artiste Flipperachi. Ever since Dhurandhar hit theatres, and continues to dominate box office, fans haven’t stopped raving about actor Akshaye Khanna’s viral entry song in Aditya Dhar’s latest action thriller. The song’s catchy beats and energy have ensured that it remains one of the most talked-about aspects of the film.
Dhurandhar is not a one-off example. Recent OTT releases such as The Family Man 3 and The Ba***ds of Bollywood have also featured noteworthy rap tracks that have become playlist favourites in a matter of weeks, if not days. Globally too, recent films such as F1 and Sinners have included rap music that has received a lot of love from the audience.
From a niche genre, rap music is seeing revival of sorts to become a significant force in film music, creating chart-topping hits and changing the way we listen to movie soundtracks, one memorable song at a time.
Rap as a Narrative Tool
In The Family Man 3, Moko Koza, a rising rap artiste from Nagaland, delivers one of the most impactful tracks on the show titled Naga Manu. The musician spits bars in the background of the scene, as the characters undertake a journey of life and death through a jungle. The sharp and aggressive delivery of the song provides an anxiety-inducing background to the otherwise bone-chilling scenes.
Besides Naga Manu, another rap song, Kohinoor, by DIVINE of Gully Boy fame, adds some spice to the spy thriller series that features Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari, a middle-class man secretly working as an intelligence officer.
Meanwhile, The Ba***ds of Bollywood features Everybody Knows by rap star Raja Kumari, a larger-than-life song that was dropped along with the teaser of the series. It did its job of exciting the audience before the release of the much-awaited satirical Hindi streaming series.
Incidentally, in India, prior to the release of Gully Boy, rap tracks in films and shows were few and far between, with some representation occasionally seen, such as Kripya Dhyan De, a quirky track by Sohail Sen, in Netflix comedy Love Per Square Foot, or Hard Kaur’s Kattey in Angry Young Goddesses. While the latter gained love and appreciation at the time of the release, it became a regularly streamed track on Coke Studio India after the film faced significant censorship issues.
Earlier this year, Salman Khan-starrer Sikandar also featured a rap track titled Bam Bam Bhole, but it did not grab as many eyeballs before it slid out of relevance in favour of other film tracks, as did the film itself.
Meanwhile, Prime Video has released a song titled Bakra Rap composed by Taaruk Raina and others, along with the teaser of Rangeen, an upcoming black comedy show, which is slated to release in 2026. Raina is also a member of the cast for the show, and has acted in a number of recently released series on streaming platforms.
Global Resonance
Globally, tracks like Underdog by Roddy Ricch and Lose My Mind by Don Toliver, featured in the new film F1 starring Brad Pitt, have received a lot of love from the audience, with many saying that it fits especially well with the nail-biting yet emotionally exacting tone of the film.
Similarly, the title track of Sinners, the epic vampire film starring Michael B Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld, was composed and sung by rap artiste Rod Waves. According to reports, Waves was specifically recruited to create the title track of the film. The same goes for the title track of Him, a football horror, a rap track composed by Denzel Curry.
While the rap wave in films and TV series is seeing a revival now, signs of its impending popularity could be seen in earlier movies as well. In the Indian context, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, the hit Dharma Productions film released in 2023, featured a rap track in the protagonist Rani’s theme song. A Bengali rap describing the female lead’s feisty personality, the song made a mark despite the several old 80s and 90s tracks that made a comeback through the film.
Similarly, Toofan Main by Prabh Deep and Sez On The Beat in the first season of Paatal Lok was a rap song. It was a prominent track in the critically acclaimed crime thriller, perfectly matching the show’s dark and gritty tone.
