Photo: MusiCulture
Raga doesn't frame his hardest years as something he overcame before the music started. He frames them as part of it. "Rap has been everything to me," he's said. "Even during my phase of drug addiction, rap... never stopped. Right from when I was in sixth standard, this obsession with rap never stopped." Most artists save that kind of admission for a late-career memoir, if they make it at all. Raga has been saying it in interviews while he's still an emerging name — which is exactly why Rolling Stone India's tagline for him lands as accurate rather than dramatic: he isn't running from his demons, he's rapping with them.
That honesty, paired with a distinctly East Delhi voice, has taken him from a self-released 2019 debut album to an exclusive Def Jam India deal, a mentoring slot on MTV Hustle, and a spot on Rolling Stone India's Future 25. This is how a rapper from Delhi's Jamnapaar area built a career by refusing to perform toughness he didn't actually feel.
Key takeaways
- Raga (Ravi Mishra) is from East Delhi's Jamnapaar area and has said his "obsession with rap" started in sixth standard and continued through a period of drug addiction
- He self-released his debut album, "Rap Ka Mausam," independently in 2019, backed by Aawaaz/Artisttaan, before any label involvement
- He signed exclusively to Def Jam India in November 2023, following his 2022 breakout single "Sheher" — a track about law enforcement, drug abuse, and personal reckoning
- His 2023 single "Kheench Maari" (with DG IMMORTALS) and the four-track "Midtown Madness" EP (February 2024) established him as one of Def Jam India's core Hindi hip-hop artists
- He served as a Squad Boss — a mentor role, not a competitive title — on MTV Hustle Season 4 in 2024, guiding contestants including eventual winners Lashcurry and OG Hustler Siyaahi, and was named to Rolling Stone India's Future 25 in 2025
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The Starting Point: Jamnapaar and an Obsession That Never Left
Raga grew up in East Delhi's Jamnapaar area, and by his own account, rap has been a constant in his life since sixth standard — a fixation that held through a genuinely difficult period of drug addiction he's spoken about without softening it for interviews. "Even a gangster can be vulnerable," he's said, "and it can be shown without being sad about it." That line captures the actual texture of his music: raw, sometimes tough subject matter delivered with an emotional openness that a lot of mainstream hip-hop avoids.
Rap Ka Mausam: Building Independently First
Before any label was involved, Raga released his debut album, "Rap Ka Mausam," independently in 2019 — 11 tracks, backed by Aawaaz/Artisttaan, with no major-label machinery behind it. Even then, he was clear-eyed about what independent success actually requires. "An artist can only create," he said around the album's release, "but it takes a team to make it a hit." It's a notably unglamorous statement for a debut album cycle — an early sign of the same directness that would define his later interviews.
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The Def Jam Breakthrough: "Sheher" and Signing to the Label
Raga's path toward major-label recognition ran through "Sheher," released March 22, 2022, via Def Jam India — his first major-label single, built around law enforcement, drug abuse, and personal reckoning as subject matter. That same year, he performed a "Raga B2B Rawal" set at the Simba Uproar hip-hop festival at DLF Promenade in Delhi, sharing billing with names like King and Ikka. By November 2023, that momentum turned into an exclusive signing with Def Jam India.
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Kheench Maari and Midtown Madness
Raga's biggest single to date, "Kheench Maari," released November 23, 2023, featuring DG IMMORTALS and produced by Nitin Randhawa, with a street-racing-themed video directed by Azar Strato. It served as the lead single for "Midtown Madness," a four-track EP released in February 2024 that also included "Mastikhor," "Sir Kholkar," and "Speed 206," featuring collaborators Ikka, DG IMMORTALS, and Bandzo3rd. The same year brought further collaborations, including "Dhak Dhak" with Aanchal Tygai, Rusha & Blizza, and "Matha Garam" featuring Kalmi — a run of releases that pushed his total collaborative feature count to 28 by the time of his 2025 Rolling Stone India profile.
Photo: ABP Live Podcasts
Mentoring the Next Generation on MTV Hustle
In late 2024, Raga took on a Squad Boss role on MTV Hustle Season 4 (October 19–December 22, 2024) — a mentor position, not a competitive title, alongside fellow Squad Bosses Dee MC, Dino James, and EPR Iyer, under judges Raftaar and Ikka. As a mentor, he guided contestant rappers through the show's challenges rather than competing himself; two of the artists he mentored, Lashcurry and OG Hustler Siyaahi, went on to win.
Vulnerability Without Apology
What separates Raga from a lot of Hindi hip-hop is how directly he ties his music back to where he's from and what he's been through. "Delhi is in my DNA," he's said. "The stories I tell, the moods I create are all drawn from the city's complex rhythms." That specificity — Jamnapaar, not a generalized "the streets" — runs through tracks like "Sheher" and "Kheench Maari," giving his catalogue a geographic and emotional through-line that's rare in a genre often built on interchangeable bravado.
Raga, on performing strength without hiding vulnerability: "Even a gangster can be vulnerable, and it can be shown without being sad about it." (Rolling Stone India, 2025)
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What Other Independent Rappers Can Take From Raga's Approach
A self-released debut can be the real foundation, even years before a label deal. Raga's 2019 album predates his Def Jam signing by four years — proof that an independent release doesn't need to convert to a deal immediately to matter.
Specificity beats generic toughness. Naming Jamnapaar, not just "Delhi" or "the streets," gives his music a texture that's harder to copy and easier for listeners to actually place.
Talking openly about addiction and struggle doesn't have to undercut a tough persona — it can deepen it. Raga's directness about his own history is part of what makes his music read as earned rather than performed.
Mentoring is a credibility signal worth pursuing, not just a side gig. A Squad Boss role on a national show extended Raga's reach and reputation in a way a single release couldn't have on its own.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Raga?
Raga (real name Ravi Mishra) is a rapper from East Delhi's Jamnapaar area, known for gravelly, raspy vocals and raw, introspective hip-hop. He self-released his debut album in 2019, signed exclusively to Def Jam India in 2023, and was named to Rolling Stone India's Future 25 in 2025.
Did Raga win Squad Boss on MTV Hustle?
Not exactly — Squad Boss is a mentor role on MTV Hustle, not a title contestants compete for and win. Raga was invited as one of four Squad Bosses on MTV Hustle Season 4 (2024), mentoring contestant rappers including eventual winners Lashcurry and OG Hustler Siyaahi, under judges Raftaar and Ikka.
What are Raga's biggest songs?
His breakout major-label single is "Sheher" (2022), and his biggest release to date is "Kheench Maari" (2023), featuring DG IMMORTALS, which led his four-track EP "Midtown Madness" (2024). He has 28 collaborative features across his catalogue.
Is Raga signed to a record label?
Yes. He signed an exclusive deal with Def Jam India in November 2023, after several years of independent releases starting with his self-released 2019 debut album, "Rap Ka Mausam."
Has Raga talked publicly about addiction?
Yes. He's spoken directly about a period of drug addiction in his life, framing rap as a constant that persisted through it rather than something he turned to only after recovering — a level of candor that shapes the emotional honesty in his music.
Raga's career doesn't follow the arc of a rapper who cleaned up his image on the way to a label deal. It follows the arc of someone who kept making music through the hardest parts of his life and never pretended otherwise — from a self-released album in 2019 to Def Jam India, a mentor's chair on national television, and a Rolling Stone India Future 25 placement. The demons didn't disqualify the career. They're part of what makes it worth listening to.
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