Photo: Saurabh Narayan Rajam for Rolling Stone India
Shreyas Sagvekar’s breakthrough did not begin with a festival slot, a label campaign, or a viral hook engineered for a trend. It began much smaller: inviting people into a room, playing unreleased music, talking, joking, and letting a local community form around the work before the numbers arrived.
That instinct sits at the center of the Pune-bred, Mumbai-based rapper’s story. In 2024, his collaboration with DJ-producer Kratex, “Taambdi Chaamdi,” fused Marathi rap with house music, reached Spinnin’ Records, and later received an official remix from KSHMR. But the song makes more sense when seen as the loudest chapter in a longer independent career: one built around language, live rooms, rap craft, and a belief that a regional scene can create its own market.
Key takeaways
- Shreyas Sagvekar is a Pune-bred, Mumbai-based rapper and producer whose work moves between Marathi and English rap.
- He began hosting Shreyas’ Living Room listening sessions in Pune in 2021, then revived them in Pune and Mumbai studio spaces in 2024 and again in 2025. Rolling Stone India
- His 2024 collaboration with Kratex, “Taambdi Chaamdi,” brought Marathi rap into a house-music frame and was released by Spinnin’ Records. Rolling Stone India
- The official KSHMR remix arrived on November 22, 2024, crediting Shreyas, Kratex, and KSHMR. KSHMR, Spotify
- His path shows why scene-building matters: a modest gathering can be a more durable starting point than chasing reach in isolation.
Find the collaborators and listeners who make a local scene real. kredl →
The beginning: a rapper rooted in Pune, working across cities
Shreyas is often introduced through “Taambdi Chaamdi,” but he had been making English-language rap from 2016 onward. Rolling Stone India describes him as Pune-bred and Mumbai-based, and his own artist hub identifies him as an independent rapper, producer, and battle rapper based in Pune. That split is useful context: his music sits inside a growing Marathi hip-hop ecosystem, while his work and audience travel across the two cities.
He has not treated Marathi as a novelty format or a shortcut to regional attention. It is part of the perspective, cadence, humour, and everyday detail that make his songs feel located. When Rolling Stone India asked about “Taambdi Chaamdi,” Shreyas put the point plainly: people had questioned whether a market existed for Marathi music, and he saw the work as helping to build one.
Shreyas on making space for Marathi music: “Everyone had doubts about whether there was a market for this Marathi music, but look at us—we’re creating one from scratch.” — Rolling Stone India
The community before the crossover: Shreyas’ Living Room
His most revealing career move may be the least scalable-looking one. Shreyas began Shreyas’ Living Room in 2021 at his Pune home. The concept was deliberately domestic: invite people over, play unreleased songs, chat without the formality of a gig, and make newcomers feel included. His brother, a chef, cooked snacks for the first gatherings.
The sessions later moved into studio spaces in Pune and Mumbai. By 2025, Rolling Stone India reported a cap of roughly 40 attendees per session. That number is small by design. Intimacy was not a compromise before a bigger audience showed up; it was the product. As Shreyas explained, the setting is meant to feel like being invited to his house, with time to hear material before its release and speak to people attending for the first time.
This is a useful lesson for independent musicians. A fan relationship does not always start at scale. A consistent physical space can turn casual listeners into people who remember a song, return for the next event, and bring a friend.
Build a profile that gives future fans and collaborators a reason to stay connected. kredl →
“Taambdi Chaamdi”: where Marathi rap met M-House
“Taambdi Chaamdi” paired Shreyas’ writing and vocals with the production of Kratex, the Mumbai DJ-producer also known as Krunal Ghorpade. The resulting record is not simply a rap track with an electronic beat pasted on top. It works because the repeated hook, Marathi phrasing, club-ready rhythm, and rap verses all pull in the same direction.
The track was released by Spinnin’ Records in 2024. Metadata from streaming platforms credits Shreyas Sagvekar for vocals, songwriting, and production alongside Kratex, with Krunal Ghorpade also credited as a writer. The official video followed in August 2024. Qobuz, official video
The writing came from a personal observation about brown skin shining in the sun, not an attempt to produce an export-ready slogan. That specificity is why the hook travels. It carries a Marathi sound and image without asking listeners elsewhere to decode it before they can move to it.
Why the song travelled without losing its language
Regional-language crossover is often described as if the language barrier simply disappears. “Taambdi Chaamdi” offers a better model: the language stays intact while the production gives listeners another entry point. House music supplies momentum; Shreyas’ voice and writing keep the song anchored in place.
The results were visible beyond the usual local circuit. Rolling Stone India reported early international listener response after the Spinnin’ Records release. Later that year, a video shared by the creators showed the track playing at a party in Berlin; The Indian Express reported the crowd joining in with the hook. That does not mean every Marathi rap record needs dance production or overseas validation. It does show that language is not the limiting factor some gatekeepers assume it is.
The KSHMR remix: a real global-music signal
On November 22, 2024, “Taambdi Chaamdi (KSHMR Remix)” was released as an official single. KSHMR lists the remix in his own catalogue, and Spotify credits Kratex, Shreyas, and KSHMR on the extended version. That is a concrete industry marker: a Marathi rap and house collaboration entered the catalogue of an internationally established electronic artist without changing its central language or vocal identity.
It is worth being precise about what this means. A remix is not a guarantee of a global career, and it should not eclipse Kratex or Shreyas’ authorship of the original. But it expands the song’s context: the record can now live in electronic-music discovery paths that might not otherwise surface a Marathi rap track.
How to Release a Song in India in 2026: A practical guide
Independent does not mean anti-business
Rolling Stone India notes that Shreyas initially saw himself as “anti-music business,” worrying that commerce would force him to alter his sound. The direct-sales experiment with the ₹69 EP changed that calculation. He could make the music he wanted and still learn how to put it in front of the right people.
That is the more durable version of independence. It is not refusing every commercial mechanism; it is keeping enough proximity to the audience that release decisions remain connected to the work. The Living Room sessions, small EP sale, and later crossover all sit on the same continuum: make something specific, introduce it to people closely, and find the next distribution path without surrendering the point of view.
Turn your work, credits, and collaborators into a discoverable creative presence. kredl →
What emerging artists can take from Shreyas’ route
Start with a room you can actually fill. A house session for a handful of listeners can reveal more about a song than an anonymous spike in views.
Use language as a signature, not a limitation. “Taambdi Chaamdi” did not switch away from Marathi to become more portable. Its sound is the reason it is identifiable.
Give collaborators a meaningful role. The track works because Shreyas and Kratex brought distinct strengths—writing, vocal presence, production, and a club vocabulary—to the same record.
Treat business as a creative tool. A low-priced direct sale, tickets to a listening session, and a polished artist profile are ways to sustain work without changing the work itself.
Keep the earlier catalogue alive. Shreyas has said he wants newer fans to hear the English rap he was making years before the breakout. A crossover single should be a doorway into a catalogue, not a replacement for it.
The complete guide to building an independent music career in India
Meet India’s Next Generation of Music Talent: 25 Artists to Watch in 2026
Frequently asked questions
Who is Shreyas Sagvekar?
Shreyas Sagvekar is a Pune-bred, Mumbai-based independent rapper and producer who works across Marathi and English rap. He is best known for “Taambdi Chaamdi,” his 2024 Marathi house-and-rap collaboration with Kratex, and for Shreyas’ Living Room, his intimate fan listening-session series.
What is “Taambdi Chaamdi” by Kratex and Shreyas?
“Taambdi Chaamdi” is a 2024 Marathi rap and house track by Kratex and Shreyas. Shreyas is credited for vocals, songwriting, and production, while Kratex produced the track. The single was released by Spinnin’ Records and later received an official KSHMR remix.
What are Shreyas’ Living Room sessions?
Shreyas’ Living Room is a small listening-session format he began in Pune in 2021. Attendees hear unreleased music, talk with the artist, and experience the gathering more like a house visit than a conventional concert. The format later expanded to studio spaces in Pune and Mumbai.
When did the KSHMR remix of “Taambdi Chaamdi” come out?
The official “Taambdi Chaamdi (KSHMR Remix)” was released on November 22, 2024. It is listed in KSHMR’s official catalogue and credits Kratex, Shreyas, and KSHMR.
Where can I hear more from Shreyas Sagvekar?
Shreyas’ official artist hub links to his streaming, video, and social profiles, as well as current Shreyas’ Living Room ticket information when available.
Shreyas Sagvekar’s career is a useful corrective to the idea that an artist has to choose between a local identity and a larger audience. He built a community in rooms small enough to talk in, then made a record unmistakably rooted in Marathi language and culture. The crossover came afterward—not because the identity was diluted, but because it was strong enough to carry.
Discover emerging artists and the collaborators shaping India’s independent music scene. kredl →