#ThrowbackThursday: Rewinding Divine’s Popular Tracks Before 2021

Indian rapper Vivian Fernandes a.k.a Divine belongs from Mumbai, Maharashtra. He has worked with several famous personalities from the music and Bollywood industry like Sidhu Moosewala, Naezy, Nucleya, Raja Kumari, Amit Trivedi, Ranveer Singh, and so on. He has also done international collaborations with various artists such as Dutchavelli, OneFour, Noizy, Kekra, etc. From being an underground rapper to founding his own company Gully Gang Entertainment, it has been one heck of a journey. With all the struggles and hard work, he pushed forward to make his name known throughout the Indian rapping scenario as one of the most popular rappers. ‘Yeh Mera Bombay’ released on November 16, 2013, was the song that gained him fortune and people started noticing him, resulting in the rise of his popularity. 

Let’s take a glance at Divine’s 15 best songs before 2021:

1. 3: 59 AM

This track is from Divine’s sophomore album ‘Punya Paap’, and the music was produced by Stunnah Beatz. It’s all about his feelings and the experience that he gained from the slum to success in Mumbai. It was released on December 4, 2020, and it presently has 77 million views and 1.9 million likes. 

2. Mera Bhai

Premiered on November 6, 2020, ‘Mera Bhai’ is Divine’s storytelling in the rap way from his album ‘Punya Paap’. It’s about the bond between brothers as they face any situation together. Music production was done by Karan Kanchan, the animated video received 13 million views and 630K likes. Panini Pandey was behind the animation production. 

3. Mirchi

‘Mirchi’ feat. Stylo G, MC Altaf & Phenom was Divine’s biggest hit to date. Released on October 16, 2020, it was viewed 217 million times and received 155K likes. This track is the second single from the ‘Punya Paap’ album.

4. Punya Paap

After watching his previous tracks, you must be quite curious about ‘Punya Paap’. So here’s his title track released on September 23, 2020, from the same album presented by Mass Appeal India, which gained 16 million views and 409K likes. Also, the music was produced by iLL Wayno.

5. Kohinoor

Presented by Mass Appeal India, ‘Kohinoor’ is the rapper’s first track from his debut album of the same name. He’s bringing the voice of the streets with this track, and once again iLL Wayno is the music producer. The track received 44 million views and 818K likes and was released on September 13, 2019.

6. Gandhi Money

Premiered on February 13, 2020, ‘Gandhi Money’ belongs to his album ‘Kohinoor’. The music is produced by Phenom and Abhishek Ghatak was behind mixing and mastering. Currently, the music video has 18 million views and 580K likes.

7. Teesri Manzil

This track is for One Plus PlayBack and was released on December 14, 2018. It accumulated 32 million views and 609K likes. Phenom was behind the music production, and Andrew Wuepper did the mixing and mastering. 

8. Kaam 25

From Netflix’s ‘Sacred Games’, ‘Kaam 25’ premiered on June 15, 2018, which was one month before the premiering of the series. Set in the backdrop of Mumbai, the music was produced by Phenom. The song is referring to the plot of ‘Sacred Games’. It currently has garnered 55 million views and 805K likes. On Netflix’s YouTube channel, it has gained 56 million views and 746K likes.

9. One Side

Released on April 5, 2018, ‘One Side’ as stated on his YouTube channel “bears all the characteristics of a DIVINE song – hard hitting lyrics spit fast and furious, throwing shade at those who still don’t believe in him.”It was shot in Mumbai’s abandoned tobacco factory and features the rapper and his Gully Gang crew. Presently, the music video has 22 million views and 425K likes, and the music was produced by Byg Byrd. 

10. Jungli Sher

Presented by Sony Music India, ‘Jungli Sher’ is Divine’s life story in urban Mumbai. It was released on March 25, 2016, and has got  23 million views and 378K likes. Sez was the music producer and he also composed it along with the Divine.

11. Chal Bombay

Featuring Shweta Sharda and Arif Chaudhary, ‘Chal Bombay’ belongs to Divine’s ‘Kohinoor’ album. Along with the rapper, Phenom and iLL Wayno were also the composers. The latter two were also involved in music production. Presented by Mass Appeal India, the track was released on January 15, 2020, and has gained 91 million views and 1.3 million likes. 

12. Vibe Hai

The official music video of ‘Vibe Hai’ by Mass Appeal India, was released on October 22, 2019. It features Divine, Aavrutti, D’Evil, Shah Rule, and belongs to the ‘Kohinoor’ album. The composers were Divine, NDS, Frenzzy, Saifan, Sammohit, D’Evil, Sledge, and Shah Rule. The lyrics were jotted down by Divine, Frenzzy, Saifan, Sammohit, D’Evil, Sledge, and Shah Rule. In total, there are 18 million views and 338K likes. 

13. Farak

Presented by Sony Music India, ‘Farak’ as stated “is an expression of his life-adventures over the years, while highlighting his pillar of strength -his Mother.” He has expressed his personal and honest emotions in this track through his words, and by shooting it in the gullies of Mumbai featuring his friends, brothers, and artists that have been part of his journey so far. Released on February 17, 2017, ‘Farak’ has received 42 million views and 696K likes.

14. Mere Gully Mein

Divine’s ‘Mere Gully Mein’ feat. Naezy was released on April 16, 2015, on Sony Music’s YouTube channel. The music video was based on the “smiling faces of people living inside the slums of Mumbai!” Currently, it has 33 million views and 649K likes. This was the original version of the same-named song from the movie ‘Gully Boy’, featuring Ranveer Singh and Siddhant Chaturvedi. Ranveer himself was one of the singers in the second version.

15. Sher Aaya Sher

From Zoya Akhtar’s Bollywood film ‘Gully Boy’, ‘Sher Aaya Sher’ was released on March 4, 2019, by Zee Music Company. This track in Divine’s voice received 116 million views and 1.1 million likes. It starred Ranveer Singh, Siddhant Chaturvedi, and Alia Bhatt.

The name Divine is totally made for him, ‘cause you can’t deny that he’s absolutely divine! Currently, he has 4.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.6 million followers on Instagram. Drilling into the fire but making it worthwhile, that’s his quality and standard. Most of the raps that he has recorded are based on his life in Mumbai slums. By the way, have you heard of his latest collaboration with Sidhu Moosewala? If you haven’t then go check out ‘Moosedrilla’ which was released on May 27, 2021, and has already gathered 11 million views.