Attack The Culture

View Original

DIVINE & Karan Aujla: It's double up goals with an animé twist in the 'HISAAB' music video

It’s an Indian ting with plenty of animé dabs for hip-hop pair DIVINE and Karan Aujla for their ‘HISAAB’ anthem. Fresh from putting out their Street Dreams album to the masses, they deliver with a super fire visual.

It’s all in the animated music video appeal from start to finish. Tap in.

DIVINE and Karan Aujla are heroes in the fast-growing Indian hip-hop scene. The groundbreaking duo puts their power into action in "HISAAB," a new anime-influenced video from their new collaborative album Street Dreams. "HISAAB" mixes traditional Indian instrumentation with a hip-hop pulse, as DIVINE and Karan Aujla trade bars–DIVINE rapping in Hindi, Karan Aujla rapping and singing in Punjabi–to examine the price of fame and the responsibilities incurred. Directed by Debjyoti Saha for Goppo Animation, the video for "HISAAB" is a visually-striking, action-packed, Anime-influenced short film. DIVINE and Karan attempt to escape from a surreal asylum, full of autonomous soldiers and giant cobra snakes, in an effort to save their freedom and sanity in the harsh world. The video surpassed 1 million views in just 12 hours and is currently in the Top 10 of YouTube's Trending Chart.

Last week, DIVINE and Karan Aujla shared Street Dreams, a 7-track effort that demonstrates why they are among the most exciting artists in the Indian scene. Out now via Mass Appeal India, Street Dreams had an extremely successful debut, reaching #1 on Apple Music within 24 hours of release, and taking over the number one spot on Apple Music's Album Charts in 40 countries, including India, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. All seven songs from Street Dreams charted on Spotify's Daily Top Songs in India, and are currently trending on Instagram. 

is a relentless effort, bringing bilingual bars that express sentiments that need no translation. The album features production from Western heavy-hitters like Boi-1da, WondaGurlHarry Fraud, Leven Kali, and Trox, who deliver premium productions for Karan and DIVINE to annihilate, along with hip-hop producers from the Indian scene. "Hisaab" finds the two artists counting their myriad accomplishments in 6/8 time, taunting any comer who can't match their quick maths, while "Top Class / Overseas" lays playful strings atop sliding 808s as DIVINE and Karan proclaim their valedictory status. "Yaad," meanwhile displays a softer side of the duo, as they trade off vocals with Indian-Canadian singer Jonita Gandhi

Stream Street Dreams HERE

Also among the highlights is "100 Million," the tape's lead single and music video, which made waves across the globe. Defined by nostalgic hip-hop production reminiscent of Y2K-era Dr. Dre, in this case produced by American producer Trox (50 Cent, Cordae), “100 Million” is an anthem for those with grand dreams, the two icons reflecting on the enduring habits that propelled them to greatness. The song arrived in mid-January, with a video filmed in Dubai and directed by Karan Aujla’s long-time collaborators Rupan Bal, Dilpreetvfx and Anmol Raina. The song and video immediately became a huge success–the song reached the #1 spot of the YouTube Trending Charts in India, and reached the Top 10 in countries including Canada (#2), New Zealand (#4), UK (#6), Australia (#8) and the UAE (#8). Overall, the song racked up over 21 million YouTube viewsto date, as well as over 6 million Spotify streams

Watch "100 Million" HERE
Stream "100 Million" HERE

Karan Aujla and DIVINE have individually topped several charts across India with their albums and songs such as Karan's “Softly”, “White Brown Black”, “Mexico,” and “Players,” and DIVINE's “Mirchi”, “359 AM”, “Baazigar” (80 million YouTube views), and “Kaam 25” (65 million YouTube views). Their upcoming collaborative project is the first of its kind in the Indian music space and is poised to be a landmark moment in Indian music history. 

With Street Dreams out now, the dynamic duo prepares to make their presence felt on American shores. Stay tuned for more videos and announcements from DIVINE and Karan Aujla in the near future.

Street Dreams tracklist:

  1. Nothing Lasts

  2. Top Class / Overseas

  3. Straight Ballin'

  4. Yaad ft. Jonita

  5. Tareefan

  6. Hisaab

  7. 100 Million