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  • MX Player, Red Bull & Smule hunt for India’s next rap superstar

    MX Player, Red Bull & Smule hunt for India’s next rap superstar

    MUMBAI: With the hip-hop scene in India fast evolving and artists from the country making their mark on the global stage, a new series gives the next generation of rappers a platform to learn from the best and hone their skills. An MX Original Series, Red Bull Spotlight, featuring beats from Smule’s hip hop music app AutoRap, is a nationwide hunt to discover and support India’s best emerging rappers, now streaming for free on MX Player.

    Started in 2019 as a platform to discover India’s newest rap talent, Red Bull Spotlight is now a six-part series that will see eight rappers go head-to-head for the title. The winner will receive the opportunity to record a full-length album in a professional studio, a music video, an EPK and more, selected following a finale judged by the biggest names in Indian hip-hop – Divine, Naezy, Emiway Bantai and Dee MC.  

    MX Player COO Vivek Jain said, “We’re delighted to have partnered with Red Bull and AutoRap to bring alive the biggest battleground for budding rap enthusiasts in India. This three-way partnership presents as the perfect harmony of brands coming together for a bespoke integration and digital first content solutions, that we’re able to weave into stories or formats that can appeal to our large user base.”

    Smule president Bill Bradford described Red Bull Spotlight as a launch pad for the next generation of hip hop talent in India. “We’re proud to provide the musical creation platform these rising stars can use to share their stories, and to serve as the backdrop of their art,” he added.      

    In the series, produced by Red Bull Media House and MX Player with Supari Studios and directed by Nisha Vasudevan, the finalists spend a week under the mentorship of some of the finest in Indian hip-hop, attending workshops and sessions, doing challenges and more. Mentors include Sofia Ashraf, Naezy, Dopeadelicz, Sez on the Beat, and D’evil.

    “I was pleasantly surprised by the wide-ranging talent in the finale. I think that says a lot about the selection process and also about the quality of talent waiting to be discovered and given a platform in India,” said hip-hop artist Divine, who was a judge at the finale. “Red Bull has been supporting music and culture in many different formats right from before I started as well and up to now. Spotlight is another endeavour in that long line of platforms given by them in helping talent get discovered and work towards building sustainable careers for them.”

  • Smule’s ‘India Jam Karega’ calls for unity

    Smule’s ‘India Jam Karega’ calls for unity

    MUMBAI:  Smule is inviting music-lovers across India to come together and jam online together. Whether it's singing a duet, crooning away with an international or local artist, creating an original, cheering each other on, making friends across the globe, sparking the creative energy of Indians and getting music lovers across languages and geographies together.

    The new brand campaign, India Jam Karega, tells a musical story highlighting the tenets of the social singing app. Set to a groovy, foot-thumping anthem by the inimitable Sneha Khanwalkar, sung by Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgadhe, they are expressing the joy of jamming that people in India enjoy, the film weaves through various situations showing people from all corners of the country singing together. It has a friendly and inviting vibe, completely in sync with the essence of the brand- a community of music lovers uniting across the globe, including jamming with the biggest names in the music industry like Darshan Raval, Neha Kakkar, Salim Merchant, Papon & many others. Playing up the authenticity factor, the lyrics encourage people to sing with pride and without fear of any judgment. The film also brings out the features of the app where users can show appreciation for each other's singing by awarding virtual ‘gifts’.

    Smule president Bill Bradford said: “Music has the inter-cultural ability to cross frontiers. It’s a language the world understands and that connects societies.  We believe it's more crucial than ever to invoke the power of music to bring people closer, while encouraging, engaging and exciting anyone who likes to sing, anytime, anywhere. We aim to be the one stage where all of India unites to celebrate its passion for music. This campaign is an invitation for Indian music lovers to join our growing community of millions of music lovers – the rookie, the enthusiast and the expert.”

    Times Bridge Sr. VP Investment Operations Viral Jani said: “At Times Bridge, it is our endeavor to work with our global partners to help them find a brand voice that will resonate with the discerning Indian consumer thereby become a part of the Indian cultural zeitgeist. The campaign “India Jam Karega” is an expression of how the Indian consumer connects over music and forms new connections that are driven by the passion of singing together from north to south, east to west of India and across the world. This campaign is a true reflection of how the Smule community of singers in India come together to Jam and unite on this platform.”

    Smule is backed by Times Bridge, a leading investment firm that seeks to bring the world’s best ideas to India and India’s best ideas to the world.

    Links to Campaign Films: