Indie Music Reviews- Gully Gang’s Shutdown shows creativity can’t stop with a pandemic
Mumbai hip-hop bigwig Divine and his crew Gully Gang, all of whom are signed under an imprint of legendary rapper Nas’s label imprint Mass Appeal, have collaborated with a few other rappers to release an exclusive compilation album that was recorded during the recent lockdowns. The album titled Shutdown puts Divine and his peers like D’Evil, Krsna, and Punjabi rapper Sikander Kahlon in a constructive phase proving that everything might halt, but not their creative flows.
Having over eight songs, each track tries representing a different mood. While Divine is mostly known for his aggressive flows, he seems to be in a calmer, introspective mood in the standout tracks, Bag (with Krsna), and Bandana Gang (with Sikander Kahlon). Divine seems to have accepted his stardom and uses both these songs to show how his journey has just started and no other ‘fake rappers’ stand a chance against him. MC Altaf, D’Evil, and US-based rapper Elvis Brown open the album with a trap banger titled Brinks. Overall, most of the Mumbai-based artists on Shutdown are a diverse bunch from the same ‘gully rap’ scene expressing its different dimensions in their verses. Through this surprise drop, they’ve shown that they’re in for the long haul. Gully Gang used to tour pretty much every now and then before the pandemic. In the present-day situation, the possibilities for touring are nil but maybe, that would give these rappers more time to record more fresh content like Shutdown.
Lastly, the heroes behind Shutdown album are its various producers, particularly Stunnah Beatz, Xplicit, and NDS who have outdone themselves. The rappers’ lyrics do seem to echo themes from their previous tracks but these producers are constantly experimenting with new trap sounds. If one really wants to see the diversity in Mumbai’s hip-hop scene, one needs to see the versatility of the producers behind it (even if most of them aren’t even based in Mumbai). Overall, Shutdown album has an ensemble that has something or the other to offer Indian hip-hop fanatics. This is an album that’s not to be missed.
You can stream the album from this link- https://spoti.fi/2MBnA4N
