Universal Music Group (UMG) recently announced the launch of Def Jam India, a new label division within India and South Asia dedicated to representing the best hip-hop and rap talent from the region. Def Jam India will follow the blueprint of the iconic Def Jam Recordings label, which has led and influenced the cutting-edge in hip-hop and urban culture for more than 35 years.

The explosion in popularity of hip-hop as a genre in India has increased dramatically in recent years, and the launch of Def Jam India will only help to further solidify and amplify Indian hip-hop and culture on a global scale. 

The first flagship artist signings to join Def Jam India are highly respected and hugely popular rappers Dino James and Fotty Seven. 

Dino James is an independent self-made rapper, singer, songwriter and composer hailing from Sarni in Madhya Pradesh, India. Dino brings hard-hitting lyricism with narratives to the forefront by drawing inspiration from real-life experiences & struggles. Inspired from a young age by rap God Eminem and legendary composer A.R. Rahman, James is known for his storytelling, wordplay and varied song structures and aims to create relevant music for the masses. He rose to fame with his debut single Loser, followed by a flow of back-to-back releases that have continued to push the boundaries of contemporary hip-hop in India. Now, Dino James is one of India’s most prominent hip-hop talents, redefining the genre and the Indian rap audience, with more than 5.1 million subscribers on YouTube, more than 400 million video views achieved to date and over 100M audio streams across all major streaming platforms.

Ankit Gudwani aka Fotty Seven has been dubbed as India's next bilingualavant-garde hip-hop artist and is known for his tasteful unification of western and north Indian culture into his lyrics. The 29-year-old rapper draws inspiration from 50 Cent and Eminem and initially began rapping in English, after which he transitioned to Hindi to reach the masses. His name Fotty Seven is derived from the chemical element Silver with the symbol AG (representing the first and last name initials of Ankit Gudwani) and atomic number 47. Apart from his solo alias, Fotty Seven is also a part of a trio by the name of Kaleshi Launde along with Badshah and Bali. Fotty Seven released his debut EP "Asli Independent" in 2020, alongside several single releases. He emerged in the limelight with his release of the single Bhot Tej ft. Badshah (one of India's biggest pop music singers), which shot to fame with over 20M+ views on Youtube.

The first releases on the label will be new singles from Dino James - Lost and Fotty Seven – Banjo releasing this month on Def Jam India