Indian rapper 100RBH: ‘My dream is to perform in front of 100,000 people’

In 100RBH’s home, a music career was not on the table. Growing up in a traditional Indian household, the aspiring rapper was instructed by his father to find a “respectable” job that would earn him a daily wage. But the 24-year-old, born Saurabh Abhyankar, had other ideas.

For most musicians, dreams of global success seem far-fetched. But in 100RBH’s rural hometown of Amravati, in the western state of Maharashtra, few people were even aware of what hip-hop was. “People didn’t know s*** about this industry,” he tells me in his local Bambaiya accent (Mumbai’s Hindi), over the phone. He had to hustle just to persuade locals to come to his shows. Yet in time, “ever since the money started flowing in, other [parents] have been telling my mum that they want their sons to find a career in the music industry too”.

100RBH is a gully, a form of Indian street rapper blending traditional folk sounds with modern instrumentation and an attitude to match. Originating in Mumbai, gully – an Indian term for a narrow street – has since spread across India, taking influences from American hip-hop giants such as The Notorious BIG and Tupac. Lyrics tend to delve into issues such as politics, social reforms and way of life, as opposed to the more superficial themes of booze and women that often transpire in mainstream Bollywood music.

Before releasing his debut solo tracks, 100RBH was a “proud” member of Swadesi, India’s first multilingual hip-hop crew, whose ethos is “music with a cause”. In their single “Khabardar”, the controversial group address the “slaves of society” and corrupt leaders who forget their responsibilities: “Na karte khud ye kuch, na accha kisiko karane dete (They don’t do anything themselves nor let anyone do any good),” raps 100RBH. He says his time in Swadesi was one of the most “dangerous” things he’s ever done, because of the band’s outspoken views on government reforms and right-wing politics. “When I heard Swadesi’s music for the first time, I was impressed,” he says. “They were talking about the same issues that I cared about. In fact, they were the only people who had the balls to talk about local issues in the country.”

For his solo work, he takes heavy influence from the Mumbai-born rapper Divine, regarded as one of India’s most successful gully rappers and the inspiration behind the hit Bollywood film Gully Boy. “Just like me, Divine comes from the gullies of Bombay,” he explains. “I thought if someone like him could make it big in life, so will I.” Like Divine, he thrives on wordplay and lyrics that drip with double meaning. On his 2022 hit “Zanjeer”, which is built from hyper-intensive rhythms, he offers up a succession of sharp socio-political critique and witty humour in both the Hindi and Marathi languages: “Purane daur ke zanjeer ko mein todhta (I break the old chain)/ Laakhon masoomon ki awaz mei akela bolta (I speak on behalf of hundred thousand innocent souls.)” Soon after the track’s release, 100RBH dedicated it to the late Indian social reformer Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Now signed to his idol Divine’s label, Gully Gang Entertainment, 100RBH hopes he will one day be invited to perform at international festivals such as Rolling Loud and Lollapalooza. Maybe even Glastonbury. “My dream is to perform in front of 100,000 people.” Until then, he’ll continue to make music and raise his voice against “politicians who don’t take their jobs seriously”. He wants to draw attention to matters such as the recent Maharashtra floods, caste discrimination and other human rights violations in India. As for his family, his father in particular – they now proudly tell the world who their son is and what he does. For 100RBH, that in itself is a major win.