Saavn spreads wings into original music

Mumbai Feb 24 (IANS) South Asia s audio and music streaming service Saavn on Saturday announced its expansion into original music with the worldwide release of Azaad Hu Mai a track from underground hip-hop artiste Naezy.

With its Artist Originals programme the platform reaches underground to accelerate new artistes produce originals and merge East-West talent.

Saavn will now conceptualise produce and distribute new music with independent artistes in India.

The collaboration with Naezy is reflective of India s burgeoning interest in hip-hop and its emergence into South Asian pop culture.

Talking about it Naezy said in a statement: Saavn is making huge strides giving the hip-hop movement in our country a crucial platform and I am happy to be a part of this.

I look forward to be the first to grace the Artist Originals programme as we curate a larger movement that gives artistes across our country an opportunity to shine.

Born into an orthodox Muslim family and raised in one of Mumbai s biggest slums Naved Shaikh aka Naezy had a rough upbringing and found solace in music and rhyme battling the odds and righting a wrong.

He created and shot his first song on an iPad amplifying his sound via the internet quickly becoming a prominent name in the underground music scene highlighting the issues that exist in city s ghettos resonating with the outrage felt by the country s youth in regard to class religious and cultural barriers.

His newest track Azaad Hu Mai is an ode to his journey from the slums of Mumbai to a rising star.

Paramdeep Singh Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Saavn said: In India mainstream music is correlated with film music so most independent artistes are releasing their music DIY.

With Artist Originals we become a voice for India s underground artistes supporting and accelerating their growth while allowing them the freedom to express themselves in their own way -- both visually and musically.

--IANS
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