Seedhe Maut

Hindi rap’s firepower duo Seedhe Maut—comprising rapper-producer Calm (aka Siddhant Sharma) and MC Encore ABJ (Abhijay Negi)—have cemented their reputation as Indian hip-hop’s most verbose and hard-hitting artists. Meeting at an underground rap battle series in New Delhi, the video game-, anime- and pop culture-informed duo immediately stated their intent with debut release “Seedhe Maut Anthem” in 2017. On their first album Bayaan, released via independent label Azadi Records in 2018, Calm and Encore ABJ were confessional, concerned and braggadocious—and found a bankable producer in Sez on the Beat. Seedhe Maut showed they were ready for arenas with songs like “Shaktimaan” and shone as prolific rappers with massive mixtapes like न. If they levelled up by trading bars with fellow Azadi signee Prabh Deep for “Class-Sikh Maut, Vol. II”, Seedhe Maut broke new ground on collaborations with the likes of Ritviz (“Chalo Chalein”), KR$NA (“Khatta Flow”, “Hola Amigo”) and MC STAN (“Nanchaku”). Often rapping about growing up middle class in strict households that raised them to hold down traditional jobs instead of seeking out artistic pursuits, Seedhe Maut have an incisive way with words that's made them a mainstay in Indian hip-hop.