Biography

Pasha Bhai is the nom de guerre of 24-year-old multilingual rapper, poet, lyricist and singer, Mohammed Affan Pasha of Bangalore’s Neelasandra. A self-taught performer, honing his skills since the young age of 16, he has, till date, released over 25 singles in Dakhni, Hindi, Urdu and English. He has also featured on several tracks by prominent Indian Hip Hop artists – most notably alongside Sumukh Mysore a.ka. Smokey The Ghost’s Balder than the Baldest from their sophomore album The Human Nation. In the nascent yet burgeoning Indian hip-hop scene that values both underground credibility and commercial appeal, Pasha Bhai’s debut single ‘Eid ka Chand’ broke through the noise without succumbing to the pressure of formulaic tropes. Released on YouTube in August 2020, ‘Eid Ka Chand’ introduced Dakhni to mainstream hip-hop. Pasha Bhai is co-founder of Bangalore’s homegrown hip-hop community, Wanandaf and commander-in-chief of Neelasandra’s very own hip-hop collective, Clan Bokka Phod. His latest releases, ‘Pasha Bhai’ and ‘Khuda Gawah’, are testament to his versatility, fusing his signature hard-hitting lyricism with a melodic turn to Sufism. Focused on creating ever-evolving, genre-bending, boundary-pushing music, Pasha Bhai is all set to release his debut album on 4th November 2022.