Naezy (born 10 August 1993), whose real name is Naved Shaikh, is an Indian rapper from Mumbai and one of the pioneers of “gully rap”, the street hip-hop that came out of the city’s crowded neighbourhoods. He first drew attention in 2014 with “Aafat!”, a song he recorded and filmed on an iPad. His duet with Divine, “Mere Gully Mein” (2015), became an anthem of Indian hip-hop, and the two rappers’ lives inspired Zoya Akhtar’s film Gully Boy (2019), starring Ranveer Singh.
Quick Facts
| Real name | Naved Shaikh |
| Born | 10 August 1993, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Age | 33 |
| Occupation | Rapper, songwriter |
| From | Kurla, Mumbai |
| Genre | Hip-hop (gully rap) |
| Languages | Hindi, Urdu, Mumbai street slang |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | “Aafat!”, “Mere Gully Mein”, “Aane De” |
Early Life
Naezy grew up in a Muslim family in a chawl in Kurla West, a densely packed part of Mumbai. His father worked in the Gulf for much of his childhood. As a teenager he ran with a rough crowd and had brushes with the police. He has said that hearing the Jamaican artist Sean Paul’s “Temperature” at 13 made him want to rap; he printed out the lyrics and learned them by heart, then began writing his own verses in the language of his street. His stage name comes from “Naved” and “crazy”.
Career
In January 2014 Naezy released “Aafat!”. He recorded his voice over a beat he found online, using an iPad and a pair of earphones, and shot the video on the same iPad in the lanes around his home. The raw, fast Hindi-Urdu rap spread quickly online. A short documentary about him, Bombay 70, named after Kurla’s postal code, won the best short film award at the Mumbai Film Festival in 2014.
In 2015 he and Divine, a rapper from Andheri, released “Mere Gully Mein” (“In My Lane”), produced by Sez on the Beat. The director Zoya Akhtar met both rappers and built Gully Boy around their stories; the main character, played by Ranveer Singh, draws heavily on Naezy’s life. The film re-recorded “Mere Gully Mein” and brought Indian street rap to a mass audience. Naezy has also rapped on film soundtracks.
At the height of this attention Naezy stepped away from music for about a year, partly because of family objections to his career on religious grounds. He returned in 2019 with “Aafat Waapas” and released his first album, Maghreb, in 2020. He has continued to release singles and to perform at hip-hop festivals. In 2024 he took part in the reality show Bigg Boss OTT season 3 and finished as runner-up.
Style
Naezy raps at high speed in Bambaiya Hindi mixed with Urdu, about poverty, policing, faith and the ambitions of young people in the city’s poorer districts. He writes all his own lyrics.
Popular Songs
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Naezy born?
Naezy was born on 10 August 1993 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and is 33 years old.
What is Naezy known for?
Known for: “Aafat!”, “Mere Gully Mein”, “Aane De”.
Featured image: The rapper Naezy, 2022. Photo by Jake Ultra, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
