Saavn spreads wings into original music

Mumbai, Feb 25: 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."