Meet the Gully Boy

If you listen to Vivian Fernandes rapping, you are bound to agree that there is something special about the boy's tunes. That something special is his honesty. 

While there is an influx of music all around talking about money, sex and power, Vivian instead chooses to connect to his listeners in the way he knows best by narrating his story and talking about his struggles, his people and most importantly his determination to come out on top and emerge stronger everytime.
Vivian's story has been a truly amazing, real life slums-to-riches kind of story. Born and brought up in Mumbai slums, Vivian has more or less had to look after himself while growing up. In order to support an alcoholic husband and two sons, Vivian's mother had no choice but to move to Quatar on a work visa. His father however made off with the money that she sent back and Vivian and his brother were left to fend for themselves. After his brother too went abroad to work, Vivian lived with his grandmother for awhile before she passed away.
It was through a friend that he was first introduced to 50 cents and Eminem. Rap entered his life in a big way and he began trying his hand at writing too. A song by Lecrae which was gospel rap especially hit a chord with him.
After founding the Gully Gang, his first taste of fame came about with Yeh Mera Bombay, shot in the gullies of his neighbourhood which he posted online and which soon went viral. Recognising his potential, Sony Music India decided to sign him on. Ever since then, Divine ( the name he goes by) has been capturing the imagination of music lovers (even those who aren't that fond of rap) with his hit tunes like Mere Gully Main, Jungli Raja and Jungli Sher. In April this year, he did his first international show as part of the BBC Asian Network Live showcase.
His last tune Farak, released early this year, especially documents his life story with some powerful imagery while also paying tribute to the one constant in his life - his mother. It is in this tune too, that Vivian also shares his love for Goa, which has also been a part of his life.
"My mother is from Goa. I've been going to there since I was a kid. Goa has always been like home to me. So I thought it was important to go to Goa for the video. It is my most honest record and I wanted to show the world where I come from. Also the producer, Pinaki, lives in Goa. I met quite a lot of fans, some at Arpora Market," shares Vivian. Interestingly, football is one of his great loves and he is also a fan of FC Goa. "I wanted to be a soccer player first. The first time I was ever in the newspaper was for a goal I scored for my school. FC Goa all the way!" he says.
In the meantime, he is hard at work on his first album which is expected to drop soon. "I've been working hard every day in the studio and I'm really proud of how the project is sounding. I'm going to be releasing a few singles for the fans before the album drops," says Divine. Speaking further about why he chose to take on the name, Vivian states that it was owing to his gospel rap beginnings. "The name came to me and it just felt right - God's child," he says. But does this mean, fans can expect to hear some Gospel rap from him soon? "I've evolved as an artist, so I don't know if a Gospel rap record is in the future...but all of my music speaks about my relationship with God," he states.
With his fame only growing by the day, Vivian and his fellow rapper Naezy ( with whom he collaborated on in Mere Gully Mein) have now become the muses for noted director Zoya Akhtar's new film Gully Boy which will see her brother Farhan writing the dialogues and serving as co-producer. The film is expected to see popular actor Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt featuring in it. And Vivian who has previously maintained that Bollywood portrays hip hop wrongly is excited. "Finally, real hip hop will be on the big screen!" he says. "Zoya is a good friend of mine and I know Ranveer will bring this character to life. He's Mumbai by heart."
And while he prefers to rap in Hindi, Vivian will also be a part of an English song shortly. "Even when I was writing in English, I was always thinking in Hindi but I am featured on an English song with Raja Kumari that will be releasing next," he informs. But that's not all that's in the line up. "I'm doing a bunch of projects but I am most excited about my song with Nucleya in one of my favourite director Anurag Kashyap's new film Mukkabaaz," he says. He also has some exciting news for his Goan fans. "I am coming to perform in Goa soon!" he discloses.