No clouds, light reign

Delhi rapper King has gone from working a government job to featuring on the Spotify Global Top 25 playlist. See how his life has changed since then

Imagine waking up to find your song on the same Spotify playlist as the international musicians you’ve idolised over the years.

Delhi rapper Apran Kumar Chandel, aka King, broke onto the Spotify’s Top Global Chart list in January with his single Maan Meri Jaan (Photographed by Samrat Nagar; Styled by Robert Son Lyngdoh)

King performs in Hyderabad in October, as part of an India tour. What inspires him? “The ambition to pen something that resonates with every generation,” he says. (The Moneta)

He was a soprano in Delhi’s Navyug School choir. He played football on the national Under-20 team while at Dyal Singh College. “I was a sports-quota student. I couldn’t relate to the kids there,” he says, explaining why he dropped out. “Things are different for those who go to a government school. Wealth isn’t a part of our identity.”