MUMBAI: Saavn and One Digital Entertainment join forces to continue to amplify their efforts in mortaring India’s burgeoning hip-hop story, launching their newest audio show, Hip Hop Highway. This is first of its kind show that will trace the evolution of Hip Hop in the country.

Hip Hop Highway will have 12 episodes, releasing a 25 to 30 minute episode each Wednesday. The show will be hosted by Raaj Jones, and the first episode will feature Indian Rapper Raftaar and British-Indian DJ and Radio presenter Bobby Friction. Week on week, the off-centre yet revolutionary audio show will have various artistes including Badshah, Divine and Naezy, among others.

Listeners will hear from Indian artistes, promoters, labels, producers, and upcoming talent as they discuss all aspects of the hip hop genre. Mixing in-studio sessions and on-site interviews, audiences can expect an authentic, off-the-cuff conversation on the role desi hip hop has come to play in India’s popular culture. The audio show strengthens Saavn’s initiatives in helping build the hip-hop movement.

Diverse to other global markets, India’s uniquely film-centric music scene leaves independent artistes with little support and limited opportunities to access larger audiences. As part of their larger objective, Saavn teams up with One Digital Entertainment to access the alternative mediums in which desi hip hop artists often make their debut. Choosing to showcase the lives and artistry of India’s hip hop legends is an unconventional method that has worked extremely well for Saavn in the recent past, with programs like AiR (Artists in Residence) and RMX giving non-film musicians both the tools and the global stage required to grow their fan base independent of the Bollywood music scene.

Saavn co-founder and executive chairman Paramdeep Singh said, “With 'Hip Hop Highway' we want to trace the origins of the genre in the country, with artistes relating their journeys to the top. What was once deemed a subculture has today successfully become mainstream Indian music and Saavn is delighted to be the first audio streaming service to tell this story.”

“Hip Hop Highway will be incredibly artiste centric and give major up-and-coming talent the opportunity to share their craft and stories with Saavn’s growing listenership base. Considering One Digital Entertainment’s extensive work on the hip hop scene, we are happy to partner them on this property”, added he.

One Digital Entertainment has played a pivotal role in shaping the Hip Hop Movement in the country, giving artistes their own digital platform to create their music and engage with their fans. Commenting on the launch of the series, One Digital Entertainment COO and co-founder Gurpreet Singh Bhasin said, "This audio show is novel in more ways than one. Not only is it the first show dedicated to a specific music genre, it is also a step forward in strengthening the original audio content domain in the country. We are delighted to collaborate with Saavn on this as they make for one of the perfect partners, with them being the people behind the best audio entertainment in the industry".

Saavn launched ‘Saavn Originals’ in April 2016 in a bid to expand their repertoire of content to include a cutting-edge collection of original, long-form audio programs for its worldwide user base. Hip Hop Highway will stream weekly starting February 22nd, every Wednesday exclusively on Saavn.