The new partnership will help bring emerging talent like Deep Kalsi, Rashmeet Kaur and Yunan to new audiences around the world and strengthens Sony Music's presence in the growing Indian underground rap and hip-hop scene

Sony Music India (SMI) announced today an exclusive recording agreement with popular rapper Raftaar and partnership with Kalamkaar - the independent label founded by Raftaar and his business partner Ankit Khanna.

Rapper, producer, television personality and music entrepreneur, Raftaar is credited for creating a benchmark for Indian rap and hip-hop. Known for his ground-breaking music, he has created his own brand of desi hip-hop that caters to urban millennials worldwide.

Jointly founded by Ankit Khanna & Raftaar, Kalamkaar nurtures young hip-hop, rap, pop and EDM talent and brings an exciting roster of young rappers and underground artists into the SMI family, including Deep Kalsi, Rashmeet Kaur and Yunan.

`I'm delighted to welcome Raftaar and the Kalamkaar label into the Sony Music family at an exciting time for independent music in India,` said Rajat Kakar, Managing Director of Sony Music India. `As a company with reach spanning multiple repertoires and with artists at the core of what we do, partnering with Raftaar helps us continue to play a key role in showcasing India's young music talent both here and abroad.`

`We are excited to be a part of the Sony Music family which is renowned for being artist-centric in everything it does,` said Dilin Nair aka Raftaar and co-founder of Kalamkaar. `Hip-hop today is the world's most influential culture and has witnessed a rapid upsurge as an authentic and relatable genre, with rap undeniably maintaining its appeal through the years. Our aim at Kalamkaar is to discover and launch the next wave of Indian hip-hop talent. So our new partnership with Sony Music is key in accelerating the growth and reach of the independent music movement - not only in India; but also among the millions of Indian diaspora around the world.`

`We have worked diligently alongside our talent roster to build an independent label that puts creativity and collaboration at the heart of every release,` added Ankit Khanna, co-founder of Kalamkaar. `We look forward to this new partnership with Sony Music India, which aims to increase the scale and scope of non-film music in India, break independent hip-hop and rap into the mainstream and reinvigorate the listening experiences of music enthusiasts.`