Prabh Deep
Prabhdeep Singh, better known by his stage name, Prabh Deep, is an Indian rapper, songwriter and music producer. He gained recognition in the Indian music industry after the release of his debut album Class-Sikh which debuted at number 2 on iTunes India albums chart and quickly ranked up to number 1 by the end of the year.
Early life
Prabh Deep was born on 26 December 1993 in the West Delhi suburb of Tilak Nagar to a Sikh family. His mother, Jaswinder Kaur, was a small-scale businesswoman. His father, Manmohan Singh, had lost his father and four brothers during a killing spree by angry mobs during the 1984 riots in Nangloi Jat, and developed addictions while struggling with the post-traumatic stress. The family was, therefore, supported by the earnings through the hair salon run by Prabh Deep's mother.Prabh Deep decided to drop out of high school right before his 12th standard board examination on account of the pointlessness of the Indian education system. His mother supported his decision to quit school to build his own path in music.
The increasing financial troubles of the family, as well as bullying in school, eventually got him involved in a street gang, partaking in streetfights, petty jobs such as selling second-hand phones and motorbikes at a mark-up and acting as a middleman for money lenders. Later on, he also had a short stint as a salesman at a garment shop and as a call centre executive for three years before pursuing a full-time career in music.
Career
2008: Career beginnings
Around the summer of 2008, Prabh Deep and his childhood friend Happu witnessed a dance crew performing stunts in a park. Impressed by the urban dance form, he and Happu joined a hip-hop dance group in the neighbouring area of Vikaspuri and spent the next few years practising b-boying. While continuing his jobs as a call centre executive and salesman, Prabh Deep maintained close contact with the Delhi hip-hop circuit while undergoing a slow transition from a dancer to an emcee.2015-2019: Debut album, Azadi Records and Bollywood
Through rapper Zan Twoshadez and hip-hop culture researcher Jaspal Singh, Prabh Deep was introduced to the open mic nights and similar events in Delhi that laid the foundation of his rapping career. In 2015, Prabh Deep connected with indie music producer Sez on the Beat on Facebook and began co-producing music. Sez signed him to the indie record Azadi Records. The entirety of Class-Sikh was produced in Sez's home studio. According to NPR Music, Class-Sikh focused on various themes, including an honest portrayal from a Sikh's perspective of the 1984 riots that followed then- president Indira Gandhi's death. Released on October 16, 2017, it was one of the first Indian hip-hop albums to debut at number 2 on iTunes India albums chart and quickly ranked up to number 1 by the end of the year.Prabh Deep marked his entry in Bollywood with his song "Sherni" for Anurag Kashyap's 2018 drama Manmarziyaan. The following year, Prabh Deep released his self-produced debut EP, K I N G.
2020-present: ''Tabia'', departure from Azadi Records and further successes
He also wrote and performed the song "Toofan Main" for the original soundtrack of the Amazon Prime crime series Paatal Lok.The year 2021 marked the release of his sophomore album, Tabia. Prabh Deep had been working on the album since 2019, even visiting Karma Studios in Thailand to work on the album. Akshay Kapoor of The Indian Music Diaries describes the album as Prabh's "Bildungsroman" while Sean D of LiFTED Asia described it as a "concept driven album that explores themes of multiplicities within oneself". It also became the first Indian hip-hop album to be reviewed by Pitchfork.
In 2022, he released his third album, Bhram. In 2023, he released his surprise collaborative EP with Raftaar, PRAA, as well as the deluxe version of his third studio album, Bhram, featuring guest appearances from fellow Azadi Records signees Seedhe Maut and Ahmer, and Raftaar, Ikka, and GD-47. This also marked his last release with the label, and soon after, he departed from the label. He also appeared on the 2023 season of Coke Studio Bharat, performing the song "Taqdeer" alongside Rashmeet Kaur, Donn Bhat & Sakur Khan Sufi. In November 2023, he was chosen as a supporting act for American rapper 50 Cent's show in Mumbai, as part of The Final Lap Tour, alongside rappers Divine, Yung Raja and SVDP, however, Divine's performance was canceled at the last minute due to technical difficulties.
In 2024, he released the sequel to his debut EP, KING Returns, and also collaborated with John Jacobs for his new eyewear line, The Turban Edit Collection. In the same year, he released his debut mixtape, DSP, featuring Faris Shafi, Dhanji, GD-47 and Sickflip, among others. He made his screen debut with JioCinema's Khalbali Records, alongside fellow rappers like Ahmer, Agsy, EPR Iyer and Yungsta and also contributed to the soundtrack of the series.
In 2025, he contributed to the soundtrack of the web-series, Do You Wanna Partner, on the track, "Hum Dum".