The GHOST With The Most
GQ India|June 2020
Meet Smokey the Ghost, the longtime Bengaluru emcee who pushes socially conscious rhymes with mass appeal
KERRY HARWIN
The GHOST With The Most

My first introduction to hip-hop,” Smokey the Ghost tells me, “was through basketball.”This may be an unexpected revelation for those who know the 29-year-old Bengaluru rapper for jazzy beats and socially conscious lyrics that touch subjects ranging from Donald Trump to Syrian war refugees and secularism. But Smokey, née Sumukh Mysore, found his way to rap music when his head started nodding to the soundtrack of the NBA Live 08 video game, back in 2007. With East Coast luminaries such as CL Smooth and KRS-One featuring in the game, the emcee’s introduction to hip-hop was founded in the lyrical complexity and understated beats common to old-school New York rap.

This teenage evolution blossomed on early social media. Text-based rap battles on Orkut eventually turned into audio recording as Smokey joined Brodha V and Bigg Nikk to form Machas With Attitude, or MWA, a pioneering South Indian rap crew whose name played on that of NWA, the late 1980s Los Angeles hip-hop pioneers. In the past several years, having gone solo, Smokey’s flow has refined and his political lyrics have – on releases such as 2018’s Her Name Is ? and last year’s The Human Form – evolved from simple sloganeering to sophisticated metaphor.

This story is from the June 2020 edition of GQ India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June 2020 edition of GQ India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GQ INDIAView All
Finally, Women Are Breaking Up One of Luxury's Stuffiest Boys' Clubs
GQ India

Finally, Women Are Breaking Up One of Luxury's Stuffiest Boys' Clubs

Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner hosts a round table of leaders in the watch world to unpack the ascendant power of the female collector.

time-read
8 mins  |
February - March 2024
Can The Saudis Buy Soccerr?
GQ India

Can The Saudis Buy Soccerr?

Saudi Arabia is spending an unfathomable fortune to lure the biggest stars of global football (Ronaldo! Benzema! Neymar!) to its upstart league. So GQ ventured to the kingdom to discover what the gambit represents. Is this the future of the world's most popular sport? The vanguard of sportswashing? Or something way bigger?

time-read
10+ mins  |
February - March 2024
CRACKING THE PERO CODE
GQ India

CRACKING THE PERO CODE

Delhi-based label Péro is available in over 350 stores across the world. Shweta Shiware meets the reclusive founder and creative mastermind Aneeth Arora, arguably the Indian fashion industry's best storyteller.

time-read
10 mins  |
February - March 2024
Captain Mbappé
GQ India

Captain Mbappé

We met him as a teenage prodigy. Now, with his PSG teammates Messi and Neymar gone, and a new job as French national team captain, Kylian Mbappé is reckoning with the responsibilities and privileges that come with being the man.

time-read
9 mins  |
February - March 2024
The Full Ricky
GQ India

The Full Ricky

Twenty-five years after becoming one of the most staggeringly famous men on the planet, a wiser, more assured Ricky Martin is taking another run at being a star. While also being himself, this time.

time-read
10+ mins  |
February - March 2024
THE BOND
GQ India

THE BOND

What does it mean to be a parent in this day and age? In GQ's annual series dedicated to fatherhood, we take a peek at the intimate relationships that some of the coolest dads share with their kids.

time-read
5 mins  |
February - March 2024
THE RATIONAL ACTOR
GQ India

THE RATIONAL ACTOR

With a stream of critical and commercial successes under his belt, Vicky Kaushal is buoyant about what lies ahead in terms of work. Yet it is in his personal life that he has experienced the most transformation.

time-read
10 mins  |
February - March 2024
Standing TALL
GQ India

Standing TALL

Comedian and actor Vir Das speaks to GQ about winning an International Emmy for his Netflix special, codirecting his first movie, and the future of stand-up comedy in India.

time-read
7 mins  |
February - March 2024
Das Holistic
GQ India

Das Holistic

New York's desi rap star Heems's new album re-imagines the diasporic experience not as a site of endless ambivalence, but a place to be whole.

time-read
4 mins  |
February - March 2024
The Return of the Opulent '80s
GQ India

The Return of the Opulent '80s

The all-gold Piaget Polo, Hublot Classic Original, and Rolex GMT were kings during the '80s. Now they're coming back for their crown.

time-read
2 mins  |
February - March 2024