Fire & Fury

Hip-hop artist Garv Taneja, better known as Chaar Diwaari, arrives on the scene with his IDGAF attitude and radical authenticity.

- BHANUJ KAPPAL

“I've lived like a con man in the art world,” says Garv Taneja, casually swirling the cup of iced coffee in his hand. It's a great quotable, the sort of dialogue that could have escaped from the pages of a Charles Bukowski novel. I search his face for a hint of a wink or a self-aware smirk—any acknowledgement at all that this is part of the act, him performing the existentialist pop-star persona for a gullible journalist.

BUT THE 23-YEAR-OLD rapper, singer, producer and film-maker, better known as Chaar Diwaari, is entirely sincere. He's not playing to the gallery, just delivering a blunt assessment of how he's managed to slip past the music industry's gatekeepers, sneaking his unique brand of shape-shifting avant-pop into the mainstream. “I don’t know how to do anything properly,” he says. “But there are things I can do that nobody else can.”

Taneja has rapidly established himself as one of Indian pop music’s most exciting and visionary auteurs. He’s landed cosigns from veteran stars like Yo Yo Honey Singh and Raftaar, signed a deal with the Indian imprint of iconic hip-hop label Def Jam, and built a fanbase of dedicated stans who analyse his songs and music videos with the fervour of medieval theologians studying the Bible.

Earlier this year, he released his second EP, Parvana, a genre-defying amalgamation of melodic Hindi pop, hyperpop, rap, indie-pop and experimental electronica that has become an unlikely commercial success. The EP reached #20 on Apple Music India’s top albums chart, and lead single “Iss Tarah”, featuring the inimitable Sonu Nigam, has become a viral hit, racking up millions of views on YouTube and taking over Gen Z Insta feeds.