Badshah (rapper)

2006-2012: Career beginnings, Soda Whiskey and Mafia Mundeer

Badshah started his career in the music industry with the name "Cool Equal", but then changed his name to Badshah on the Indian rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh's advice as according to Badshah, Singh thought that "he lived like a 'Badshah' (transl. king) i.e. he would wake up or call whenever he wanted to and according to his own liking".^[13][14][15] In his 2024 interview with The Lallantop, Badshah claims initially giving Singh 2 lakh rupees, followed by an additional 3 lakh rupees for doing the music production for his debut English-language album and subsequently, 6 lakh rupees for fulfilling the budget for the music video of the song "Get Up Jawani", which was shot in 2009. The track became a part of Singh's debut album International Villager which launched in November 2011, with the release of its music video in April 2012.

In late 2011-early 2012, he split from Mafia Mundeer and Singh due to credit-related problems. In an earlier interview with Raaj Jones in 2015, Badshah claims to have co-written many tracks with Singh, including "Brown Rang", the rap segment for "Angreji Beat" and also, for Singh & Raj Brar's 2008 track, "Chandigarh De Nazareyan Ne Patteya". Badshah claims to have written/co-written almost all tracks for Singh, till the latter's album International Villager.^[16] Badshah reiterated his claim in the interview with The Lallantop to have written the track "Brown Rang" and the rap segment for the track "Angreji Beat" for Singh, which the latter denied. Singh, in an interview with the same media outlet, has denied that Badshah was ever a part of "Mafia Mundeer" and instead states that Badshah was just a client for him.^[17]

2012-2020: Mainstream breakout, Original Never Ends and acting debut

He broke into the mainstream after his 2012 single, "Saturday Saturday", was featured in the soundtrack of the 2014 movie, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.^[14][18][19]

His track "Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai" alongside Aastha Gill and Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor in the music video was featured in the 2014 Disney film, Khoobsurat. The track became a blockbuster and has since crossed one billion views on YouTube.^[20] In 2015, he featured on the track, "Wakhra Swag" alongside Navv Inder, which also became a commercial hit.^[21]

Badshah released his debut album, O.N.E. (Original Never Ends), on August 17, 2018, preceded by the release of two lead singles "Mercy" and "Heartless", the former of which crossed 21 million views on YouTube in a week.^[22][23][24]

His 2019 song "Paagal" reached 74.8 million views on YouTube within 24 hours which would have set the record for the most-viewed video in 24 hours on YouTube.^[25] Badshah's label, Sony Music, confirmed that they had used the help of advertisements from Google AdSense to promote the song.^[26][27] An explanation from YouTube not acknowledging the record was because Badshah's record label Sony Music India had purchased advertisements from Google and YouTube that embedded the video or directed fans to it in some way, a common practice in the global music industry.^[28]

He made his acting debut in August 2019 in the movie, Khandaani Shafakhana.^[29]

2020-2023: The Power of Dreams of a Kid and Retropanda - Part 1 EP

On 7 August 2020, the rapper released an alternative hip-hop album, The Power of Dreams of a Kid, which had eight tracks and included features from various artists such as Lisa Mishra, Sikander Kahlon, Fotty Seven, Bali, and music producer Andy Grewal. According to Badshah, the album dealt with the themes of his musical journey. The mixing and mastering of the album was handled by Aditya Dev.^[30][31]

His song "Genda Phool" was released by Sony Music India in 2020. It sampled a Bengali folk song "Boro Loker Biti Lo". Ratan Kahar, a Bengali artist, claimed to be the original writer and composer of the folk song.^[32] Though Badshah later released a statement saying that it was a traditional Baul folk song which was not copyrighted, since folk music does not fall under copyright protections and is thus in the public domain.^[33]

Badshah collaborated with Aastha Gill for the song "Pani Pani". The music video featured him alongside Jacqueline Fernandez.^[34] He further released the Bhojpuri version of the song, and rapped in the Bhojpuri language, alongside Khesari Lal Yadav. The Bhojpuri version got more than one million views in less than an hour and became the first Bhojpuri song to do so.^[35]

Badshah released a four-track EP, Retropanda - Part 1, on 14 March 2022. The EP featured the track "Jugnu" featuring Nikhita Gandhi, which has amassed over 200 million streams on Spotify.^[36]

2023-present: 3:00 AM Sessions and Ek Tha Raja albums

In 2023, Badshah released his third studio album, 3:00 AM Sessions, which featured Karan Aujla on the first track. According to Badshah, the project represented "his unfiltered and vulnerable side".^[37]

A year later, he released his fourth studio album, Ek Tha Raja on 18 March 2024, through Universal Music Group. It features several artists including Divine, Raftaar, Karan Aujla, Ikka, Dino James, Nora Fatehi, Raga, Seedhe Maut, Aastha Gill, Arijit Singh, MC Stan, KR$NA and Nikhita Gandhi.^[38][39] He also announced the Paagal World Tour 2024.^[38][40]

In 2025, Badshah announced his EP Fitoor, which was branded as his first independent project. All the songs were released as singles before being released together as an EP on August 16, 2025. The project was his first one to include no features.^[41] The track "Galiyon Ke Ghalib" attracted attention for its incisive lyricism and Badshah debuting as a dancer in the music video.^[42]

In December 2025, Maybach Icons of Luxury announced a limited-edition eyewear collaboration with Badshah, making him the brand's first South Asian creative partner. The capsule includes five optical and sunglass models co-designed by Badshah: rimless “The Artist III” frames with curved titanium, sound-wave-inspired temples (in Electric Yellow and Deep Blue), and “The King III” aviators in Camouflage, Snow Camouflage, and Tigers of India motifs. A special King III version is set with 90 diamonds and limited to five units. The collection was released via Eternity Lifestyles in India and Maybach Eyewear retailers worldwide, with prices starting at US$2,850.^[43]

Badshah participated in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in February 2026.^[44]

Albums and EPs

Bollywood music

As producer

Film

Television