Seedhe Maut

2015-2017: Formation, 2 Ka Pahada and signing to Azadi Records

The two met at Spit Dope Inc., a Delhi underground battle rap league organized by MC Kode and Encore ABJ at Deer Park, Hauz Khas Village,^[1][4][5] where Calm delivered a freestyle that would capture the latter's attention. After competing in various rap battles and cyphers together, the duo would go on to release "Seedhe Maut Anthem", their first song together as a duo, and the lead single for their debut project, 2 Ka Pahada, entirely produced by veteran producer Sez on the Beat.^[6] In 2017, they signed to the independent music label Azadi Records, alongside Prabh Deep, a fellow member of Spit Dope.

2018-2020: Debut album and rise to fame

Calm, who previously rapped in English, switched his language to Hindi, when they collaborated with Prabh Deep on the track "Class Sikh Maut Vol.2", which was a sequel to the track "Classsikh Maut", featured on 2 Ka Pahada.^[1]

In August 2018, the duo released the track "Shaktimaan", the lead single for their debut album, Bayaan, accompanied by a music video.^[7] This was followed by the release of an introduction track, "Kranti", which was also the supposed title of their debut album, before it was changed to Bayaan. Bayaan, produced by Sez on the Beat, was released on December 28, 2018, to critical acclaim.^[8][9]

This was followed by various successful single releases and collaborations by the duo, like "101", "Seedhe Maut Interlude", "MMM/Yaad", Saans Le", with many tracks produced by Calm and longtime collaborator and producer Sez on the Beat.^[10] Seedhe Maut also collaborated with singer Ritviz on the track "Chalo Chalein" for the Bacardi Sessions in 2019, which received rave reviews. In an interview with The Bridge Chronicle, they even teased a collaboration album with the singer, but it never saw the light of day and was eventually scrapped.^[11][12] They also released the politically conscious anthem, "Scalp Dem" with Delhi Sultanate in 2019, which was well-received for its outspoken commentary on Islamophobia, casteism, hate crime, and mob lynchings, but also received widespread backlash, which resulted in the deletion of the song from streaming services.^[13]

2021-2024: Further successes, Lunch Break and departure from Azadi Records

After the release of their debut mixtape न in 2021,^[14] which featured the commercially successful "Nanchaku" with MC Stan, the duo released their sophomore album Nayaab^[15][16] in 2022, which mirrored the success of their previous album. The album had been in the works for about two years, and was released to critical acclaim. The album's release was accompanied by an Nayaab.World NFT collection.

The duo was selected for the YouTube 2021 Class of Foundry and performed at the YouTube Fanfest India in 2022 and 2024.^[17][18][19]

They shifted to a more mainstream sound through their star-studded mixtape Lunch Break in 2023. The mixtape featured appearances from fellow hip-hop artists like KRSNA, Faris Shafi, Rawal, Yungsta, Sonnyjim, Badshah, Rebel 7, Raga among others.^[20] The songs "Khatta Flow", "11K", "Asal G" and "Luka Chuppi" achieved significant media coverage. The duo also embarked on The Lunch Break Tour in March 2024, performing in cities such as Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chandigarh, among others. They also teased their upcoming third studio album, Kavi Kehna Chahte Hain.^[21][22][23]

After releasing Lunch Break, they departed from Azadi Records, and founded their own label, DL91 Era in 2023. Their following EPs Shakti and Kshama, were released through DL91 Era in 2024. Shakti and Kshama were 2-part EPs that were inspired by legendary Indian poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar's poem Shakti Aur Kshama.^[24]

In the same year, they also collaborated with Jameson Irish Whiskey for their Distilled Sounds Program alongside Shekhinah, which featured global music artists like Anderson .Paak, Kaiit among others.^[25] The two were also seen as guest judges on the shows, India's Got Latent and MTV Hustle in 2024.

In the same year in June, they engaged in a well-publicised beef with Kashmiri hip-hop duo SOS, their former labelmates at Azadi Records, after trading subliminal disses against each other for the last few years. The duo released a part 2-part diss track, "TT/Shutdown" in response to the latter's "Blackball".^[26][27] They further followed with "Kaanch Ke Ghar", which was the last track from their side in the beef, even though SOS responded with two more diss tracks.^[28][29]

2025-present: DL91 FM and SMX Tour

They released their first compilation album, DL91 FM, through their newly founded label, DL91 Era, in 2025, featuring appearances from various DL91 artists, namely, Lil Bhavi, Ab-17, OG Lucifer, GhAatak, Bhaskar as well as the comedian Samay Raina. Their first album to not feature production from Sez on the Beat, all the tracks were instead produced by the label's signee, Hurricane.^[30][31]

In September 2025, they announced a nationwide 15-city tour, The SMX India Tour, which started from November 1 and continued till December 27, to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of their venture into music.^[32][33] In January 2026, they announced The SMX Global Tour, spanning 10 countries, as a part of which they will be performing in cities like Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Dublin, Manchester, London, New York, Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles, among others, from April 2026 to June 2026.^[34] In the same month, Calm was featured on the song "Stadium Coupe", alongside American rapper Smino. The song was produced by Pakistani producer Umair.^[35]

Albums, mixtapes and EPs

Singles and collaborations