'Unforgettable' Rapper French Montana Is Making His Hyderabad Debut This Weekend; Details On The Date, Venue And Tickets

 

There are concerts where the headline itself does most of the explaining. French Montana coming to Hyderabad is one of those. The Moroccan-American rapper will headline the Hyderabad edition of Royal Stag BoomBox on August 22 at Gachibowli Stadium, bringing an international hip-hop act to a lineup that has otherwise been built around some of India's biggest names in contemporary music.

 

French Montana, born Karim Kharbouch, has spent more than a decade occupying that useful space between American hip-hop and global pop culture. His music has travelled particularly well because he understands the basic mathematics of a great rap record: you need a beat that makes people move, a hook that refuses to leave and, ideally, a song that people can recognise before they have worked out why they recognise it.

His catalogue includes global hits such as Unforgettable (his collaboration with artist Swae Lee), as well as tracks such as Pop That, No Stylist and All Day. Unforgettable turned Montana from a major name in hip-hop into something closer to a worldwide pop phenomenon. The song has the rare quality of making people who don't routinely listen to rap suddenly very interested in what happens next.

 

Singer Nikhita Gandhi is one of the most recognisable voices in contemporary Indian playback music. She has moved comfortably between Bollywood, regional cinema and independent music, and has worked across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and other languages. Her catalogue includes songs such as Qaafirana (Kedarnath), Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe (Stree) and Jugnu with Badshah. Her ability to move between polished pop, film music and more contemporary sounds makes her a natural fit for a concert built around musical crossover. In Hyderabad, she will have an audience that knows exactly what to do when the first familiar chorus arrives: sing it louder than the person on stage.

For a Hyderabad show, having LV Revanth on the bill makes particular sense. The singer, who rose to national attention after winning Indian Idol, has built a substantial career in Telugu cinema as a playback singer. His powerful vocal style has made him a familiar presence in the South Indian music landscape, with songs spanning film soundtracks and live performances.

 

Then there is DJ Sahil Gulati, whose job, presumably, is to make sure nobody spends too much time wondering what happens between the artists. Gulati has become a familiar name on India's live music circuit, known for high-energy DJ sets that move between Bollywood, commercial hits, hip-hop and electronic sounds. At an event that is deliberately built around several genres, his set can provide the connective tissue between the live performances.

 

The most interesting thing about this Hyderabad edition of Royal Stag BoomBox, however, is not simply that French Montana is on the bill. It is that an international hip-hop artist is headlining the event for the first time. Previous editions have featured artists including Badshah, Armaan Malik, Divine, Neeti Mohan, Rashmeet Kaur, Sreerama Chandra and Dino James. Season 4 also included DJ Sahil Gulati and Kolkata rock band Fossils, among others.

On the bill are gaming creator Payal Dhare in a special gaming face-off, alongside food stalls, art installations, gaming zones, local band performances and other interactive experiences. But the real reason to turn up is the music. Tickets start at ₹799 and are available through the District app.