As one of the few faces that represent South-Asian/Indian Hip Hop, Los Angeles-based singer-producer Mayurath Sinh, aka ILLAH, knows he stands out in the crowd. On his new Thump Records single, “Popular”, his unique style and smooth flow give listeners the real reason why this talented young musician is one step ahead.
“The song has a satirical, but serious undertone and talks about some of the issues people deal with, such as being bullied in school and mental health,” says ILLAH. “It’s about not wanting to be popular and believing in what your dream is.”
The song was produced by celebrity West Coast producer Viper Beats, who has worked with big names such as Ralfy The Plug, OTM, Kalan,FrFr, Baby Stone Gorillas, Yhung T.O. and many more. Other producers on the track are Xanxan and Vangala who’s credits include Sada Baby and Stupid Young.
On the surface, it’s easy to sum up ILLAH as a musician who makes hit records out of his $100 bedroom studio, but there’s much more to his story. Born in New Delhi, India on February 1, 1997, Sinh taught himself how to engineer by recording other musicians. He enrolled at Musicians Institute in LA in 2015 to pursue audio engineering and later completed his bachelors in Entertainment Business.
From his days in electro/metalcore band IAFWAY and Rabbit Is Rich in New Delhi to jamming riffs for L.A. band SHUN and now on the come-up as a solo artist, ILLAH has worked hard to establish his creds. Without any label backing; he built up his following to 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify with a million plays and began attracting attention from labels and managers throughout the industry.
In addition to writing his own music, ILLAH has credits with producer Azide for his work on rap group D-12’s member Bizarre and Wiz Khalifa’s producer Sledgren. Even with these stellar endorsements, ILLAH says the Indian stereotype still weighs heavy out in American music producer circles.
