Altaf Shaikh AKA MC ALTAF, is a 25-year-old rapper from Bombay’s biggest slum, Dharavi. He’s been on a mission ever since he started writing raps at the age of 16, and has been steadily making his name in the explosive Indian Hip Hop game. Coming from the gully, ALTAF has immediate street cred because he knows what he’s rhyming about and the realness drips from his pen. His influences are varied, but his Bronx-inspired no-nonsense approach to writing and music is clear to see.

ALTAF’s big break came in 2019 when he was featured in the Bollywood film about rapper DIVINE’s life, Gully Boy. He was so real that he was called on to coach mega-star Ranveer Singh on how to speak Bambaiya slang to make his character more authentic. That led to him getting signed to DIVINE’s Gully Gang label, and he’s held his own with big collaborations with D’Evil, Ranveer Singh, 7 Bantaiz, Shah Rule, and of course, DIVINE himself. LiFTED has been keeping an eye on ALTAF for a while now, and we recently got a chance to visit the Gully Gang HQ in Mumbai and chop it up with him.

It still feels like day one to me. I am still as hungry as I ever was. I wait for the next drop. I wait for the next show with the same hunger as before. It wasn’t a hard choice for me to remain authentic; this is the only way I know.

When I started rapping I was only 16 and now I am 25. When I was just 18, I got the opportunity to work in a Bollywood film. And I am super grateful.

When I was initially given an audition for Gully Boy, they weren’t getting back to me for the longest time and I was broken. But I kept at it and I kept creating music. That’s when I met Vivek Rajagopalan, who I revere, and he was creating a fusion of classical Taal and Hip Hop music. I started taking classes from him and one day I got a call that they were working on a song and needed a Hindi verse. I obviously rushed in and gave my verse. Little did I know the song was for the film Gully Boy. I ended up recording in front of Zoya Akhtar and she liked it so much that she called me for the film as one of the core members.

To be honest, I am a fan of Bollywood, I grew up consuming it. But it was never my dream to be a part of that industry. I got the opportunity by chance, and I went for it. And I am happy to work more if it happens, as I consider it iconic and I would love to create music for Bollywood films – in my own way of course. I would like to represent real Hip Hop in Bollywood and not water down my art for the films. I have even turned down offers from Bollywood wherein there was a lyricist who would write my part for me – that is a complete no-no for me as a pure rapper.

DIVINE was probably one of the biggest influences that actually made me pick up the pen along with Dopeadelicz, Mumbai’s Finest, 7 Bantaiz. Internationally, it was Nas and 50 Cent.

I really think it's yet to come. Whatever I have experienced till now I feel I truly deserved it. I have walked to label offices, literally door to door, to ask them to fund my music. I honestly think I am yet to get my due and I am very hungry for it. I am just grateful for each and every fan I have. I see them showing me so much love in the comments and even arguing for me, it is an incredible feeling.

Initially, there was pushback from my dad about being a Muslim and doing Rap music, because certain sections of our community believe that music is ‘haraam’ [prohibited in English]. But when he heard my verse in ‘India Cypher’ where I said “Mili mujhe tarakki jab baatein likha sadak ki” [I got my blessings when I wrote stories of the streets], this one bar opened my dad’s eyes to this culture and he started supporting it. In terms of representing my roots, the song I always go back to is ‘Humdard.’ All I want to do is guide Muslim youth and be honest. In general, I want to help them go away from doing ‘haraam’ and towards the good things in life. I have mentioned this numerous times in my music. I am a spiritually inclined person and my option A, B, or C when it comes down to it, is always God. I read namaaz regularly and I write music, too. I believe that Allah has bestowed upon me this gift of rapping and it is his will that I am a rapper.

Hip Hop is a powerful force that brings everyone together. If a kid who didn’t have even 10 bucks and was living in a house with a leaking roof can shift his family to a proper house and earn in lakhs of rupees can do it through Hip Hop, then anybody can. In Gully Gang, as rightly pointed out, there are artists and creatives from all cultures. I recently attended a Sikh wedding at Riar Saab’s house and it was all love. We are all together, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian. DIVINE and D’Evil are like big brothers to me and Sammohit and Riar Saab are my brothers, too.

I think even if I consider the world, I still think Indian music is on its way to the top. And if I could work with one global star, it has to be Karan Aujla. He is going to rule the charts globally. We will soon be saying his name in the same breath as Drake. Another artist would be Nas because he is a true living legend. I would also like to work with Shubh, another Punjabi artist who is at the top of the game.

There is a lot of music and a lot of new sounds. My last album had the same thing, it was a versatile showcase of sounds and emotions. And that is how 2025 is going to be, too. Next up – I have an EP coming, I can’t reveal the name right now but there are a lot of fire collabs, all of them very unique. 2025 is all about dropping a large volume of music.