KR$NA has always been in the mix of the best Rap artists in India. He’s not new to this. He’s also always been outward-looking, having previously featured on joints with US rappers Hi-Rez, Royce Da 5’9”, Joell Ortiz, Bizzy Bone, Tech N9ne, and Twista. But he made a power move in Asia this past year by jumping into the frothy Japanese scene and working with the queen, Awich. He was on her genre-defining smash ‘Asian State of Mind’ with cross-border luminaries Jay Park, MaSiWei, and VannDa, where he dropped one of the illest lines of the year, ‘Shimmy shimmy yay shimmy ya, I don’t know you, you ain’t familiar’.

That record is the first in the region that reps India [and Japan, Korea, China, and Cambodia] on a level footing with the rest of Asia. It’s big, and KR$NA kicked that door down. His signing with Mass Appeal was big news this past Spring, coinciding with Rap god Nas’ first trip to India. His mixtape Yours Truly dropped to great fanfare, and he’s right where he should be at the top of the game.