Altaf Shaikh – popularly known as MC Stan – is perhaps the biggest name in Indian Hip-Hop right now. Born on 30th August 1999 in Pune Maharashtra, Stan has one of the most loyal fanbase in India and the young rapper has established his influential stature through a series of hit singles, albums and compilations within just five years.
MC Stan started his career with ‘Wata’ in August 2018. While the single went unnoticed by Hip-Hop listeners at large, it went viral amidst Stan’s neighbourhood in Pune and swiftly became the sound of modern rap from the streets. Stan followed it up with ‘Khuja Mat’ which began to do massive rounds on social media. For some, Stan was the new face of Indian rap and a cultural phenom. However, majority of Indian rap listeners misunderstood Stan’s references from the west as appropriation and overdone imitation. Stan continued to experiment and twist the genre at his own will on ‘Khajwe Vichaar’ and ‘Yede Ki Chadar’.
Stan’s biggest break arrived with ‘Astagfirullah’. The hard-hitting self-reflective track captured Stan’s immense talent and authentic manifestation of street rap. Caught amidst the infamous beef between Kalamkaar’s bossman Raftaar and Emiwa Bantai, Stan used the popularity to let people know that he must be taken seriously as a rapper. Rest is history.
For Stan, 2020 turned out to be the defining year in his career. The world was shocked and in awe after the release of ‘Dil Pe Mat Le’. ‘Hosh Mei Aa’, ‘Ek Din Pyar’, ‘307’, ‘Numberkari’ and ‘Amin’ furthered Stan’s cause and turned him to the new-age rockstar of rap. Stan has released highly successful top-selling albums ‘Tadipaar’ and ‘Insaan; ever since.
Owing much to his hard-hitting rap music, a fearless personality and appearance in India’s biggest reality TV Show Bigg Boss, Stan is known to a massive audience across India. He is also one of the very few independent artists to blow up by releasing self-produced and penned rap records. Some of his biggest tracks include ‘Basti Ka Hasti’, ‘Astagfirullah’, ‘Ek Din Pyaar’, ‘Shana Bann’, ‘Hosh Mei Aa’ and ‘Broke Is A Joke’.
