Zee5 and Zee Music Company launch Malayalam hip-hop series

MUMBAI: Kerala’s underground scene is getting ready to come up for air and onto the global stage. Malayalam Zee5 has partnered with Zee Music Company to launch Zee5 Indie Kerala Underground, a hip-hop reality series built around the state’s street culture, slang and emerging sound.

Streaming exclusively on Malayalam Zee5, the series brings together 10 emerging Malayalam rap talents, giving them a platform that connects grassroots hip-hop with major-label music distribution.

The collaboration goes beyond the show itself. All original tracks, cyphers and standalone singles created during the series will be released worldwide under the Zee Music Company label, putting music born in Kerala’s local hip-hop scene on mainstream streaming platforms.

The artists will be mentored by prominent names from Kerala’s hip-hop circuit Dabzee, MC Couper, Imbachi and Parimal Shais while Aathira Rajeev hosts the series.

The format taps into a growing regional music culture where language is as much part of the sound as the beat. The show aims to capture Kerala’s street expressions, regional slang and new-age musical identity while giving emerging artists a route from performance to professional music distribution.

Sujal Parekh, CBO, Zee Music Company, said the partnership would allow Malayalam rap and its regional storytelling to reach listeners beyond traditional geographical boundaries.

Lloyd C Xavier, Business Head – Tamil, Telugu & Malayalam, said bringing Zee Music Company into the project would help original tracks created for the series move beyond the episodes and into the wider music ecosystem.

The series is now streaming exclusively on Malayalam Zee5, while its music is available through the Zee Music Company YouTube channel and digital streaming platforms.

For Kerala’s young rappers, then, the underground may still be the starting point but the distribution is decidedly mainstream.