Hip Hop Spread Across The Atlas | Part One: The Marol Art Tapes

India is currently the fastest-growing music market on the planet, and at the heart of this explosion is Hip Hop. But before the genre topped the charts, it thrived in the concrete shadows of Mumbai and the burgeoning streets of Chandigarh.

"Hip Hop Spread Across The Atlas" is a cinematic time capsule that documents the rise of the culture through the lens of its founders. Shot in an intimate, POV style by filmmaker Nivie Singh (dj5rivers), this two-part series bypasses the mainstream narrative to deliver a pure, community-sourced history.

We go on the ground with the infamous collectives: 59 Assembly in Mumbai's Marol Art Village and the Lehar Movement in Chandigarh, to witness a scene that feels like a spiritual echo of the 1990s Bronx, yet is uniquely, authentically Indian.

Translated for a global audiences, this short documentary is an invitation to see where the next wave of global Hip Hop is really being built. It’s a story for anyone who knows that the culture is bigger than borders.

  • Nivie Singh Dhami
    Director
  • Nivie Singh Dhami
    Producer
  • Ghatak
    Key Cast
  • Riddon
    Key Cast
  • Rashid
    Key Cast
  • CrackY
    Key Cast
  • Afzul
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Archive, Short Film
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    6,000 CAD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Hindi, Panjabi, Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Pineapple Express Media
    Distributor
    Country: Canada
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Nivie Singh Dhami

dj5rivers (Nivie Singh) is an award-nominated filmmaker and producer based in Tkaronto, displaced from Panjab. Their documentary practice centres storytelling that preserves marginalized histories through culturally responsive production frameworks.

As producer/director of docuseries Issa Scotian Ting, dj5rivers interviewed over 70 African Nova Scotian Hip Hop pioneers, documenting the evolution of Hip Hop through community. Currently in post-production, the project prioritizes cultural integrity with subjects maintaining editorial input—preserving generations of Black musical heritage while centering voices too often pushed to margins.

Through co-founded Pineapple Express Media (PEMedia) , they develop film projects rooted in relational accountability: building trust, ceding editorial control, and ensuring stories serve community needs rather than extracting for external benefit.

dj5rivers co-founded SABCO ("All of Us") , amplifying South Asian voices across film, music, and comedy, creating diaspora-to-diaspora pipelines connecting creators with screen opportunities. They serve on the Advisory Board for the Transgender Media Portal, advising on strategies to centre trans and non-binary storytellers.

With over a decade of creative leadership across music and screen sectors, their work explores diaspora experience, queer and trans joy, and the intersection of tradition and innovation—always centering the stories that deserve to be told.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I set out to document the cyphers at 59 Assembly in Mumbai and the Lehar Movement in Chandigarh, I knew I couldn't tell their story without telling that story. The story of how a culture born of oppression, resilience, and block parties in the Bronx became the survival tool for youth half a world away.

Shooting this in a raw, on-the-ground style was intentional. I wanted the viewer to feel the dust of the Marol Art Village, to feel the humidity of the circle. I wanted to capture the moment where an Indian emcee spitting in their mother tongue locks eyes with another dancer, and they both understand that they are channeling something bigger than themselves. They are channeling the ghosts of the 90s, of the 80s, of the pioneers.

India is now the fastest-growing music market in the world, and Hip Hop is driving it. But as we go global, we must never forget the local pain that birthed the art form. "Hip Hop Spread across the atlas" is my statement that connection is not appropriation; it is acknowledgment. It is a love letter to the Black culture that gave us the vocabulary to speak our truth, and a documentation of how we, in India, are now writing our own verse. This is for the community, by the community, with respect at the core.