24 December,2025 10:43 AM IST | Mumbai | Devashish Kamble
Rapper Divine in the music video for You and I. PICS COURTESY/YOUTUBE
If you had to bring AR Rahman, RD Burman and the Nightingale of Goa Lorna Cordeiro together on a hip-hop album, you'd need some kind of divine intervention. Vivian Fernandes aka Divine does it quite effortlessly on his fifth studio album Walking On Water.
The rapper in Triple OG, a dance-y track from the new studio album
On the back of music production by long-time collaborators Karan Kanchan and Phenom among others, the 16-track album plays out as an ode to the rapper's Goan roots, Mumbaikar soul, and global reach.
One moment that stood out from the launch event on December 18 was Divine's shoutout to his friends from the East Indian community. The rapper is a Goan at heart but grew up around the EI community in JB Nagar, Andheri.
It's great to see he still remembers his day-ones. As a longtime fan, it's great to see an album with minimal featured artists; it shows you he's still got it in him. Tracks like Drama got me emotional, while Homicide reminded me of the old Divine who had fire in his belly and aggression on the tip of his tongue.
I started my initiative Street Hip Hop, which hosts open-to-all cyphers across Mumbai after listening to Divine rap in the early 2010s. Divine is back in business, but you really expect something exceptional from a studio album. A few songs like Saucy and Tequila Dance featuring Hanumankind will definitely blow up soon, but younger rappers seem to agree that there could have been more experimentation beyond two or three genres. We wish he dabbled in genres like Drill and Old School Grime - he has the voice for it. Right now, we have our eyes on the upcoming music videos.
MC Altaf (below) from Divine's rap crew Gully Gang, takes us behind the scenes of ABCD from the new album.
We [the crew] often meet at Vivian bhai's home studio in Bandra to catch up and share ideas. The atmosphere is such that artistes walk in and out of the studio where they feel completely at home. One of those days, he played me a new catchy verse he had written. As we sat and listened, I wrote a few lines on my phone's notes app and he put me on the mic. Next, we got rapper Sammohit from the crew into the studio. We would take turns writing and recording on the go. That's how ABCD naturally came into being.
It is a special track because it marks a reunion of the Gully Gang boys after almost three years. We would often discuss how a collaborative, authentic track like this was long overdue. I'm glad it has struck a chord with listeners.
The album features nods to Lorna Cordeiro. PICS COURTESY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, INSTAGRAM
1) Homicide: Reminds me of the old Divine
2) Drama: It was the last in line to be produced, but it cuts deep with its emotional undertones
3) Jungle Juice: A fresh relook at the rapper's Goan roots packaged in a Detroit-inspired beat
Keep an ear out for these cool Easter Eggs in the new album
AR Rahman
>> Is that Lorna? The track Jungle Juice opens with Goa's music icon, Lorna Cordeiro singing her Konkani hit Urak. At the launch event on December 18, the rapper admitted that getting Lorna on a track has been a longtime dream
>> Aarey calling: Coinciding with the ongoing leopard menace in the city and its suburbs, Divine recalls his escapades in Aarey Colony in the same track. The rapper talks of tales of leopards while cruising with his gang
>> Sounds like Sholay: RD Burman's 1975 hit Mehbooba Mehbooba from Sholay lays the background to track 9, You & I
>> Rahman tribute: AR Rahman's popular tune Kehna Hi Kya from Bombay (1990) gets a nod from the rapper in Boom (Bonus)
