In the world of hip-hop tours, you usually need a label’s blessing, a sponsor’s logo, and a stage big enough to impress the Instagram algorithm. Smoke chose a different route. The Delhi-born rapper just wrapped Where Is Smoke?, a six-city DIY tour through India’s underground with no budget, no industry machinery, just pure grit and the kind of fan loyalty you can’t manufacture. From Delhi to Dehradun, Ahmedabad to Indore, Mumbai to Jaipur, every stop took place in whatever space was available — bookshops, parks, small basements, and unused rooms. “I never imagined people outside my city would be screaming my songs back at me, showing up in the rain and in basketball courts just to see me live,” Smoke says with sheer enthusiasm. “From packed indoor venues to open basketball courts and people standing in pouring rain, the dedication I’ve seen from fans across India has been unreal,” he adds. If the community showed up, the show went on.
For Smoke, the tour was more than a series of performances. It was both a Thank you to long-time listeners and a rejection of industry gatekeeping. After years of being told to “wait his turn,” he decided to move ahead on his own terms. “I’ve always believed hip-hop is about connection, but I didn’t realise the depth of that until this tour,” he says. Across the six cities, fans were given access to exclusive unreleased tracks, and each performance became a space for direct connection between the artist and the audience.
Smoke’s career so far has included collaborations with artists such as Sez on the Beat, Sikander Kahlon, Encore ABJ, and Ahmer. His 2022 debut album VENI VIDI VICI crossed 1 million streams across platforms, followed by releases including BAGGAGE CLAIM (with Qaab), He Raps Like, and the EP Khel-Kood. He also featured on JioCinema’s hip-hop web series Khalbali Records.
The Where Is Smoke? tour echoed what hip-hop has stood for since its earliest days: using creativity to reclaim space, amplify unheard voices, and build community against the odds. And for those who believe in the culture, it signals that movements like this are only the beginning. A documentary on the tour has been released, capturing the performances, the cities, and the moments that proved hip-hop’s heartbeat is alive and well.
