After Divine and Naezy, a 16-year-old gully rapper is the new sensation on social media. Meet Saniya Mistri Qaiyummuddin from the slums of Govandi area in Mumbai whose rap videos have spread like wildfire. In a very short time, she has already become famous as Gully Girl as her rap highlights the problems of the people living in poverty-stricken conditions and leading a difficult life in slums.
The road to Gully Girl was however not a smooth one for her. Saniya, whose father is a rickshaw driver, did not even have a smartphone when she recorded her first video. She took the help of her friends and younger brother to shoot and edit the videos. Saniya now owns a YouTube channel ‘Saniya MQ’ and has over 3000 subscribers and she also has decent Instagram following too.
Some three years back, Saniya developed interest in writing and gradually started to pen her emotions. Finding her lyrics up-to-the-mark, some of her friends encouraged her to start doing rap. And that’s how her journey began.
Saniya said that initially people in her slums didn’t know what a rap was and they found difficulty in accepting her art form. She had to explain people about what rap was and that there is nothing wrong in rapping.
She eventually managed to garner support from the people and her family has also encouraged her to grow as a mature artist.
Video Editor: Partha Narayan Das