Ubaid Bhat
In the bustling lanes of Anantnag, where the aroma of roadside kahwa mingles with the sound of life moving at its own unpredictable pace, a young man stands at a rare crossroads. By day, he is a journalist — chasing leads, uncovering truths, and reporting with an unflinching voice. By night, he transforms into a rapper — turning his stories into rhymes, his experiences into beats, and his truths into lyrical fire. His name is Ubaid Bhat, and for him, there is no separation between the pen and the mic; both are weapons, both are lifelines.
Ubaid doesn’t believe in wearing a mask for the stage. He performs under his real name, embracing authenticity in a world obsessed with alter egos. The name that signs investigative reports for Morning Kashmir is the same one that echoes through underground hip-hop circles, blasting from speakers in crowded tea shops and dimly lit studios. He isn’t chasing fame — he’s building a legacy rooted in truth, resilience, and the art of saying what others are too afraid to speak.
In a time when rap is often reduced to catchy hooks and marketable beats, Ubaid stands apart. His verses aren’t crafted to please algorithms; they’re shaped to challenge minds. They carry the weight of lived experiences — the unrest of his homeland, the struggles of the common man, and the emotions that lie hidden beneath everyday smiles. He doesn’t just rhyme; he reports, he narrates, he makes you feel. Every track is a news bulletin in disguise, except this bulletin can’t be censored, muted, or watered down.
This dual life — of journalist and rapper — isn’t an accident. It’s a deliberate act of defiance against the boundaries society tries to impose. Journalism gave him the facts; rap gave him the freedom to tell those facts in a way that hits the heart before the mind. Together, they form his identity: a truth-teller who can make you nod your head while questioning the world around you.
Early Life & Roots – Born Where Stories Begin
Ubaid Bhat’s story begins in Anantnag, a town that knows the taste of both beauty and struggle. Growing up here meant being surrounded by stories — some whispered in the safety of home, others shouted in the streets. It was a place where every wall, every market, every winding alley had something to say. For a curious mind like Ubaid’s, silence was never an option. He listened, absorbed, and began storing away the narratives that would later define his work.
Childhood in Anantnag wasn’t just about school and routine. It was about learning the unspoken rules of the street, understanding how quickly peace could turn to chaos, and finding small joys in the middle of uncertainty. Music wasn’t the first thing that caught his attention — it was storytelling. Whether it was the old man at the corner shop sharing tales from decades ago, or his own family recounting events of the past, Ubaid was drawn to the rhythm of words before he ever discovered the rhythm of beats.
School life introduced him to poetry and literature. The way words could be woven to create emotion fascinated him. He wrote his first lines not as rap, but as simple poems — verses scribbled in the back pages of school notebooks, capturing small slices of life. What he didn’t know then was that these early attempts were laying the foundation for his rap career.
As a teenager, Ubaid started to see music as more than just entertainment. He was exposed to both international rap icons and regional folk sounds. The raw storytelling of artists like Tupac and Nas resonated deeply, while Kashmiri folk songs connected him to his cultural roots. He realized that the power of music lay in its ability to carry truth without needing permission — a lesson that would later become central to his work.
But there was also a deeper undercurrent shaping him: the environment of his hometown. The beauty of the mountains stood side-by-side with the reality of political tension. He saw stories go untold, voices go unheard. That was when the seed was planted — if the mainstream ignored certain truths, he would find his own way to tell them.
