MC Square wins MTV Hustle 2.0, Badshah calls him next voice of rap in India

MC Square, real name Abhishek Bensla, was crowned the winner of reality talent show MTV Hustle 2.0 on Sunday night. Abhishek beat four other rappers in the heavily-contested rap-themed reality show. The rapper has been a fan favourite, counting the likes of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma among his sizable fan base. Also read: MTV Hustle 2.0’s MC Square says he was surprised to get praise in DM from Virat Kohli

The grand finale of the show was aired on MTV and streamed on Voot on Sunday night. Abhishek and the other four finalists–Tanishq Singh aka Paradox; Akshay Poojary aka Gravity; Shubham Pal aka Spectra; and Nihar Hodawadekar aka Nazz–set the stage ablaze. The show’s judge Badshah was joined by Ikka Singh and the squad bosses Dee MC, EPR, Dino James, and King for musical performances as well.

Talking about his victory, MC Square said, “I had a childhood dream of becoming a star, and now I can proudly tell my mother that her son is indeed one! Thanks to MTV Hustle 2.0, my dreams have turned into reality.” Judge Badshah reacted to MC Square’s win by saying that the competition “raised the bar for rap music and reality television, by bringing raw talent and professional grooming in one place. All our talented contestants have amazed me week-on-week with their storytelling and skill.” Praising Abhishek in particular, the popular rapper added, “Abhishek has undoubtedly proven to be the next rap voice that the Indian hip-hop community was looking for, and I couldn’t be happier for him!”

Billed as ‘India’s first ever rap reality show’, MTV Hustle’s latest season has been noted for its popularity among celebs, particularly those outside the world of music. Apart from Virat and Anushka Sharma, celebs like Gauahar Khan, Ishaan Khatter, Riteish Deshmukh, Nargis Fakhri, Tanmay Bhatt, and Chitrangda Singh also posted about their favourite contestants on Instagram and Twitter.