The genesis of Bilal Shaikh's journey towards becoming Emiway Bantai - arguably the most popular Indian independent hip-hop artiste who isn't signed to a label - lies in an incident that took place when he was in Class 10. This was about nine years ago. The Antop Hill resident hadn't been exposed to any rap music till then.

There was no hip-hop community in his area to speak of, like there was in the gullies of Dharavi or pockets of Goregaon. So, when a few peers sitting behind him in class started singing Eminem's Not Afraid, it was a completely new sound for him. So much so, that his innocent question - "Who's Eminem?" - was met with laughs of derision.