Shah the rapper from Toronto is a Desi trap artist best known for his songs Just Text, Telemundo and Ratata, which blogs named the best independently released song of 2023. Shah is also known for perennially being named one of the world's Top 5 Desi rappers. (the Shah referenced on this page's bio, linked via this page to @DayOfShah social media, and appearing in the main image, is Shah from Toronto. However the music tags accompanying this page and many songs listed on the Shah page, are not related to Shah the rapper from Toronto, but belong to other artists named Shah who are listed beneath the biography for Shah the rapper from Toronto).
Shah is a Desi artist from Toronto, though his career was launched through the strip clubs of Atlanta with his break out record Just Text. Shah's initial rise through Atlanta led to publications such as Complex and Buzzfeed dubbing Shah the New Star of Trap. Shah's reach soon spread beyond Atlanta, first regionally in the Southeast, and then globally as Shah began touring across Europe. Shah also began earning recognition as one of hip hop's top Desi artists, and has consistently been ranked as one of the world's Top 5 Desi Rappers.
After returning from his initial European tour, Shah was performing at festivals such as Mondo, The Northern Touch Festival and Live at Heart. Shah was also making cross-cultural and genre-transcending music closer to home, most notably in Latin Trap, which began after the infamous clip of Shah rapping Telemundo went viral.
The context is that the studio where Shah is recording is full of Latinos, presumably Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and possibly Colombian, who primarily speak Spanish. Shah, the rapper from Toronto, has only ever rapped in English, so one would assume he's the only English speaker present. To everyone's shock, Shah, from rip, starts spitting bar after bar of the deepest Dominican slang that even other Latinos might not understand. With each bar, the astounded reaction of the Spanish speaking artists in the control room intensifies. The groups becomes more and more shocked, which erupts into uncontrolled mayhem when Shah drops the forth bar 'Fuc!in bad b!tches straight from Telemundo.
This led to a new wave of popularity for Shah amongst Dominicans and Puerto Ricans. Shah would soon be performing for audiences of over 100000 people, such as at the Dominican Day parade in New York City, where Shah was the guest of honor. This, in turn, led to Shah headlining other massive outdoor events, such as the Inman Park Parade in Atlanta, where Shah performed for over 90000 people.
Shah continued to surprise the rap world following Telemund's virality when Shah was selected by Bernie Sanders to serve as a national surrogate for Bernie Sanders' Presidential Election Campaign. While Shah is not viewed as an overtly political rapper, his personal beliefs are known for being extreme and revolutionary in nature. Shah has been described as a 'Feminist Political Revolutionary' and has called on citizens to overthrow the governments of countries that do not ensure safety and equality for women. When asked which countries do not ensure the safety and equality for women by The Varsity, Shah responded 'All of Them'.
Shah recently signed a production deal to develop a television series based on his rise through rap. Despite these relatively unprecedented moves that Shah has already made as an independent rapper, the most palpable anticipation surrounding Shah comes from those awaiting his full-fledged entry into the Desi hip hop world. This anticipation began after a leak of Shah's remix of the iconic Bollywood song 'Tujhe Dehka' quickly amassed millions of views online.
While Shah is perennially named one of the world's Top Desi rappers, and is fluent in Hindi and Urdu, his fans across the SouthAsian diaspora are still awaiting for Shah's first official Desi Hip Hop release. Shah has spoken about his desire to connect more deeply with his Desi heritage, and has openly admitted how he's often felt like an outsider in his own culture after growing up with a lack of Desi influences.
For now, Shah continues to focus on his North American audience, as well as his growing Latin American fanbase. Shah's latest release is Hawaii, a collaboration with SammyLaRavia, a prodigal Latin Goth Trap star, who tragically passed away last year. Shah's decided to prioritise the release of his collaborations with Sammy to ensure that Sammy's legacy would live on through his music.
Shah's unique background and come up make it difficult to compare his sound to others, as it is remarkably original. Atlanta trap has heavily influenced his production, and many have compared him to Future and Takeoff for Shah's ability to create music that excels in strip clubs. Shah is also compared to Torey Lanez for his range and since they are both from Toronto. It is important to note that the artists currently appearing on the side of this panel as artists similar to Shah, are from completely different genres at the time of writing. Shah the rapper from Toronto, as expected, sounds most similar to other rappers
One of the most discussed topic about Shah, outside of the music itself, is Shah's decision to remain independent, despite the interest of major labels. Shah has not spoken highly about the experience of being an independent musician, and has described the experience as being gruelling and lonely. Shah has stated that if it were not for the dedication of his team comprised of: agent Elizabeth Cleveland, producer and engineer Eddy Beethoven Nunez, filmmaker Mafia Davinci, and Snugglington, he would not have been able to achieve the accomplishments or success that he has experienced in the music industry.
After being named one of the 100 Most Influential Rappers in 2025, Shah was asked about his feelings towards such accolades. In response, Shah stated the accomplishment he is most proud of was remaining 'undefeated', which he later clarified meant: no felony convictions, no divorces, no marriages, no children proven by DNA.
To locate Shah the rapper from Toronto on social media use the links embedded in this page or @DayOfShah across all platforms. The hashtags used by fans to identify Shah the rapper from Toronto include #Shah #ShahTheRapper #ShahFromToronto #ShahTheDesi #ShahTheDesiRapper #ShahTheRapperFromToronto #ShahTheDesiFromToronto #ShahTheDesiRapperFromToronto
2) The differentiation between Shah the rapper from Toronto and the next is the use of all caps notation: SHAH - Emperors of the East, Moscow's first and finest thrash group, that opened new horizons for the genre.
In 1985, Antonio Garcia formed the group SHAH. Their debut gig in a small Moscow club in December 1986 triggered a rapid surge of popularity and, within a year, they were one of the capital's hottest cult acts. Garcia's fine innovative style and total mastery of sound led to comparisons with Metallica. After SHAH's live show was witnessed by Valery Gaina of Russian mega-act KRUIZ, SHAH was offered a support slot playing arena sized venues and a management deal shortly followed.
In 1988 SHAH released a cassette album titled 'Escape From Mind' after which Garcia took over lead vocal responsibilities from Zhemchuzhniy who had exited. SHAH went through a succession of bassists including Vasily Molchanov and Andrey Girnik, who went on to join HEAVY DAY. Ultimately, Anatoly Krupnov of BLACK OBELISK repute filled the vacancy. He had previously played classical violin for 10 years before discovering Shah's much harder genre in his teens. This genre would go on to be officially recognized by the Soviet Ministry of Culture as the most popular kind of music at that time in Russia, declaring it equal to all the other musical forms.
In the summer of 1988, SHAH went on tour in Hungary before recording a 5-track demo that attracted Western interests, leading to their signing a contract to record their new album in Germany. Just 5 days before they were to begin recording, bassist Anatoly Krupnov broke his hand but was still able to record. The album 'Beware', produced by Valery Gaina, was recorded in just 2 weeks at Munich's Red Line Studios in November 1988. While recording, they played a promotional show in Munich, and won over the Western audience who demanded encores. The following March, SHAH began a 30-date tour of 1000-3000 capacity venues covering Russia's major cities.
SHAH released the album 'Beware' through the German label Atom H Records in May 1989. In addition, Teichiku Records released the album for the Japanese market. It showed they were a solid unit; 100% committed to music and full of fresh ideas. Yet their music is mature and powerful with lightning fast solos. Lyrically, it is very direct with tracks like 'Bloodbrothers', 'Threshold of Pain' and 'Total Devastation' confronting radical issues such as non-conformity, freedom of thought, and corruption. Ready for a piece of Western action the humorous 'Say Hi to Anthrax!' is an omen. SHAH toured Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Spain in support of the album. In summer 1990, Alexey Ovchinnikov replaced Anatoly Krupnov, who went on to rejoin BLACK OBELISK.
In 1991, SHAH recorded 'Terror Collection' album, a compilation of archive tracks alongside new numbers. The album included 7 early songs from 1985-1987 era, which was sung by Mikhail Zhemchuzhniy, who came back to the band for this studio recordings only, and 3 new songs ('Overload', 'Age Of Darkness' and 'Terror Collection') which was sung by Antonio Garcia.
Bringing in erstwhile MAFIA man Dmitry Saar on second guitar, SHAH set about concert dates. In 1994 SHAH released re-recorded “Escape From Mind” album on cassettes only and their last album called P.S.I.H.O. on CD and LP formats. Both albums released on Moroz Records. In 1996, Antonio Garcia manifested the industrial styled solo project DESCENT for the album 'Inclination'. In April 2007, Metalism Records licensed the entire SHAH back catalog and made a very limited printing of 25 'Beware' T-shirts.
Other Shah's include:
3) Al Gromer Khan & Jörg Evers;
4) Italo disco act
5) a UK house artist.
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