Mumbai was left in a state of collective disinterest after local rapper and self-proclaimed "Brown Baadshah" Shah Rule, also known in much smaller font as Rahul Shahani, dropped his latest song 'Memes', a track that boldly attempts to redefine what it means to be a parody—without the need for actual humour, rhythm, or relevance. According to his bio, Shah Rule blends Hindi and English with “gritty storytelling.” According to everyone else, he blends cringe with confusion and calls it culture.
'Memes' was released at 2:03am on a weekday, which experts believe was strategic—so that no one would notice. Sadly, some people still did.
“Bro, I was scrolling Instagram Reels and my phone played a clip from 'Memes'. My screen cracked on its own,” shared Karan Patel, 23, a victim of what netizens are now calling ‘Shah Trauma’.
Positioning himself somewhere between Ja Rule’s vocal fry and Baba Sehgal’s wardrobe, Shah Rule claims his new song is a commentary on meme culture. Critics say it’s more of a commentary on the declining state of Wi-Fi filters, which apparently failed to stop this track from uploading. With lyrics such as “Your reel is my feel / My drip be unreal / Like pani puri peal,” scholars of music across South Mumbai are demanding the term “lyricist” be legally protected.
“You have to give him credit,” said FD Staff's urban dissonance correspondent Dhruv D’Souza. “It takes an incredible amount of ignorance to rhyme ‘memes’ with ‘streams’ and then follow it with a line about biryani dreams. It’s not just lazy—it’s performance art.”
The music video features Shah Rule surrounded by graffiti that appears to have been drawn by unpaid interns with expired crayons. Dressed in what appears to be a mix of Zara reject pile and cricket pads, Shah Rule walks through alleyways in Bandra, rapping to a GoPro duct-taped to a chaiwala’s thermos.
At one point, he points at the camera, says “You’re the meme, bro,” and disappears behind a cloud of vape smoke and what may or may not have been a chorus line of confused auto drivers.
“They gave me ₹500 and a vada pav to nod my head behind him,” said an anonymous extra from the video. “I thought it was a Swiggy ad. I didn’t know I was in a music video until my cousin sent me the YouTube link with ‘RIP’ in the caption.”
Despite widespread criticism and a petition to ban further recordings from his studio—which is actually just a microphone plugged into an Air India headphone set—Shah Rule insists 'Memes' is his best work yet. “It’s not just a song, bro, it’s a lifestyle,” he told FD Staff in an exclusive interview conducted entirely over voice notes, each ending with the word “yaar”.
When asked what inspired the track, Shah Rule explained: “People think memes are jokes. But like, aren’t we all memes? I saw this one meme of a cat crying in a bathtub and thought: ‘That’s me, man’. So I made a beat that sounds like that cat’s inner pain.”
Cultural theorists have responded by collectively handing in their resignations. “We tried to decode the song,” said Professor Meenakshi Verma of the Mumbai Institute of Internet Trash. “But after the third verse, our software crashed. It kept auto-correcting ‘bars’ to ‘please make it stop’.”
Shah Rule’s fans, estimated at a generous 37 people , are defending the track with great passion. “You don’t get it because it’s too real,” said @RulezQueen420 on X. “He’s not trying to be commercial. He’s showing us the dark side of memeification. Also, his jawline is fire.”
One of the top YouTube comments on the video reads: “This song cured my insomnia. Forever. I am now permanently awake and afraid.”
The song has also sparked an unexpected movement in local hip-hop circles, where several rappers have vowed to release counter-tracks under the genre “Un-Desi Rap” to reclaim the dignity of rhyme and metre. One such upcoming diss track is reportedly titled 'Bro, This Ain’t It' and features an AI-generated chorus that still outperforms 'Memes' on every chart.
Social media platforms are reacting in their usual measured fashion, with Instagram adding a content warning that reads: “This reel contains sounds that may cause second-hand embarrassment.” Spotify India briefly reclassified the track under “Public Health Risk” before retracting the label under pressure from Shah Rule’s manager, who also happens to be his landlord.
Meanwhile, T-Series has denied allegations that it had anything to do with the release. “We didn’t sign him,” said a spokesperson. “Our office gate was locked. He just threw the CD through the window.”
When confronted about his decision to release 'Memes' ahead of the internet having a go at it, Shah Rule proudly declared, “Why should trolls have all the fun? I made the meme before they could. I am the troll, the joke, the punchline, and the background laugh track.”
Shah Rule’s earlier work, including the hauntingly misunderstood 'Chai Pe Chanta' and the TikTok classic 'Gully Mein Gucci', failed to chart but succeeded in lowering national IQ scores, according to one unverifiable report from WhatsApp University.
“This is not music,” said Rinku bhai, a panwala with surprisingly strong opinions on hip-hop. “This is like if someone gave a SoundCloud password to the guy who DJs at Navratri.”
When asked about his musical influences, Shah Rule responded, “I’m inspired by everyone—Drake, Raftaar, my building’s watchman who beatboxes while chewing paan. It’s all part of my vibe.” FD Staff asked whether he had ever considered focusing on quality. “What do you mean?” he replied. “I use HD cameras.”
The 'Memes' track rollout included a teaser featuring Shah Rule dramatically removing his sunglasses indoors while saying, “This one’s for the timeline warriors.” The teaser received 14 views, 11 of which were him checking the analytics.
Amid the outrage and sarcasm flooding his comment sections, Shah Rule remains undeterred. “Haters gonna hate. But at least they’re watching. I don’t care if they love me or roast me—just press play. Monetisation, bro.”
Financial analysts, reviewing his streaming income, estimate he’s made enough off 'Memes' to buy one large coffee and possibly half a charging cable. His merch store, which was set up last Diwali and sells items like “Rule the Memes” wristbands and bathrobes with the words “Certified Meme Lord,” has reported zero sales, except for one robe bought accidentally by his grandmother.
Meanwhile, Twitter is ablaze with threads dissecting every line of the track. One particularly savage review thread titled “Barz or Bruh?” ends each lyric breakdown with the phrase “not worth the Wi-Fi.”
As news of the release continues to ripple through Gen Z group chats and Gen X eye-rolls, one thing is clear: Shah Rule’s 'Memes' is either ahead of its time, behind on talent, or just another case of “too niche for mass destruction.”