Frenzo Harami

Frenzo Harami is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, England. Harami started rapping seriously in 2018 and sold drugs to support himself and his music. He came into prominence in 2019 with his single "Chaabian Boyz" which was featured on his mixtape Chaabian Boyz: Volume 1. It was released in early 2019 and was a collaborative effort with Shaker the Baker. The song was banned by the BBC due to the nature of the song "glamorising sexual exploitation" with lyrics referring to a prostitution ring. Harami is known for his combination of the languages English and Panjabi in his rap music, a combination not done by any other British rap artist. He released his debut five-track extended play album, Gundeh Paseh, later on in the same year. He released the single "Sarangi" on 8 December 2019 alongside Ickey Singh and Raashi Sood. The single was produced by Swifty Beats and entered the OCC Asian Music Chart on 13 December 2019 where it remained for a week.

Chaabian Boyz: Volume 2 was released in January 2020. The album features vocals from Shaker the Baker and received over 500,000 streams within 24 hours of release.

Harami was born in East London to parents of Pakistani descent. He is a loyal supporter of Tottenham Hotspur football club.

2018–2019: Chaabian Boyz: Volume 1 and Gundeh Paseh

Although Harami has stated he has been rapping for a while, it wasn't until 2018 when he started producing music more seriously as a career path. He released his debut single "Haraam Life" on 28 December 2018. He went on to release his second single "Chaabian Boyz" with its literal translation being "Key Boys" a term referred to people who sell drugs such as cocaine. The single was released on 9 January 2019 and was subsequently banned from BBC due to its lyrics relating to a prostitution ring. He also released the single "Not Playing Games" on the same day. Both these singles supported Harami's debut release Chaabian Boyz: Volume 1. The debut mixtape was released on 18 March 2019 and the only guest appearance was from Shaker the Baker. In promotion of his release, Harami appeared on the BBC Asian Network late night radio show with Kan D Man and DJ Limelight on 1 March 2019 to perform the, now removed, "Hype on the Mic" freestyle. Harami dropped the visuals for the song "Game of Thrones" featuring Shaker the Baker on 12 April 2019 via GRM Daily. The song was inspired by the TV show of the same name.

Harami released the single "London 2 Manny" on 12 March 2019. He appeared on Season 2, Episode 22 on Next Up, a freestyle series by Mixtape Madness to showcase upcoming artists. The episode aired on 2 May 2019. The single "Raamiya (Putta Kum)" produced by SK!TZ beats was released on 20 October 2019. On 17 November 2019, Harami released his second work of the year, Gundeh Paseh (Dirty Money), his debut EP which contained five tracks and had a combined length of 12 minutes. Frenzo Harami released the single "Sarangi" on 8 December 2019 alongside Ickey Singh and Raashi Sood. The single was produced by Swifty Beats and entered the OCC Asian Music Chart on 13 December 2019 where it remained for a week. On 26 December 2019, Joey Clipstar enlisted Frenzo Harami on the "Hardest Bars" freestyle on Link Up TV.

2020–present: Chaabian Boyz: Volume 2

On 1 January 2020, Harami announced that he had a new mixtape in the works, Chaabian Boyz: Volume 2. The lead single of the upcoming mixtape. "Saari Raat" ("All Night"), was released on 4 January 2020 and in promotion of the album, Harami released "Saari Raat" condoms on his website. Chaabian Boyz: Volume 2 was released on 28 January 2020. The album features vocals from Shaker the Baker and received over 500,000 streams within 24 hours of release. On Valentine's Day 2020, Harami released the single "Gundah Pyaar" (Dirty Love) alongside Sevaqk. This would be the second time the pair had collaborated, the first being on the song "Asian Ting". Frenzo teamed up with Tamil rap duo IC9, for the single "Hands on / Hands off", released on 19 March 2020.

Ban from BBC

On 1 May 2019, Harami appeared on the late night radio show with Kan D Man and DJ Limelight on BBC Asian Network. Harami's single "Chaabian Boyz" was aired on the radio by Kan D Man and Bobby Friction who described the song as "proper grimy". Despite being heavily edited to remove any profanity, the lyrics relating to a prostitution ring were still aired on the radio. The song also saw Harami referring to himself as a "pimp".

BBC subsequently stated that the version of the track aired on the radio did not meet their editorial standards, and was played on the Asian Network, in error. The song also garnered the attention of Chris Tuck, founder of Survivors of Abuse, who said that the song was not appropriate to be played on the radio as it depicts the exploitation of women.

Harami took to social media to respond to the banning, highlighting his annoyance with the decision. He also stated that the media had taken his ban out of context, due to him being of South Asian descent, and criticised the media of racially profiling him. In an interview with Scarcity studios, Harami took the time out to show his understanding of how making music on this subject of prostitution is, in a sense, glamorising it. However, he states that his lyrics had no implications to grooming gangs and that his music reflects those women who enter the sex industry at free will. He also went on to criticise grooming gangs and the sexual exploitation of minors.

Mixtapes

• 2019: Chaabian Boyz: Volume 1
• 2020: Chaabian Boyz: Volume 2

Extended plays

• 2019: Gundeh Paseh
• 2020: Dubba Squad Vs. Pataka Kartel

Singles