Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Aug 11: Rapper Badshah recently appeared as a guest on Samay Raina’s ‘India’s Got Latent’ alongside Haarsh Limbachiyaa, YouTuber Saurav Joshi and comedian Rajat Sood, where a question about his stage name reignited an old connection with fellow rapper Honey Singh.
During a segment of the show, host Samay Raina asked Badshah, whose real name is Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, who had given him the stage name ‘Badshah’. Badshah replied that he had chosen the name himself.
When Raina playfully pressed him further, Badshah dismissed another version of the story, saying, “Galat story hain.”
A fan page that shared a clip of the episode also posted an excerpt from an older interview Badshah had given to PTC Punjabi. In that interview, Badshah had said Honey Singh was the person who gave him the name, explaining that Singh felt he lived his life like a ‘badshah’, meaning a king.
Honey Singh subsequently reacted to the fan page’s post. In the comments, he wrote, “Meri nalayak aulaad” along with a laughing emoji. He also shared the clip on his Instagram Story and wrote, “Meri gandi aulaad,” again adding a laughing emoji.
The episode is currently available only to subscribed members of Samay Raina’s YouTube channel.
There have been several theories about how Badshah adopted his stage name. One popular account suggests that he changed his name to Badshah around 1999 because he was a fan of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and was inspired by the actor’s film ‘Badshah’. The name was also considered catchy and suitable for his music career.
Before adopting Badshah, the rapper reportedly performed under the stage name ‘Cool Equal’.
Badshah and Honey Singh were earlier members of the hip-hop collective Mafia Mundeer. Their professional association later ended amid disagreements over song credits, lyrics and music.
One of the major disputes involved the song ‘Brown Rang’. Badshah has claimed that he wrote the lyrics while Honey Singh composed the beats. The issue resurfaced in July 2025 when Badshah commented “Credits” on a social media post related to Honey Singh.