Arpan Kumar Chandel, professionally known as King or King Rocco, is an Indian singer-songwriter, rapper, and music producer. Born on 10 October 1995, King gained widespread fame as a finalist on the MTV India reality show MTV Hustle in 2019. He is best known for his hit singles "Ghumshudaa" (2019), "Tu Aake Dekhle" (2020), "Oops" (2022), "Pablo" (2022), and "Maan Meri Jaan" (2022). His track "Maan Meri Jaan" achieved significant commercial success, becoming the most-streamed song of 2023 in India.
King started his professional career in 2018 with the release of his first EP Talismann. He continued to gain recognition with Mashhoor Chp 1 (2019) and later participated in MTV Hustle, where he was mentored by Raftaar, Raja Kumari, and Nucleya.
After MTV Hustle, King released several notable tracks, including "Tum Saath Rehnaa" and "No Loss". However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his album rollout was delayed, and he released a mixtape Heartbreak Made Me Do It (2020), donating part of the proceeds to the PMCARES fund. He finally released his debut album The Carnival (2020), which included the chart-topping track "Tu Aake Dekhle". He followed this with The Gorilla Bounce (2021) and Khwabeeda EP (2022).
In 2022, King made his major-label debut with Warner Music India, releasing Champagne Talk, which featured popular tracks like “Pablo” and “Maan Meri Jaan.” The latter became the most-streamed song of 2023 on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Shazam. King also collaborated with Nick Jonas for the Hindi-English version of the song.
King's song "We Are The Ones" was featured in the official soundtrack for EA SPORTS FC 24. His long-awaited fourth studio album New Life (2023) included international collaborations with artists like Gucci Mane and Julia Michaels. Tracks like "Good Trip" gained critical acclaim, and King performed a nationwide tour in support of the album.
