| Machas With Attitude | |
|---|---|
Machas With Attitude |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Bangalore / Chennai, India |
| Genres | Rap, hip hop, trip hop |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Members | |
| Nikhil Padmanabh (Bigg Nikk) Sumukh Mysore (Smokey) Vighnesh Shivanand (Brodha V) |
|
Machas With Attitude [abbreviated as MWA] is a rap/hip hop/trip hop trio from Bangalore / Chennai, India. Formed on June 14, 2008, it consists of Bigg Nikk, Smokey and Brodha V. MWA takes influences from their various backgrounds, and although their songs are primarily in English, they usually feature lyrics in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Their music is flavoured by a blend of emotions like patriotism and aggressiveness with a little dash of humour. MWA has impacted not only the Indian Underground Hip Hop scene but also India's various film industries in a massive way and their songs stand testimony to this fact.
Contents |
In early 2006, the three members — Bigg Nikk, Smokey and Brodha V met through an online battling community until then each artist was going solo.[1] Machas With Attitude's foundation was anchored by Bigg Nikk, who was based in Chennai while Smokey and Brodha V resided in Bangalore. Initially, they recorded their acapellas individually, mailed them and mixed it. Amazed by the interest shown by the people to the few tracks they released, they decided to meet.
In India, hip hop music was considered to be less sought-after but the flavor the Machas With Attitude brought to this musical genre, was well appreciated and applauded by the audience. The Machas, coming from a conservative orthodox middle class Brahmin family, it was hard to convince people around them about their passion for hip hop music. As there is no replacement for hard work and their hot vocals, they kept playing in this game and eventually succeeded in winning hearts.
They primarily performed in the premier pubs like the Kyra Theatre in Bangalore and did live stage performances in events like 'Mr and Miss Bangalore Times' on occasion of the semi finals [2] as well as the finals.[3] They were still in the underground scene and continued to be until they got their first breakthrough single "Oh Eesa (Club Mix)" in the film Aayirathil Oruvan and later made their Bollywood debut with "Dheaon Dheaon" from Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. Their devotion to the song of this movie is chronicled everywhere.
Machas With Attitude was later featured in the 'Namma Chennai' Album, which also involved Bobo Shashi.[4]
Also known as Bigg Nikk, Nikhil Padmanabh is the founder of the Machas With Attitude and resides in Chennai. As a teenager, he performed amateur raps at the tender age of 14 after being inspired by A.R. Rahman's Petta Rap. He is known for his flow and multilingual rap. He is also a VJ who anchored a show called 'Machas Mix' which was aired on Captain TV.
Smokey, as he prefers to be called, is noted for his swaggering stage presence and for adding a humorous element to his songs. He started rapping during his school days in Bangalore. He also produces music for the Machas With Attitude.
Vighnesh Shivanand alias 'Brodha V' is India's fastest rapper. He is famous for his amazing hooks and in urban slang, he brings 'The X Factor' to his songs with his tunes. Brodha V is the main producer of the Machas With Attitude. He is also a multilingual vocalist.
The band cites Tupac Shakur, Eminem, A.R. Rahman, Rakim, Big L, Krs-one, Big Pun and Snoop dogg as their biggest musical influences.
Machas With Attitude tried their luck at the auditions of Times Music's Supastars, India's first ever pop band hunt, which is a large-scale entertainment variety show.[5] The show presents India's best unknown talents. Machas With Attitude, which was the only hip hop band in a pop band hunt, made their maiden appearance on national newspapers after winning the South leg of the competition, from among hundreds of applicants.[6]
The finals, held at Hard Rock Café (HRC), Mumbai on 26 August 2009, was whipped up with frenzy performances by Bombay Rockers, Ali Quili and compeered by Siddharth Kannan. In the name of music world, Anu Malik, Shibani Kashyap, Leslie Lewis, DJ Suketu, DJ Ryan Beck, Ishq Bector and Raavi More were present.[7] This platform was instrumental in introducing the Machas With Attitude to Bollywood.
| “ | We thought Machas With Attitude were fresh and really had some good stuff going. If not us, I would imagine them as the Supastars. | ” |
|
—In an Interview, when SQS Superstars, who emerged as the reigning winners, were asked if any other band deserved to win the competition.[8] |
||
Machas With Attitude take real Hip-Hop to Bollywood with their debut track 'Dheaon Dheaon' from Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge.[9] The film, which was released on October 14, 2011, is the second production of Y-Films, a subsidiary of Yash Raj Films and also marks the debut of Indian folk rocker Raghu Dixit in Bollywood.[10] Other achievements of the Machas With Attitude include various live stage performances and recordings for over 40 regional feature films.
Apart from this, they have collaborated with other Hip Hop artists like Ishq Bector and Haji Springer. The Machas With Attitude are scheduled to go on floors with their debut album in late 2012.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "World's Fastest Indians" | Bigg Nikk, Brodha V, Smokey | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Cry Now" | Brodha V | |
| 3. | "Bumbaclot ft. Thugs Unit" | Smokey, Mo Boucher, Brodha V | |
| 4. | "Anthem Of The Southside" | Bigg Nikk, Smokey, Brodha V | |
| 5. | "Down Down" | Bigg Nikk, Smokey, Brodha V | |
| 6. | "Indian Flava" | Bigg Nikk, Smokey, Brodha V, IshQ Bector, Haji Springer, Manmeet Kaur, Ko the Timeless, Ram K, Mandeep Sethi | 5:52 |
| 7. | "Fire On The Dance Floor" | Ram K, Vivek, Bigg Nikk, Smokey, Brodha V | 4:23 |
| 8. | "Ain't Nothing Like The Southside" | Smokey, Bigg Nikk, Brodha V | 3:49 |
Bigg Nikk of the Machas with Attitude hosted a show called Machas Mix [11] which was aired on Captain TV.[12] The essence of the programme was to have an informal interaction with the chosen musicians. The idea was to create an atmosphere where the invitee would be at ease. Some of the eminent invitees interviewed were D.Imman, Sanjay Chandrashaker and Hip Hop Tamila.
The program, directed by Praveen Kumar and produced by Sam Anoton, was first aired in May 2010 and after completing 50 episodes, it went off air in October 2010. It gained popularity within a few weeks of being on air. It was well received and obtained a decent TRP rating which made it the third most watched program on the channel.