Yogi B, the Sentul boy turned godfather of Tamil hip-hop

Free Malaysia Today

The popular performer talks to FMT Lifestyle about making his mark in Kollywood and his time with Poetic Ammo.   Story by: Sheela Vijayan  Shot by: Hizami Safri & Akif Irfan  Presented by: Theevya Ragu  Edited by: Hemaviknesh Supramaniam   *The footage in this video is sourced from various social media platforms for educational and non-commercial purposes only, with all rights remaining with their respective owners.   Song credits: Boombox Records, Think Music India, Poetic Ammo, Ayngaran Music    Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2024/12/22/yogi-b-opens-up-about-jiwa-kuala-lumpur-and-poetic-ammo/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestlye #YogiB #Tamil #HipHop #Rapper

Transcript

00:00Damn, it's gonna blow, thavam nadhi alaynaan baby you should know, koovam siru kuyil naan

00:13isai kalanyan, enna aasigal aayiram, ninaithathu pallithathu, hooo!

00:20What up y'all?

00:21This is Yogi B on FMT LIFESTYLE!

00:30The Indie scene those days was very beautiful, Aishwarya.

00:42I would go for a gig, they would have like 8, I would say 8 hip-hop acts, all rappers,

00:51all who have become big names today, but they're all friends, Malayu, India, China, you know

00:57all the races together, and all genres.

01:00You will get the hip-hoppers and the alternative rock guys all in one gig, and you had hundreds

01:09of youth from all kind of walks of life, the rich, poor, different backgrounds, all coming

01:16together, the rock heads, the hip-hop heads, the DJs, and that scene was one of the most

01:24sweetest memories I had in life, because there was so much of talent.

01:29It is almost impossible to speak about the Tamil hip-hop scene without mentioning Yogi

01:35B, widely known as the godfather of Tamil hip-hop.

01:41The enigmatic performer sat down with FMT LIFESTYLE to talk about his illustrious music

01:46career spanning three decades.

01:50And just recently, Yogi B added another feather to his cap when he sang Poruthuthu Podhum.

01:56The song was composed by the legendary Ilayaraja, and is part of the soundtrack for the movie

02:01Vidithale Part 2.

02:09I am still in shock that my name is associated with such a great musician, my musical idol.

02:20Working with legendary figures from India is nothing new for Yogi B, having previously

02:25collaborated with renowned music composer A. R. Rahman on the soundtrack for the movie

02:30Indiran.

02:35That was another milestone in my career.

02:38Working with A. R. Rahman sir was a very pleasant and easy, very calm, composed person who knows

02:45exactly what he wants to do.

02:51On December 7th, Yogi B delivered an electrifying performance at the first ever international

02:57concert of popular composer and music director G. V. Prakash Kumar.

03:15His success in India is a testament to his hard work and perseverance, but he also credits

03:21his late mother for the role she played in his life.

03:25I didn't know how to read and write Tamil because I ate from sekolah kebangsaan.

03:30So I had to rely on my mom.

03:32So I told my mom, how do I say, you know, the sun is going away, searching for tomorrow.

03:40My mind is waving like, you know, like an ocean.

03:45So then she told me, she immediately said, suriyan sella, naalai thedi mella, sindhane

03:49kadalil kelvi alaygal varum tolla.

03:52So she was like, I was like, wow, you good woman.

03:55So she gave me my first few lines as a translator and I started writing Tamil rap with her inspiration.

04:03It's my first co-writer.

04:06So she was my inspiration for a lot of things in my life.

04:13He believes that the experience he gained in the early part of his music career helped

04:17lay the foundation for his success today.

04:21Before he was a pioneer in Tamil hip-hop, he made waves in the English hip-hop scene

04:26with his band Poetic Ammo.

04:28My fond memories of winning all the AIM awards because I think Poetic Ammo opened the door

04:34for hip-hop to be a household name and genre, you know, in Malaysia.

04:42And then that just broke open and let everybody know, oi, hip-hop is mainstream now.

04:50Their songs like Money Money and Somebody's Watching remain catchy even decades after

04:55being released.

04:56My, my, my, my, what makes the world go high, high, high, high?

05:00Every woman wanna buy, buy, buy, buy.

05:03It's all about the money, money, money.

05:07The beginning times with Poetic Ammo, KL was a very beautiful Malaysian urban city.

05:19I'm a KL boy and, you know, I studied in KL, I live in KL.

05:25I always reminisce and think about the early, early 90s where, you know, Jiwa Kuala Lumpur

05:33was, was very strong and you can see the identity of the city.

05:39The Jiwa Kuala Lumpur is actually the, the soul and the culture of the people of Malaysia

05:47in a, in an urban environment.

05:49So I got to see and made a lot of friends in that scene, you know, and, and when you

05:56hit the shopping complex and, and, and you go to the gigs, you meet people from worlds

06:03that are not you.

06:04I'm an Indian boy from Sentul Kampung, you know, I studied in KL.

06:10Then when I go to this gig, I see a Malay guy from Kampung Baru.

06:15This guy's a rocker.

06:16And then we start talking and he start talking and then we have good music, you know, understanding.

06:21He likes a bit of rap.

06:22I like a bit of rock, you know.

06:25And then we meet another R&B group and, and then we meet, what do you call it, DJs.

06:31And then, you know, we meet people from all different genres.

06:34Then you see a punk guy walking in and that place became a hub of, of all the people from

06:41all walks of life to understand each other.

06:44We understand and we loved how we are different, but we are all brought together by music,

06:51you know, and that there's, there's positive energy there.

06:53There's, I don't see that anymore, you know.

06:57And what we spoke about was our stories.

07:00The stories in the, in the very essence was the Jeevo Kuala Lumpur because we talk about

07:08what we experienced as Malaysians.

07:11That's why I wrote in my lyrics, you know, 120 for the minibus, but mostly I walked around.

07:15So it was not about guns.

07:17It was not about gangsterism.

07:19It was not like trying to be, you know, American black, you know, hip hopper and, you know,

07:25and that Americana.

07:27It was Malaysian lifestyle.

07:29Wherever I go and I perform in the Tamil independent space or the Tamil Kollywood world,

07:43I always bring my Malaysian identity and soul and my history with me because, you know,

07:52it's all started from KL, Malaysia, because the independent scene here is what gave birth

07:58to an artist called Yogi B, and that is the guy who's going all around the world.

08:03So, you know, doing all the shows from, from, from Switzerland, Paris, Germany, all these

08:09places.

08:10So I'm very, very, very thankful to my Malaysian fans and my Malaysian scene, my record label

08:17for making me who I am.

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