It's like the summers a natural aphrodisiac. New track from Brooklyn Shanti is the global groove del verano. With a lithe afro-caribbean reggae riddim produced by Cumba Mela fam Thornato, Brooklyn Shanti woos a woman with words she might not understand, but that's no problem in matters of love.
NYC rapper Brooklyn Shanti, aka the1shanti, sings in Bengali about the very first moment you see a beautiful woman, the vertigo of falling precipitously in love. The youtube video features the dangerously beautiful Bollywood superstar Bipasha Basu, who was voted sexiest woman in Asia, twice. She recently saw the video & loved the song, posting it to her Facebook page, which has so far generated 411 likes and 78 comments .
The NYC rapper (formerly known as Nabin aka the1shanti) has been getting love from the Times of India and Desi Hits for "Rani Rani," which originally debuted on BBC Radio … and don't be surprised if you hear at an Indian wedding this summer
Episode #2 in our weekly release from Nabin Shanti. With an epic string arrangement and brooding low-end, "Thugs" is about confronting global and personal conflicts in our ever-fucked-up world.
Faced with challenges broad and sharp, from African pandemics to private family struggles, Nabin raps about the detachment of thuggery. Standing stoic inna bboy stance, cowboys devolve into cannibals, ignoring responsibility for the unmentioned circle. Thuggish ruggish bone whiter than death, but down for whatever.
The word "thug" is derived from Hindi(thuggeeor ठग्गी ) and Sanskrit (स्थगor sthaga,“cunning, fraudulent”).Thuggee was an Indian network of secret fraternities who were engaged in murdering and robbing travellers and known for strangling their victims, operating from the 13th to 19th centuries. During British Imperial rule of India, many Indian words passed into common English, and in 1810 thug referred to members of these Indian gangs.
Introducing the rebirth of the1shanti … starting this week, Gnawledge will release a new track from composer, producer, engineer, singer, multi-instrumentalist, rapper Nabin Shanti every Thursday.
Join the Gnawledge email list for a free download of Nabin Shanti's "The Breakup Hurts" remix featuring the beautiful vocals of Ms. Nina Simone.
Acoustic hip-hop with a fuzzy organ and panged drums, "The Breakup Hurts" was recorded on a snowy Valentine's Day in Brooklyn.
"Black was the color of my true love's hair"
With years of recording under his belt and endless inspiration for new music, Nabin Shanti is the perfect artist to kick off our new serialized release schedule. Connect with Shanti @ Facebook and check back here next Thursday for a new song from Nabin.
Following our East Coast adventure a few months back, the Gnawledge familia got together again this summer for shows across the Pacific Coast. Our performances were all over the [proverbial] map, ranging from hardcore orthodox rap shows to lithe acoustic latin-jazz improv jams to geeked-out hippy ravertón bailes … global music 2.0, as they say
August 27th – First show of the tour featured Gnotes [joined by Elemental Zazen above] rapping for a sold-out crowd in his hometown Seattle, performing along with Houston rapper extraordinaire Devin the Dude. Vulgar lyrics, badass basslines & herb by the pound. Goodtimes.
August 29th – While Elemental Zazen held it down in Seattle (headlining a show at Nectar), Gnotes and DJ Canyon traveled south for a show with Mandeep Sethi and Humble the Poet at an art gallery in Sacramento. Righteous indignant thoughtful lyricism, plus jokes about turbans & the TSA. Lots of real cute Sikh girls, tho Mandeep politely warned me I had less then 0% chance.
August 30th – September 6th – Gnotes and DJ Canyon performed at Burning Man along with NYC tropical bass DJ crew Cumba Mela and recent Portland transplant Olde Toby, who built and designed our mobile sound-system / DJ booth art car, pictured above with DJ Canyon manning the turnytables. Dusty dancing amor libre & drogas abundantes. Gnawledge will be back next year.
September 7th – Gnawledge trumpeteer Afro DZ ak arrived in Los Angeles less than 24 hours after DJ Canyon emerged from the Black Rock Desert. Just days prior, Afro performed his final show in Boston (where he’s been living for almost 10 years) before moving to Mexico to work at an orphanage in Colima. His debut performance in LA was at Natural High, a weekly Tuesday night event hosted by Talissa Love at Industry Jazz, an Ethiopian restaurant / speakeasy jazz cafe.
September 8th – Ojai (California) improvisación del colectivo Gnawledge, featuring Afro DZ (trumpet), the1shanti (vocals), David Gorospe (keys), Fabian Mauricio (drums), Daunte Jerrell (congas), and Canyon Cody (mostly just wearing a hat). Daunte and Fabian (pictured above) previously collab’d with Gnawledge at the Granada Doaba show @ El Cid. Fresh off the boat from NYC, Universal Zulu Nation/Gnawledge rapper the1shanti never missed a beat.
After the show, Ojai was blessed with a pico de baile conducted by New York discjockey Atropolis from Cumba Mela, who will be heading to Colombia for a 2 month recording adventure in the new year.
September 9th - El Canyonazo @ Afro Funké … Every Thursday @ Zanzibar, Jeremy Sole and Glen Redd host a global funk convocation featuring outernational artists like Nickedemus, Blitz the Ambassador & Nneka. This week Afro Funké welcomed DJ Canyon, AfroDZak and the1shanti into their global groove temple along with South African rapper Spoek Mathambo, who joined the Gnawledge crew on-stage for a song before his set (video above).
September 13th - With Afro in Mexico and Gnotes back in Seattle, our tour was officially over, but our Dutty Artz / Que Bajo bredren Geko Jones happened to be in town playing at Mustache Mondays. Geko extended a neighborly invite to fellow Brooklynite the1shanti to spread some butter v toast on the mic, getting the dance floor ready for resident selectors Josh Peace and Total Freedom.
Gnawledge is proud to officially welcome a new artist to the family: the1shanti. Based in Brooklyn, the1shanti connected with Gnawledge during our 2010 Spring Tour and hosted our NYC label showcase. His new album Beautifulfeatures collaborations with Grammy Award winning British vocalist Imogen Heap, beatboxer Chesney Snow, and Gnawledge bredren Gnotes.
