blueFROG's take on Bombay Bassment
The music of Bombay Bassment which includes drummer Levin Mendes, bassist Ruell Barretto, Robert "Bob" Omulo and DJ Chandrashekhar “Chandu” Kunder - goes beyond just hip hop, and reflects each of their musical backgrounds.
About Bombay Bassment
Bombay Bassment was perhaps Indian indie music’s most pleasant surprise of the last 12 months. A group that by their own description is closer to The Roots than to 50 Cent, and has been winning new fans with every gig they play. “We wanted to make it a band because the kind of hip hop we appreciate is closer to what you could call old school,” said rapper and de facto frontman Robert “Bob” Omulo.
Among their influences, he listed The Roots, Nas, a little bit of Common, Talib Kweli, a little bit of the West Coast stuff [like] Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg. "We also love that jazz-funk stuff, Digable Planets.” But more importantly, he said the music of Bombay Bassment which includes drummer Levin Mendes, bassist Ruell Barretto and DJ Chandrashekhar “Chandu” Kunder - goes beyond just hip hop, and reflects each of their musical backgrounds.
Bombay Bassment was perhaps Indian indie music’s most pleasant surprise of the last 12 months. A group that by their own description is closer to The Roots than to 50 Cent, and has been winning new fans with every gig they play. “We wanted to make it a band because the kind of hip hop we appreciate is closer to what you could call old school,” said rapper and de facto frontman Robert “Bob” Omulo.
Among their influences, he listed The Roots, Nas, a little bit of Common, Talib Kweli, a little bit of the West Coast stuff [like] Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg. "We also love that jazz-funk stuff, Digable Planets.” But more importantly, he said the music of Bombay Bassment which includes drummer Levin Mendes, bassist Ruell Barretto and DJ Chandrashekhar “Chandu” Kunder - goes beyond just hip hop, and reflects each of their musical backgrounds.
Omulo, who moved to Mumbai from Kenya 12 years ago to study, is the most heavily into rap among the four, and has done a fair bit of work in Bollywood; Kunder, whose tastes tilt towards reggae, is a veteran DJ best known for his five-year stint at now-shuttered Juhu music venue Razzberry Rhinoceros.
Mendes and Barretto are former members of alternative rock college band Aftertaste. “Each and every song will have a bit of each of our personalities,” said Omulo. “It has elements of much more than hip hop. You’re going to feel some reggae in it, some drum n’ bass in it, some funk in it.” The result is a sound that mixes the lyrical depth of conscious hip hop with a feel-good, party-starting vibe.