Brodha V: ‘People Should Recognize Me Wherever I Go'

The Bengaluru rapper on chasing success, sticking to his guns, and working with Raftaar and Divine on new material

- Anurag Tagat

DRESSED IN BLACK WITH A T-SHIRT that sports the title of his previous single “Let Em Talk,” Vighnesh Shivanand aka Brodha V seems like he can go from kind-eyed geek to mean streak man if he just changed the way he looks at you. But the Bengaluru-born and bred rapper has never dropped names nor been called out with malice, as is rap tradition. “There’s no real beef as far as I know. It’s healthy competition at the end of the day,” he says with a laugh.

A rapper and producer since 2008, Brodha V has always been a voice of reason in the rap game. He was part of South Indian crew Machas With Attitude, alongside Bigg Nikk and Smokey the Ghost (the outfit disbanded over creative differences in 2013) and they are best known for taking over the then-nascent hip-hop scene with regional sounds complemented by caustic rap verses. It won them a few competitions and even placed them in favor with film music directors Vishal-Shekhar, who signed them up for songs on Mujhse Fraandship Karoge and Chennai Express.