With hot hip-hop beats and old-school Lankan melodies, musical duo BNS have emerged from the streets of Sri Lanka as one of the most popular acts in the island’s history. We catch up with them before their performance in the city tomorrow
When rap legend Nas proclaimed “hip-hop is dead”, he was referring to the decaying state of the music industry, but what he failed to acknowledge was that, although the genre has been exploited by disenfranchised youth of America, its global reach has extended far beyond anyone’s expectations. And in a land so traditionally disconnected with hip-hop, two musicians are proving that their music has neither a face or a voice; rather it is the amalgamation of their roots and influences combined.
Far away in the “pearl of the Indian ocean”, Sri Lankan duo BNS — comprised of long-time friends Bathiya and Santhush — decided to step up their street cred by experimenting with “hip hop Sri Lankan” fusion, a recipe that quickly turned them into the islands biggest celebrities.
“From the inception, our vision was to become successful musicians. Our mission was to take Sri Lankan music to the world,” they explained.
Their first album introduced hip-hop/rapping styles while the second and third albums, Life and Youth, had a unique unison of ethnic sounds and western pop beats which instantly appealed to the masses who lost themselves in an arena of break-beats, lyrical ammo and neo-classic ethnic tunes.
“In some corner of every musician’s heart, there lives a small dream of being demanded by fans; to walk off the stage finishing a concert and then having to return amid the uproar ‘one more – one more’,” they say.
But like most groundbreaking artists experimenting outside the box, the duo’s road to stardom was hardly paved in gold. Early on in their careers, a funked-up revival of an old drama song triggered harsh criticism and outrage among traditionalists, but the duo remained undeterred as their music made its way to the ears of local youth.
Impressed by the originality of their music, BNS were signed up by Universal Music Publishing making them Sri Lanka’s first recording and performing artistes to be offered such a contract. The Sri Lanka Tourist Board also bestowed the rare honour of being Ambassadors for the island nation.
Vibing off the sounds of the street, BNS took songs like Denna Denna — music inspired by an ancient ceremonial folk song used to drive away residing demons — and flipped it to pay homage to their ancestral roots.
“Those sounds are maybe around 1,200 years old 1,600 years old,” the two explained, “and it has been coming through generations, but for some reason those sounds haven’t come to the world; not even to India. It has been lying inside Sri Lanka in like a treasure box, so we thought lets open it out and share it with the world.”
Where hip-hop has failed exactly is still up for debate, but artists like BNS have adopted and rejuvenated its sound to serve to a global audience without ever sacrificing their identity.
Today with over three platinum albums and 15 number-one hit singles, BNS stand as the most accomplished musicians of Sri Lanka and their story promises to be one of influence for many generations of young international artists to come.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Bathiya and Santhush
Where: Blues & Cues, Ramada Continental Hotel, Dubai
When: Friday, May 1 at 9pm
When rap legend Nas proclaimed “hip-hop is dead”, he was referring to the decaying state of the music industry, but what he failed to acknowledge was that, although the genre has been exploited by disenfranchised youth of America, its global reach has extended far beyond anyone’s expectations. And in a land so traditionally disconnected with hip-hop, two musicians are proving that their music has neither a face or a voice; rather it is the amalgamation of their roots and influences combined.
Far away in the “pearl of the Indian ocean”, Sri Lankan duo BNS — comprised of long-time friends Bathiya and Santhush — decided to step up their street cred by experimenting with “hip hop Sri Lankan” fusion, a recipe that quickly turned them into the islands biggest celebrities.
“From the inception, our vision was to become successful musicians. Our mission was to take Sri Lankan music to the world,” they explained.
Their first album introduced hip-hop/rapping styles while the second and third albums, Life and Youth, had a unique unison of ethnic sounds and western pop beats which instantly appealed to the masses who lost themselves in an arena of break-beats, lyrical ammo and neo-classic ethnic tunes.
“In some corner of every musician’s heart, there lives a small dream of being demanded by fans; to walk off the stage finishing a concert and then having to return amid the uproar ‘one more – one more’,” they say.
But like most groundbreaking artists experimenting outside the box, the duo’s road to stardom was hardly paved in gold. Early on in their careers, a funked-up revival of an old drama song triggered harsh criticism and outrage among traditionalists, but the duo remained undeterred as their music made its way to the ears of local youth.
Impressed by the originality of their music, BNS were signed up by Universal Music Publishing making them Sri Lanka’s first recording and performing artistes to be offered such a contract. The Sri Lanka Tourist Board also bestowed the rare honour of being Ambassadors for the island nation.
Vibing off the sounds of the street, BNS took songs like Denna Denna — music inspired by an ancient ceremonial folk song used to drive away residing demons — and flipped it to pay homage to their ancestral roots.
“Those sounds are maybe around 1,200 years old 1,600 years old,” the two explained, “and it has been coming through generations, but for some reason those sounds haven’t come to the world; not even to India. It has been lying inside Sri Lanka in like a treasure box, so we thought lets open it out and share it with the world.”
Where hip-hop has failed exactly is still up for debate, but artists like BNS have adopted and rejuvenated its sound to serve to a global audience without ever sacrificing their identity.
Today with over three platinum albums and 15 number-one hit singles, BNS stand as the most accomplished musicians of Sri Lanka and their story promises to be one of influence for many generations of young international artists to come.
EVENT DETAILS
What: Bathiya and Santhush
Where: Blues & Cues, Ramada Continental Hotel, Dubai
When: Friday, May 1 at 9pm
