Brodha V

Brodha V
Age	33
Also known as	Brodha V
Birth date	27 March 1990
Birth name	Vighnesh Shivanand
Origin	Bangalore
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper
Years active	2008–present
Label(s)	Sony Music India
Associated acts	Machas With Attitude, Benny Dayal, Vishal Dadlani, Raghu Dixit, Anirudh Ravichander
Website	N/A

Brodha V

Vighnesh Shivanand (born 27 March 1990), better known by his stage name Brodha V, is an Indian hip-hop artist, lyricist, rapper and music producer. Born in Kanchipuram, the Bangalore-based artist started rapping at the age of 18 and took part in online rap battles on Orkut. As an independent artist, Brodha V released a mixtape called Deathpunch which had a limited release and which garnered him some attention from the hip hop fraternity and the independent music circuit in South India. ScoopWhoop, Buzzfeed, Storypick and other pop culture websites have listed him as one of the top Indian rappers in the country, and Rolling Stone India considers him as part of "hip hop's elite". The popularity he garnered led him to be signed by Sony Music India in 2013 and he released his single "Aigiri Nandini" under their banner. He has also collaborated with other artists in the Indian film industry such as Raghu Dixit, Vishal Dadlani, Benny Dayal and Anirudh Ravichander.

Career

Brodha V's initial recognition came from active participation in "text battles" on Orkut, a social media network operated by Google. In 2008 D'Brassic, a Delhi-based rapper, started a forum on Orkut called Insignia Rap Combat which helped found an online space for hip-hop artists to write rap battles. After using "Battle Communities" on Orkut to gain recognition and develop a personal style, Brodha V moved on to composing his own songs.

In 2008, with Smokey the Ghost and Big Nikk, he founded Machas With Attitude (MWA). They collaborated with Raghu Dixit and performed the rap portions in the song "Dheaon Dheaon" from the movie Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. In 2013 the trio won the Radio City Freedom Award and met Vishal Dadlani, who offered to have them work on the film Chennai Express. This collaboration led them to compose the track "Ready Steady Po" for the film, which brought them further recognition in the music industry. The trio disbanded in 2013 to pursue independent careers.

As a solo artist, Brodha V released his first mix tape, Death Punch, in 2011 for a limited audience. In 2012 his next single, "On My Own", was praised for its lyrical complexity and innate Indian quality. Gaining recognition, he released the singles "Aathma Raama" and "After Party" in 2012 and 2013 respectively. In 2013 Brodha V signed with Sony Music India. He next released his single "Aigiri Nandini". In 2015 he walked out on his contract with Sony Music, citing creative differences.

As a solo artist, Brodha V has worked with Anirudh Ravichander ("Why This Kolaveri Di" music director) for the song "Shake That," used in the score for Kaaki Sattai. Brodha V produced music for and rapped in "Anu Aunty – The Engineering Anthem", along with author, film maker and entrepreneur Varun Agarwal and stand-up comedians Sanjay Manaktala and Sumukhi Suresh, which parodied Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" and went viral on social media. In 2015 he collaborated with singer Benny Dayal to release the single "Round Round", which was listed as a top 10 track on Saavn. He has also produced music for jingles and anthems. in 2017, Brodha V collaborated with artist Sanjeev Thomas on a campaign to raise awareness for Congenital Heart Defect using heartbeats donated by the public.

With the intention of promoting hip-hop in India, Brodha V organized the first Indian rap cypher in Bangalore in 2014. Subsequent versions of the event were organized in Delhi and Mumbai.

Discography

Singles

• 2012: "On My Own"
• 2012: "Aathma Raama"
• 2013: "After Party"
• 2014: "Aigiri Nandini"
• 2015: "Indian Flava" [live version]
• 2016: "Round Round"
• 2017: "Let Em Talk"
• 2018: "Way Too Easy"

Film soundracks

• 2011 Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge – "Dheaon Dheaon"
• 2013: Chennai Express – "Ready Steady Po"
• 2015 Kaaki Sattai – "Shake That"

Collaborations

Title	Album/ Movie	Other Artists	Music Director
"Vanavillum"	Nil Gavani Sellathey	Karthik, Premji Amaren, Kalpana, Sri Madhumitha	V. Selvaganesh
"Dheaon Dheaon"	Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge	Vishal Dadlani, Aditi Singh Sharma	Raghu Dixit
"Ready Steady Po"	Chennai Express	Vishal Dadlani, Smokey, Enkore, Natalie Di Luccio	Vishal-Shekhar
"Shake That"	Kaaki Sattai	Anirudh Ravichander	Anirudh Ravichander
"Roobaroo – Micromax Unite Anthem"	single	Benny Dayal, Swaroop, Kamal Khan, Raghu Dixit, Apeksha Dandekar, Shruti Pathak, Neeti Mohan, SANAM, Voctronica	Siddharth "Dub" Sharma

Awards and nominations

• Radio City Freedom Awards 2013: Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist – ("Indian Flava") – Winner (Judge’s Choice Award)":: Radio City Freedom Awards ::". www.radiocity.in. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
• Radio City Freedom Awards 2014: Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist – ("After Party") – NominatedTemplate:Cite news
• Vh1 Sound Nation Awards 2014 – Best Hip Hop Act – Nominated"- Wild City". www.thewildcity.com. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
• Radio City Freedom Awards 2015: Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist – (Indian Rap Cypher/"Aigiri Nandini") – Nominated"The 3rd edition of Radio City Freedom Awards honours independent music". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
• GIMA 2015: Best Music Debut Non-Film ("Aigiri Nandini") – Nominated"GIMA » Over The Years". www.gima.co.in. Retrieved 2017-08-08.</ref>
• Renault Free the Music Award 2015 for Contribution to Independent Music – WinnerMalt, Team Music. "Renault Free The Music Award - honoring the best in music industry". www.musicmalt.com. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
• Radio City Freedom Awards 2016 : Best Indie Collaboration of the Year – ("Round Round") – NominatedTemplate:Citation needed
• Radio City Freedom Awards 2018: Best Hip Hop Artist of the Year (Jury Award)