Yan Kikon
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]J Ina(Ina Zhimo) hailing from Nagaland who is widely considered to be one of the best music producers in North East India collaborated with one of the biggest rap star in India BK(Borkung Hrangkhawl) who hails from Tripura. The duo came up with a original song called ‘Free’ which went viral in social networking sites getting rave reviews from music fans all over India and abroad thus setting a new benchmark in music production quality in the country. Yanger Lemtur of Coreconxept is the man behind the ingeniously creative music video which has been rated by critics as one of the most creative music video of this genre ever produced in India. Coreconxept crew took two months to complete the music video which was shot in 11 different locations across 4 Indian States. Yanpvuo Kikon, creator of Indihut which an e-commerce company based in Kohima aimed at promoting independent talent and creativity caught up for a tet-a-tet with the two stars.
Indihut: Both you musical pioneers coming from the extreme eastern corner of India, how did this whole collaboration project happen?
BK: This whole collaboration happened all of a sudden. Ina was in Nagaland and I was in Tripura at that time and we had just released the Music Video of “Journey”. One evening I was checking my page and I got a message from DJ Ina. I had already heard about him from my friends so I was quite excited to know what he had to say. I checked the message and Ina came up with this collaboration concept. So without wasting anytime I said “Yes lets do it”, because I knew it was going to be crazy.
Indihut: Borkung has become a name to be reckoned with in the rap circles, what are the struggles and challenges you faced to reach this far?
BK: Haha I guess I’m not that known yet, anyways I had to go through lots of challenges like go to clubs in the middle of the night and perform with nothing in return. And I believe in meeting the right people at the right time. So I started recording my songs and came out with my first video “The Roots (Chini Haa)” which talked about my state - Tripura and then I came out with the “Journey” which went viral. Both the videos were shot in Delhi with CoreConxept.
Indihut: Ina, being one of the 1st DJ’s to emerge out of Nagaland and even walk away with the 1st runner up at Palm Expo 2012. How has your journey been so far?
INA - First of all, everything I’m today is all because of our Almighty God. I did struggle during my initial days but at the same time everyone was so supportive especially my friends. So, I would gladly say that I’m living the dream.
Indihut: BK - now that you have a huge fan following and set a benchmark, your message and advice to budding, upcoming rappers from the North East?
BK: I would say push yourself. If you think that you are good enough then you have to prove it to the world. And practice everyday. The more you practice the more confident and better you become.
Indihut: The problems faced by North Easterners in mainland India is often highlighted, share your thoughts on how you can use your music to fight these problems.
BK- Yeah, its true that we North Easterners face lots of problems in Mainland India because we look different, our culture is different, and the food we eat is different. And we can see that lots of racism is taking place. But there is one thing that they have to agree with us is that we are blessed with Music. And music is one language that everyone speaks and understands, so we can talk about this issues in our songs and at the same time we can talk about peace, unity in our songs. And many people think that we are still living in jungles with no house and with no proper education but they are wrong we are as much as developed as they are. So we can write about these things and come out with a good song and make it an Anthem for our people. So that we can encourage and inspire them by the song that we make.
Indihut: Ina, we heard that World’s Famous EDM Producer “Steve Aoki” sent you a message. Can you share about this experience?
INA- When this Aoki thing happened. My first reaction was “Naah!! this is definitely a fake one.” So to be sure I went through the link (Hoping it to genuine - Lol) and to my heaven’s surprise it was really him. I was on top of the world that night felt like my dreams have come true. (Steve Aoki who recently released a collaboration with Linkin Park and considered to be one of the greatest DJ and music producer in the world messaged INA with a special mention that Ina has the potential in the big market.)
Indihut: How was the experience working with the bunch of geniuses from CoreConxept?
INA- I always pray & work by faith and I believe that God brought us together with a purpose to work as a team & family. Working for CoreConxept is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me
Indihut:With your first collaboration gone viral, where is this journey going to take you next?
BK & INA: We are actually aiming for the stars and we are constantly pushing ourselves.
We don’t know where our journey is going to take us but we will keep trying till we make our country proud.
The music video ends with a special message which reads “Our Life is a Gift of God, And we are created in His image. We are sent to this world for a purpose and a purpose to serve Him and spread the world of God. So fight for the Good and not Evil.”
BK & INA’s new single ‘Free’ is available for download on www.indihut.com
