Malaysian Rapper Yogi B Wins India’s Inspiration For Rap Music Award

Renowned Malaysian rapper Yogeswaran Veerasingam, or better known as Yogi B, won the Gold Mic Award Icon of Inspiration for Rap Music in India.

The artist is also famed as one of the pioneers of Malaysian hip hop.

In case you're not familiar, India news outlet Behindwood’s Gold Mic Awards is held to honour the talents in music.

This year, the award was organised in Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai, India.

Yogi B is thrilled to share the news with his friends, family and fans.

Yogi B’s interest in hip hop started in the early 1990s when he was just 14 years old.

In 1992, he won the first rap competition in Malaysia and formed the group Poetic Ammunition with a friend from school, MC Ena. Later, the duo released their first single titled "PMO".

When MC Ena left the group in 1995, Yogi B changed the name to Poetic Ammo, and brought in three talented rappers, Nicholas Ong (a.k.a. Point Blanc), Chandrakumar Balakrishnan (Land Slyde) and Sashi Kumar (C. Loco).

Poetic Ammo quickly became Malaysia’s top hip hop group and earned a loyal following across the country. Many would agree that their music revolutionised the local hip hop scene in the 1990s.

The group’s debut album in 1997, "It’s A Nice Day To Be Alive", was a commercial success, praised highly by industry players as well.

The album went on to win the award for 'Best English Album' at Anugerah Industri Musik (AIM) in 1999, while Yogi B was named the 'Best New English Artist'.

After that, they released their second album in 2000, "The World is Yours" and "Return of Tha’ Boombox" in 2003.

While Poetic Ammo is no longer active since then, Yogi B continued making a name in the music industry.

In 2006, he collaborated with the duo Natchatra, consisting of rappers Dr Burn and Emcee Jesz, on the album "Vallavan", which brought Tamil hip hop to an international audience and brought them success in the Indian music scene.

Through this, they landed music careers in Kollywood when they performed the song "Happy New Year" in the 2008 Tamil film ‘Kuruvi’.

Yogi B’s talent stood out and he got his big break in film when he was asked perform the song "Engeyum Eppothum" from the movie 'Polladhavan' alongside India’s famed singer S. P. Balasubramaniam.

He has since done numerous songs in Kollywood alongside big names in the scene. He also rapped in the A.R. Rahman song "Boom Boom Boom Robo Da" from the 2010 movie ‘Enthiran’.