Afrika Bambaataa | Brooklyn Shanti | TEDxNYIT

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Brooklyn Shanti is widely regarded as an accomplished producer, emcee, and pioneer of Global/Tropical Bass/Dancehall fusion, and is hip-hop’s official cultural ambassador to India. Dubbed by Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation as the Indian Bambaataa, over the last decade, Brooklyn Shanti’s unique and innovative artistic voice has enabled the transformation of South Asia’s appreciation for hip-hop.

Born in Hickory, N.C., and raised by Bengali scientists, Nathan Nabin “Brooklyn Shanti” Laskar has been courageous and daring in how he both honors and retranslates his relationship to his cultural heritage. As he himself has suggested, “Flipping Bangla to change the context” has been an important aspect of his vision as an artist and human. His belief that cultural identity doesn’t have to
be blatant in order to be part of the subtext is key to his larger vision, and has resulted in a textured and daring set of collaborations on his current album, Bedstuyle. Brooklyn Shanti is widely regarded as an accomplished producer, emcee, and pioneer of Global/Tropical Bass/Dancehall fusion, and is hip-hop’s official cultural ambassador to India. Dubbed by Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation as the Indian Bambaataa, over the last decade, Brooklyn Shanti’s unique and innovative artistic voice has enabled the transformation of South
Asia’s appreciation for hip-hop. Brooklyn Shanti has established himself as a supporter and producer of a wide spectrum of female artists such as Vanessa Beatriz, Dani Mari, Major Lazer’s Mela Murder, and many others. Breaking boundaries and challenging young female talents to excel has been part of his larger vision, and he has recently guided famous Bollywood starlet, Evelyn Sharma, into adding songstress to her already impressive repertoire via their collaboration, “Something Beautiful”. His diverse and wide-ranging talents have led him to work with some of the
world’s leading artists including Bollywood legends A.R. Rahman and Sohail Sen, electronic gurus Karsh Kale and the Midival Punditz, the Dum Dum Project, as well as Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin and Wood), Afrika Bambaataa, Thomas Blondet, and the Foreign Beggars, among many others.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)