Mungaru maga's AMMAzing tunes

Twenty-six-year-old rapper Karthik Gubbi confesses that as a child he aspired to becoming a scientist. But as the years rolled by, he grew obsessed with cars and somewhere along the way, music started to compete with his love for cars. Having recorded a number of tracks for films, singles and collaborations with other artistes, Gubbi has his hands full with AMMA, a music video dedicated to his mother, the title track of the soon-to-be-released Kannada film, Coma, and a couple of short films in Kannada and Tamil.

“I actually started rapping in Kannada as a challenge, back in 2009. I was working with this artiste who said that it must be really difficult to rap in regional languages. I wanted to prove him wrong and that’s how it all began,” shares the talented young man. And while most people like to pepper their rap numbers with the choicest of slangs, Gubbi likes to keep it poetic, clean and classy. “I really dislike using words like maga and machcha in my songs. The language I use is pure, because that’s how I prefer it,” he explains.

With numbers like Everlasting, Ridin Solo, Broken Wings and the very first Mungaru (no connection to the film), Gubbi’s following has grown steadily over the years, but he shares how his parents weren’t too pleased by his dedication to the art. “They weren’t happy with it, because even though I had a day job, I spent the rest of my free time on music. It was really hectic. However they have accepted it now,” says the artiste, who has a part-time gig as a mechanical engineer at Mercedes Benz. “It was actually my day job but I decided to quit because music was taking over my life. But the organisation has been really supportive and offered to cut down my hours so I could do both,” he explains. Apart from recording songs, Gubbi also performs live shows as part of the outfit R & G, which is a partnership with DJ Rinosh.

Fluent in German, Gubbi used to freelance as a translator but his love for the language comes to good use during his frequent visits to Germany. “I visit Germany on work quite regularly and have had the opportunity to perform there. They have a small Kannada speaking community for whom I’ve performed,” he reveals.

When he’s not performing or writing new songs, you will find Gubbi playing a game of basketball or meditating on his terrace. “I begin my day with meditation. I find that it really helps,” says the artiste who has just formed a new band, Horn Ok Please.