Brodha V
Vighnesh Shivanand, better known by his stage name Brodha V, is an Indian rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Kanchipuram, the Bengaluru-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 Southern India.
Storypick called him "one of the best rappers in the country", and he was featured in ScoopWhoop
Career
2008-2012: Early beginnings and Machas with Attitude
Brodha V's initial recognition came from active participation in "text battles" on Orkut, a social media network operated by Google. In 2008, Speed Ice and D'Brassic, two Delhi-based rappers, 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, he founded Machas With Attitude with Smokey the Ghost and Big Nikk. They collaborated with Raghu Dixit and performed the song "Dheaon Dheaon" from the movie Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge. As a solo artist, Brodha V released his first mixtape, 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.
2013-2015: Signing with Sony Music India and disbandment of Machas with Attitude
In 2013, Machas with Attitude 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.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.
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, with upcoming rappers like DIVINE and Rawal participating in the cyphers. As a solo artist, Brodha V worked with Anirudh Ravichander 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. A rapper who changed the face of the Indian music scene, Brodha V was also the inspiration for several prominent rappers to take up rap as a career, including DIVINE. 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.
2016-2019: Brand endorsements and further successes
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. In 2018, Brodha V stirred up controversy through his song "Shook Ones- Freestyle", which uses the instrumental from American rap duo Mobb Deep's 1995 hit single "Shook Ones, Part II", as he called out artists who plagiarize content from other artists, and drew attention to the disparity in media attention given to artists from South India vs North India. In addition to performing shows across India, Brodha V was also invited to perform for the Music Matters festival in Singapore in 2018.As an ambassador for the cellphone brand OnePlus, Brodha V hosted and performed in the largest unboxing event conducted for the release of OnePlus 6T that set a Guinness World Record.
Brodha V has also featured in the Bollywood movie Gully Boy directed by Zoya Akhtar. Brodha V's collaboration with Delhi-based rapper Raftaar titled "Naachne Ka Shaunq" shot him to fame in mainstream Hindi media in 2019. The track was later included in Raftaar's sophomore album, Mr. Nair. Brodha V has collaborated with athletic company Puma in 2019 to promote underground music and hip-hop culture in India. In 2019, Brodha V also released his first ever Kannada rap song, which was his rendition of the song "Maari Kannu" from the 1998 cult classic film A. In the music video, he questioned Indian society and asks everyone to introspect their values.
As a veteran in the Indian rap industry, Brodha V was a guest judge on the Indian rap reality TV show MTV Hustle where he also performed his latest single "Vaishnava Jana To" in the finale. In the socio-political anthem "Vaishnava Jana To" released in October 2019, Brodha V delivered his rendition of the Gandhian Bhajan using a unique boom bap sound. The song's lyrics, in line with Mahatma Gandhi's vision of peace and unity, talked about keeping aside differences and looking past religious and cultural backgrounds. Brodha V also released "Vainko", a collaboration with Bangalore-based YouTubers Jordindian, which instantly went viral and led to the "Vainko Challenge".
2020-present: Injury, collaboration with KR$NA
In 2020, Brodha V released "Flex" that features Punjabi tunes. Two months later, in February 2021, Brodha V released "Aaraam", his second Kannada track. While speaking about "Aaraam" in an interview with Mid-Day, Brodha V stated that releasing songs in regional languages "lets him reach out to new listeners". Following an injury that set him back during the pandemic, Brodha V released "All Divine" that featured Malayalam lyrics, in February 2022. The song featured singer Steve Knight from Flipsyde and the lyrics focused on Brodha V's "past mental health struggles, the pandemic-enforced isolation and most recently, a torn ligament."In August 2022, Brodha V released Bujjima that features Indian digital content creator Niharika NM in the music video. In September 2022, Brodha V collaborated with KR$NA and released their much awaited track "Forever" where the two rappers showcased their penmanship. The song won them the Radio City Freedom Award for the Best Indie Collaboration in 2023. Following the success of Vainko, Brodha V collaborated with comedic duo Jordindian again in 2023 to release "Basti Bounce" which is touted as the successor for Vainko.
In May 2023, Brodha V released his first love song "Azhage" which he stated was a personal challenge to channel deep emotions to expand on his versatality. In March 2024, Brodha V performed at the Royal Challengers Bangalore Unbox event at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. In December 2024, he released "Dance Away the Night ", in collaboration with fellow rapper Paal Dabba with a combination of Tamil and English rap lyrics, that addressed the trials and tribulations both artists have faced in their respective careers. In an interview discussing the shoot for DATN with The Indian Express's lifestyle paper Indulge, Brodha V shared his background education in filmmaking and talked about his work behind the camera exploring video direction.
Shortly after, in January 2025, Brodha V released his third Kannada track "Hengaithe Maige", garnering a lot of attention in Karnataka and South India. His second release for the year, "OM", that features the Gayatri Mantra chant received significant attention domestically as well as internationally. In this track, Brodha V shows his journey from his younger days to now and is his most intimate and self-reflective track to date. In December 2025, Brodha V released a third track titled "Underrated", in collboration with Def Jam India.
Etymology behind the stage name
Brodha V revealed in an interview to Raaj Jones that his stage name, Brodha V is derived from two elements, the first fragment stands for brotherhood while the second stands for his given name, Vighnesh.Musical style
Brodha V's style is a blend of hip-hop, Hindustani classical, Carnatic classical and Indian folk music. Most of his work is delivered in common language, drawn from his own personal experiences.Influences
Brodha V mentions the song "Pettai Rap", composed by A. R. Rahman for the Tamil film Kaadhalan, as his introduction to rap music. He also cites early '90s East coast rappers Eminem, Rakim, Nas, Big Pun, Wu-Tang Clan and Jay-Z as his inspiration and role models. As a producer, he refers to Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Quincy Jones as his inspiration.Discography
Mixtapes
- ''Death Punch!''
Singles & collaborations
Film music
Awards and nominations
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2013: Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist – – Winner
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2014: Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist – – Nominated
- Vh1 Sound Nation Awards 2014 – Best Hip Hop Act – Nominated
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2015: Best Hip Hop/Rap Artist – – Nominated
- GIMA 2015: Best Music Debut Non-Film – Nominated
- Renault Free the Music Award 2015 for Contribution to Independent Music – Winner
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2016 : Best Indie Collaboration of the Year – – Nominated
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2018: Best Hip Hop Artist of the Year - Let em Talk
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2018: Best Hip Hop Artist of the Year - Way Too Easy
- Radio City Freedom Awards 2023: Best Hip Hop Collaboration of the Year - Forever ft. KRSNA
- The CLEF Music Awards 2023: Best regional song/album Tamil - Basti Bounce