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Poetic Ammo (previously known as PMO or Poetic Ammunition) was a Malaysian rap/hip-hop group. It consisted of Yogeswaran Veerasingam (aka Yogi B), Chandrakumar Balakrishnan (aka Land Slyde), Nicholas Ong (aka Point Blanc), and Sashi Kumar Balakrishnan (aka C. Loco). Although most of the group's songs were written in English, the group also released tracks in Malay, Tamil, and Cantonese.[1][2]
Poetic Ammo | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Genres | Rap, hip-hop |
| Years active | 1996–2004 |
| Labels | Positive Tone |
| Past members | Yogi B Landslyde C. Loco Point Blanc |
Beginning
editThe group was founded by Yogeswaran Veerasingam (aka Yogi B) in 1990. It was originally known as Poetic Ammunition, aka PMO, with the original members Yogi B and Anand, aka McEna. PMO released a two-song single with Kenny Music (Kenny Remy Martin), "Run" and "Only You", released under Positive Tone.
Anand later left PMO and Yogi B started a talent search for new members. That is where brothers Landsylde and C Loco together with Point Blanc from Ipoh joined him. They became known as Poetic Ammo.
Achievements
editTheir first album, entitled It's a Nice Day to be Alive, was released in 1998, and received positive reviews and several awards.[3] Their second album was entitled The World is Yours (2000).[4] Their third album was entitled Return of Tha' Boombox.
The band has won numerous awards including the "Best English Album" award at the Malaysian Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) Music Awards 1999.[5][6] They also won the "Best Music Video" awards at the AIM in 2000 and 2001. The music video "Money Money" was accepted very positively nationally, and even crossed over many countries and achieved mainstream success. Their albums were released in Indonesia by EMI Indonesia.[7] Their albums and singles were also released in Europe by OAG.[8]
Current
editYogi B
editYogi B released an album titled Vallavan in 2006, a collaboration with Natchatra. It became a huge hit album in the Malaysian hip hop music industry. It also has become well known in South India with one of their remix tracks, "Madhai Thiranthu".[9] They were invited to sing the song as an opening song "Siva Siva" and "Madhai Thiranthu" in the middle of Star Vijay TV Awards show held at India. They are often referred to as Kavidhai Kundargal.[clarification needed] After few years Yogi B was approached by music director G. V. Prakash Kumar, to produce and perform in a song alongside S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, for the movie Polladhavan, starring Dhanush.[9] Yogi B and his team, Emcee Jezz and Dr. Burn have sung the first Tamil movie song, with music composed by Kollywood (Tamil), Vidyasagar and also have made first appearance in the movie Kuruvi, starring Vijay, during a song number. Yogi B also has worked with India's world known composer and music director, A. R. Rahman, for the movie Enthiran.
Point Blanc
editPoint Blanc started his independent Voyeur Records, and came out with several singles like "Ipoh Mali" and "KL Leng Chai" in 2007. Later that year, he released Straight To The Point, his solo LP, and also released his clothing line Voyeurizm.[10]
Landslyde
editLandslyde formed his own rap metal band, Dragon Red. They won the Best New Local English Artist in the 2007 AIM Awards. Landslyde is the only person who has won the award twice.
C Loco
editC Loco, now known as Sashi C Loco, pursued a solo career and released a single, "Legend of Boo". He was also featured in the soundtrack for the movie Sumo-Lah with the song "V.V.I.P". He recently released his next single in Malay, titled "Bintang", featuring Moe Nasrul. Reportedly his next English song is titled "Hip Hop", and it features a Hindi chorus sung by a new talent named Rekka.
He is also acting as a Magic:the Gathering judge.[1]
Reunion
editThere has been talk of the group reuniting since early 2007, although no official confirmations or denials of this have been released by any of the members.
In late 2009, Landslyde was interviewed with his band Dragon Red, on the Hitz FM MET 10, during which he explained why the band split. That year, Sashi C Loco was interviewed on the same show, and mentioned that he is keen on the idea of a reunion should matters among the members be resolved. However, the band has been on a permanent hiatus.[11]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- It's a nice a day to be alive (1998)
- The world is yours (2000)
- Return of tha' Boombox (2002)
Compilation
edit- The Best of (2004)
Yogi B discography
edit| Year | Movie | Songs | Co-artists | Composer | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Polladhavan | Engeyum Eppothum | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sunitha Sarathy | Yogi B | Tamil | Also co-lyricist |
| 2008 | Kuruvi | Happy New Year | Dr. Burn, Emcee Jesz, Sunidhi Chauhan | Vidyasagar | ||
| Ghajini | BGM Rap Verse (Run Run) | A. R. Rahman | Hindi | |||
| 2010 | Enthiran | Boom Boom Robo Da | Keerthi Sagathia, Shweta Mohan, Tanvi Shah | Tamil | ||
| 2011 | Aadukalam | Porkkalam (Tamil Rap) | Alwa Vasu | G. V. Prakash Kumar | ||
| Warriors (English Rap) | Also lyricist | |||||
| 2017 | Velaiilla Pattadhari 2 | Life of Raghuvaran — Nada Da Raja | Dhanush | Sean Roldan | ||
| VIP 2 (D) | Rahul Nambiar | Telugu | ||||
| VIP 2 (D) | Life of Raghuvaran — Chal Re Raja | Hindi | ||||
| Vivegam | Surviva | Anirudh Ravichander, Mali Manoj | Anirudh Ravichander | Tamil | Also co-lyricist | |
| Vivekam (D) | Anirudh Ravichander, Ranjith, Mali | Telugu | Also co-lyricist | |||
| 2018 | Kaala | Katravai Patravai | Arunraja Kamaraj, Roshan Jamrock | Santhosh Narayanan | Tamil | |
| Tik Tik Tik | Tik Tik Tik (Title Track) | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Sunitha Sarathy | D. Imman | |||
| Ezhumin | Poraadu Da | Anand Aravindakshan | Ganesh Chandrasekaran | |||
| 2020 | Darbar | Thani Vazhi | Anirudh Ravichander, Shakthisree Gopalan | Anirudh Ravichander | Also co-lyricist | |
| 2023 | Tamilarasan | Thamilarasan (Title Track) | Suzanne D'Mello, Nakash Aziz | Ilaiyaraaja |
References
edit- ^ "Poetic Ammo - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
- ^ "Hip hop is recognised". hmetro.com. Retrieved 2016-10-4 (Google translation)
- ^ Farinordin, Faridul Anwar (1999-04-23). "Lunch With This Bunch". New Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- ^ Kadir, Zainal Alam (2000-09-05). "Bound to be Chart Topping Ammo". The New Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- ^ "Poetic Ammo beridentitikan tempatan". Utusan Online. Retrieved 2016-10-05. (Malaysian)
- ^ Samat, Hafidah (July 25, 2000). "New 'ammo' from Poetic". New Straits Times.
- ^ Kadir, Zainal Alam (2000-08-28). "Letdown for Sharifah Fan". The New Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- ^ "Spice Girls Lose Flavour". New Straits Times. 1998-06-05. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- ^ a b "Natchatras Flying high-Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
- ^ Lee, Iris (2015-06-30). "Point Blanc: Bowing Out From Limelight But Still Cashing It In". Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- ^ "Still poetic in their own ways - Focus | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 2016-10-04.