BombayMami
The Princess of Sass
Mantsoe ke Zachary Weg
It's a sunny afternoon in Paris and BombayMami is surrounded by all of the noise. Sitting outside a posh café on the eve of her first concert in the City of Lights, French twenty-somethings talking all around her, all of the gab doesn't faze the rising musician. She's unflappable.
Born Shanta Venkatesh, with roots in both India and Switzerland, the genre-blending artist began making music as a teenager. "I grew up listening to R&B and hip-hop since I was 9 kapa 10," she says behind wide auburn sunglasses. "I got this little booklet with all of these CDs of my favorite artists, like Tupac, Biggie, and Aaliyah…I was obsessed with it." Ka nako eo, MTV was "such a big thing, as well," as she points out, and BombayMami immersed herself in American pop culture. "It never seemed like it could be happening, even…the dream about doing music, or anything when it comes to art," o re.
With her innate drive, Leha ho le joalo, the 33-year-old artist began making music under the moniker Ta'Shan and garnered some listens for her songs. Yet it wasn't until recently, when she adopted her current name, BombayMami, that she attracted more attention. E ntse e le teng, more than earning press notice, BombayMami represents Venkatesh in her truest musical self.
"When I create music, I create it obviously from my inner kind of energy, and then kind of put it out into the world," o re. "You hope, as an artist, that you will resonate within and that people will connect with it. When I was younger, it was more like, 'Ho lokile, what could work? What could be trendy?' Now, it has totally changed. Joale, I just create the things that I want to create, and it's very impactful when it does connect, Mme, if it doesn't, then I'm still really excited about it because I really love the music and I love to form the music."
Earlier this year, BombayMami released the single "Fire in Delhi" and demonstrated her ability to resonate with listeners. The song, from her forthcoming album Peaceful Attitude, has received millions of listens on TikTok and much attention across social media, but even this achievement doesn't thoroughly do BombayMami justice. Sebakeng seo, lyrics such as "I don't got no time to waste,/Watch me tik-tok and match my pace" prove that BombayMami is a refreshingly witty lyricist.
Commenting on her approach and how she remains authentic within the often demanding music industry, BombayMami says, "ke nahana, obviously, I'm not 21 anymore. I think I'm a little bit more… I've been doing this for a while, and I want obviously to be able to just live off the music and do this on a level where I can have a nice life. But I also don't want to sell my soul. I live for this, and I do this because I don't know what else I would do, really. There are pressures but, on the other side… I'm just not trying to do anything else than be myself." BombayMami has continued to display her talents on her latest single, "Jaloux." A standout track off Peaceful Attitude, "Jaloux" starts with a warm guitar line and a string arrangement before BombayMami sings, "Ngoana, with me, you got something special,/If you play with me, you dance with the devil,/I get you weak in your knees,/All day." Not unlike her idol, Missy Elliott, BombayMami isn't playing here. She's shunning any naysayers with sass and showing that she's not one to play the fool.
Such zest is part of BombayMami's identity. With her hard-hitting flow and no-nonsense approach, she can be pegged as a kind of millennial M.I.A. Yet she distinguishes herself with personal yet relatable songs of womanhood and resilience. "Remember that dress, that had you obsessed,/I'll wear it but not for you,/Call up my girls, bombshells and curls,/The Uber, l'll be waiting, le eona," she spits on "Jaloux," rising with her fellow women against anyone who tries to take them down. With Peaceful Attitude, BombayMami maintains her gusto. On another standout track, "Hot Boyz," for example, she sings, "Gimme some,/Boyz so hot that I want all them,/Tempted to touch,/I want more than one,/Hot Boy, Hot Boyz —gimme some." Also including such lines as, "Know that body lookin' good,/When I check on it,/Every time I see that wood," the song is one of the most unabashedly steamy in recent memory. Yet BombayMami is about more than mere thrill; she wants to connect with listeners.
"I had this gig here in Paris. There were 300 people there, kapa 200, and I enjoyed it so much," o re. "E le sebini, ehlile, you have to move them. You have to. But I'm just really grateful that I'm actually able to do it, and I'm really, really grateful that people actually enjoy the music."
Check out her new single released today: ‘Energy (Chak Dum Dum) ft Mannywellz’