Our Tuesday live series has seen an influx of amazing artists coming onboard to share their latest updates. Dee MC started the show over the course of pandemic, and ended up uniting all the elements of hip hop under one banner. The Fifth Element focuses on the art and the artist rather than the hype surrounding their name. In one of our episodes we had the opportunity to invite Mo Boucher for some real talk.
Formed in 2006 by Mo Boucher (Atishbaz) and Irish Boi, Thugs Unit were the first hip-hop group established in Hyderabad. They are regarded as India’s finest, most seasoned conscious duo, unveiling the truth from underground’s belly. Their raw sound came through in their comeback album’s first release titled ‘Atishbazi’. Aimed at taking a shot at the rotting political state of their country, the emcees left no stones unturned.
In 2006, Mo Boucher became the first emcee to introduce Jamaican Raggamuffin flavour to the Indian hip-hop scene through his reggae-inspired music, making Hyderabad the birthplace of homegrown reggae. Because rap was inherited from the West, most Indian artists only rapped in English – in 2008, Thugs Unit pioneered rapping in Urdu. The music video ‘Buss Em’ from ‘Resurrection 040’ brings that very flavour of Jamaican and Urdu sounds mixed together.
watch the full episode of The Fifth Element featuring Mo Boucher here –
View this post on Instagram
Furthermore, Mo Boucher goes further into the zone live on The Fifth Element with Dee MC. He talks passionately about the decision of making a comeback now more than ever. As a matter of fact, Mo holds nothing back as he admits that he finds the Hyderabadi hip hop scene (as well as the whole Indian rap game in general) to be very cringe. In fact, that is also one of the reasons they decided to make this album – in order to bring back the original Sufi hip hop flavour they introduced their city to.
Thugs Unit sees hip-hop as a tool for spreading knowledge and shifting mindsets. The barrier-breaking duo stated, “Hip-hop represents the voice of the people. We use our voices against oppression in all forms. When we see something wrong in our community, we speak about it in our music. Our music makes people think. We try to give them a new perspective and inspire them to question not only society’s ills, but also themselves. Apart from that we make sure our music best reflects our life journey and true selves.”
Don’t forget to watch the full episode of The Fifth Element featuring Mo Boucher from Thugs Unit. Stream their album ‘Resurrection 040’ here and don’t forget to check out the latest music videos!