Introducing... Bona fide
Introducing... Bona fide
So who are Bona fide?
Bona fide consists of Maz (rapper/songwriter) and Ziggy (Singer/rapper/songwriter). Two best friends who have grown up together.
In the late 1980's, Maz along with his family moved to the street where Ziggy lived. This led to a friendship that survives to this day.The guys shared the same passion for music and before you knew it, the two friends were chillin on the streets singing accapella to the latest r'n'b tracks or beatboxing and rapping to the freshest hiphop tunes they could find. As their skills increased so did their enjoyment of this noble art. They loved writing lyrics and putting songs together.
However, although they released some underground material and featured on a couple of Bhangra albums it all remained just a hobby for years. ''Although we had great passion for music It was just something we did on the side. We were not able to give it our full attention due to other commitments'' explains Maz. However when one of their tracks got into the hands of Mr Fritz, the Director of Supreme Dream Records, he saw the talent they possessed and signed them up immediately to Supreme Dream Records. ''Fritz was shocked when he heard one of our tracks. He thought it was American R'n'B. He coud'nt believe it was 2 Asian lads from Rochdale. He encouraged us to take music more seriously and offered us an attractive deal''
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Since signing up with Supreme Dream, Bona fide have been performing at highly publicised gigs and concerts up and down the country.They have performed alongside big names such as Raghav, Steve Sutherland, Stereo Nation, Juggy D, Veronica, Zeus and many more.
Earlier this year Bona fide released 'would i lie to you' on white label. This became a big underground hit .It also received extensive airplay. It was on 'A' list on BBC radio 1xtra, BBC Asian network, Galaxy and Clubasia just to name a few.
They were also recently featured on 'future friction'. A feature on BBC Asian networks show 'friction' in which the show focuses on acts they tip to blow up in the near future.
In a write up for Zee magazine, the head of music at the BBC Asian Network tipped Bona fide for mainstream success. He went on to say "these musicians have entered my audio-conscious and left a distinctive mark on my brain".
Not only are Maz and Ziggy vocalists and songwriters, they also showcase their fluency in Hindi and Punjabi in their music. Maz raps fluently in Punjabi as well as English whilst Ziggy has the ability to sing in Hindi and panjabi as well as English.
Currently Bona fide are working on their debut album 'The genuine article' alongside their in house producer Gorrilla Chilla and a number of other big name producers.'' The album's gonna be nothing short of essential listening'' says Maz. ''Its gonna be very different to what's coming out of the UK at the moment. Although most people describe us as an R'n'B act, the album will also contain some deep hip hop joints, raggeaton, bashment, as well as some Desi stuff. We've wrote some mind blowing melodies and amazing lyrics. Its gonna be something very fresh''
They have just finished shooting the video for 'would i lie to you'. The video was shot by Dark Matter films and will be hitting the t.v screens very soon.
With the foundations being laid, the future looks bigger and brighter for this Manchester based duo.
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