Resisting Conformity: Putting Pavan Mukhi In Nike Air Maxes Just Fits

Resisting Conformity: Putting Pavan Mukhi In Nike Air Maxes Just Fits

[March 26th marks 30 years of the Nike Air Max’s iconic goodness. As they embark on their own epic rewind, we dug deep into the past of personalities who fit Nike’s own powerful legacy. Here’s Pavan Mukhi of Foreign Beggars & Arms House.] 

SP15_NSW_AirMax_AMD_260315

Following Pavan Mukhi around Supersonic Festival’s Arms House stage in Goa and beyond, late last year, was a masterclass in the art of unapologetic, individual expression. Overwhelming almost, when coupled with the self-doubt year ends bring with it anyway but the moral of this story? He may be a certified whacko, but he’s the kind of whacko that anyone who doesn’t know what’s good for them wants a piece of. He saw right through us though. The last leg of this interview (a cross-continental skype call) was met with a skeptical, “How many f***king questions do you need to ask? Are you trying to get to know me or something?” Well, yes, but only because rewinds are the only way to connect bits of your past to the why’s of who you are today, I wanted to say but before I could explain, he was already on to the next million things that caught his fancy. I guess I asked for it? Pavan’s famous for not being able to focus on a single thing at a time. 

HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-9

It seems inappropriate, somehow, to script a serious interview with him of international rap community acclaim and Foreign Beggars fame. Partly because there’s no professional distance between us anymore and partly because running around between back stage and festival sited to ridiculously opulent helipads in private Goa homes overrun by six giant great danes while he finds new ways to rib you and test your social limits, isn’t exactly the way we usually chase stories. But sudden (metaphorical) nudity, it turns out, is a great leveller. Over 6 months of gradually getting to know him better in the crosshairs of his professional and personal life, I’m now fairly certain he’ll push and prod just about anyone more than is considered ‘appropriate’ just to gauge their reaction a little. See the thing is, he doesn’t really give a shit about your pre-conceived notions or even how you perceive yourself. He’s just going to go ahead and treat you the same as he does everyone else anyway, and he’s not the kind of person who apologizes for who he is either.
When Frank Rudy first proposed an airbag technology that could be used for footwear cushioning before the first pair of Nike Air Max rolled out in 1987, most people thought he was insane. A similar story is told about Tinker Hatfield when he first conceived the idea of the shoe with a visible airbag inspired by an architectural construct in Paris. It’s always easier to brand things we don’t understand as crazy. It’s this genuine irreverence even in the face of dissonance that allowed us to pinpoint the synchronicity between Mukhi and the iconic sneakers. Of course, as we discovered while following him around surveillance-style around Goa, It didn’t hurt that he’s been sitting tight in Air Maxes for 25 odd years now either. In both cases, it’s exactly that irreverence that sets them a class apart. Most of Mukhi’s answers to questions that wonder how he’s able to do some of the things he does begins with ‘I don’t really care what other people think.” As a multi-talented artist, MC, music publisher, producer, manager, record label founder and so much more, he also fits the face of a rebellious new generation who are making their attention deficit default work for them in this manic world. Wired out to be wired in. Taking from countless geographic and cultural influences, he’s a legacy in the making and it just happens to lock-fit with Nike’s own.
And so we valiantly tried to keep up with him over festivals and after parties, deadline-driven organizational pressures and well, whatever other pressures worked their way into a day’s work. In all that time, I’ve never seen him speak of sleep, let along actually indulge in it. I watched him played organizer, performer, party starter and mediator without ever seeming overwhelmed by it. Somewhere between all the debauchery however, we managed to share words about everything from the influence of his ancestry, the choicest underpants and the weight of the word ‘bitch,’  to the lessons of lost love and how many sachets of ketchup is appropriate per burger? One for every bite you take apparently, but you’ll have to fast-forward your way down to see just how far back this epic rewind goes.
1. How has your ancestry (and all the different countries you’ve lived in) influenced what you do and your outlook on life? 
Wow, ancestry wise. Hindu Sindhis, grandparents on both sides were displaced. Being an Indian person with an Indian passport born in Dubai is interesting though as you never receive citizenship so I am something of a foreigner in my birthplace. I’m indianIndian but have never lived in India, and where I actually come from is now a new country where Indian citizens have only recently really been given access to visit. My first language is English, but I was brought up like an American kid as we’d spend a lot of time in California, my maternal grandparents still lived there and would send us tapes and videos of American television and cable every month. Soon after, we were sent to very conservative English schools so we (he has two elder brothers) were brought up with staunchly British values, which definitely taught us the power of the middle finger. I feel Indian, I feel London and I feel Dubai. I guess i’mI’m an international weirdo but I have to say I love it. Being from everywhere and nowhere is a bit of a bitch but I don’t see it as not belonging anywhere as opposed to knowing how to connect and fit in everywhere I go.

HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-8

2. And you’ve found a way to bring those multiple ancestries full circle with Arms House it seems, tell us a little bit about it and what your future plans are? 
I started Arms House with Prash Mistry of Engine-Earz and Ali Sachedina. It’s something we created to form a bridge between India and the west. Essentially it is a platform for cultural exchange via underground music but with a focus on the associated art forms and attitudes, not just their aesthetics. Recently we brought 30 artists over 4 days to our bass stage on Vh1Supersonic which was a dream to say the least. We recently worked on Major Lazer’s debut Indian tour with Oji and Viacom18, Mala at Magnetic Fields, Asa’s debut Indian tour to mention a few. Plenty more fun to be had in 2015!
3. What do you think is your most important contribution to Foreign Beggars’ sound is? 
The raps, energy and humour I guess and also the upbeat electronic hype side..
4. Describe your creative process to us. 
Bam. Get a beat, listen to what the beat is telling us, each instrumental tells a story/ inner dialogue, pick a concept..vibe with a hook, either solo or with metropolis…feel it..and then zone into the verse. Find a flow and lyric for the first line, work the rhyme scheme and flow off the back of it. Record, assess, work an arrangement, send it back to the producer to work the beats around the vox. Perhaps add some frills afterwards or change parts and bam!! Track done.
5. Is there a moment you knew music was going to play an important role in your life. 
Jeez…. I have a couple from about ’83/84. One was watching TV and our favourite song at the time, ‘round and round’ by Ratt was on. Still love that song & video. Totally my entire rock and metal trajectory is because my mum showed me that shit.
Second, 84, getting into my uncle’s mustang in San Francisco, sitting in the back in the middle with my feet either side of that hump, night time about 8 pm, heading down those hills, heading out for ice cream and “beat it” comes on the radio. Goose pimples and I literally lost it like, this is the coolest fucking shit EVER!! I was taken.. I still get that feeling whenever i hear that synth drone bell at the start before the guitar kicks in.
6. What about Michael Jackson’s legacy still inspires you so much?
Man, he’s just one of those artists that’s had a career spanning like 50 years. Maybe in the later years he kind of lost the plot but in terms of artistry, the essence of his message is still beautiful you know? I think the people around him, the world around him sort of fucked him up. But the reason MJ is so important is because he covered generations of musical varieties in his own lifetime. Even when he was 5/6/7 years old he was channeling the old soul, mo-town movement. He was embodying 50 years of musical heritage at that age and he just kept rolling with the times. He was there from the beginning of funk, rock n’ roll, heavy metal, hip-hop. When breakdance came out, he was at the forefront of it. He was one of the best artists, singers, songwriters, everything man. His legacy’s so strong that even when he was just 12, there were people who’d been doing the stuff he was doing for 20 years and they still valued what he had inside of him.

HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-75

7. How do you relate to him as an artist?
I want to say I related but I just think that without MJ..well, he just set the standards so high. So now when people think like..’I wanna do something’ you can look at him and like ‘this is how it needs to be done, how it can be done.’ You can’t do anything really shit after that. If somebody’s performed at that level and is in your sphere of influences, then you have to try to live up to it.
8. So how do you set standards for yourself now?
Well, we’re lucky with hip-hop because it’s so competitive. Plus standards within our family itself are very, very high. So even in terms of presentation, all of that stuff, family did install those values that pass on. Also, when I was young, I was really into graffiti. In hip-hop culture so much reverence is placed on your individuality, on your style. One of my best friends who i used to go out with was amazing at it, way better than me at painting and because he’d gotten into it sooner, understood the art form better, immersed himself in the culture a little more, he understood how important presentation was for people to take your tag seriously. For me in the beginning, it was like ‘oh cool, you’re painting, i’ll paint shit or whatever’ but he was like ‘no, don’t even put your stuff near mine.’ (laughs) It helped though, that competition forced me to understand the art form better.
9. It’s interesting you say that because of the age-old debate around hip-hop emerging across the globe, so far from where it began and still finding relevance. In one of your previous interviews, you’ve said ‘Talent is talent wherever its from.’ What’s your take on removing music from its context?
I think basically it’s an understanding of the art form. I think that it started in one place, sure, but hip hop is a means of expression and communication. It’s a method for anybody who’s disenfranchised in a particular situation (anybody who doesn’t have a voice) to get their message across. That coupled with shit like the internet, it’s really powerful because it puts everybody on an equal playing field. There’s so much messed up shit like censorship in the industry or the fact that major labels have a grip on what kind of stuff goes through, or radio labels only want music in a certain format. At the end of the day, it’s much more widespread than that. It’s about technique. It’s your respect to the art form that makes it aesthetically interesting. I mean, I can listen to a rapper from Estonia or Sri Lanka speaking in a language where i may not be able to understand what they’re saying but I understand how deep their respect for hip-hop is, in the way that it’s flowing. How they’re fucking with the flow, the beats, the words, the sound, or even the production value of what they’re doing.
10. So what’s the message you hope for your music to give out to listeners?
Personal empowerment. Do some investigation, understand that you as an individual have the tools to investigate, understand, inspire and affect change at any level and any extent you’re willing to let yourself imagine.
11. You use the word ‘bitch’ as relentlessly as you seem to love and respect women. What are your thoughts on misogyny and the word ‘bitch?’
Love the word bitch. Not a fan of misogyny.
Words, despite holding infinite amounts of power, can change meaning almost to the polar opposite given the context. Like ‘Bad’ becoming an expression of how much one appreciates something. In Australia, one of the highest compliments you can give someone on road is calling them a ‘Sick Cunt.’ That could actually stop someone beating you up and shaking hands. Bitch is a funny one because in Hip Hop, which has inadvertently adopted a lot of misogynistic traits due to its competitive nature and braggadocio, has kinda been the catalyst for, women being referred to as ‘bitches,’ without and aggressive assertion, becoming common place. i.e.  “She’s my Bitch”. How said she might take this is 50/50 but if she really was a ‘ride or die’  she would be honoured to call herself ‘his’ bitch. “I’m chilling with mad bitches, I love my bitches, bitches were craaazy,” are all quasi-complimentary I guess. Now i fully see why it’s wrong but I’m naughty and playful and even when I do use the term, ladies who wouldn’t necessarily stand for misogyny understand that I’m a cheeky one and using it as a term of endearment and let it run. In a situation where someone sees that and then decides to get offended..it is evidently a choice they have made, at which point, zero fucks get given.

HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-77

12. How seriously would you say you take your own lyrics then, do you see yourself as a provocateur? 
I take the creation, prose and art form  seriously. A lot of my stuff is socio-political commentary, sci-fi, pseudo spiritual, but it’s also very satirical, and entertaining. I love offending anyone super conservative and small-minded enough to be offended. wouldn’t say a provocateur, but I don’t hold back. Hip-hop and generally being an MC/ Recording artist means I have a medium and a forum to express exactly what I want, when I want and how I want to. I can even go as far as investing in its dissipation and its creative presentation to maximise its reach.
13. What about your personal style? You’ve always had an extremely individualistic look how has it changed over the past decade?
It depends on the time man, I think all kinds of shit. I can go back 20 years! There was a very UK Jungle style phase which saw me in skinny jeans, Nike Air Maxes, all classics and a nice designer shirt. Then there was a full skate phase so I used to wear a lot phat skate shit.
Or the Polo sport years as I used to call it, really lo-life era stuff in the mid to late ‘90s, just rocking some really expensive designer shit, swanking it out in really swag tracksuits and what not.
When I was living in London of course, it became much more Londonized you know. Like rude boy, skinny jeans, designer shit or even a matching chino shirt and jeans combination.
Right now, progressive, weird menswear is what I’m into. Sometimes I even buy women’s jeans, I love my Air Force 1s, plain white skinny jeans for women.
14. What do you think influences it?
You know, I just don’t give a f*** what anyone else thinks. I can see something that’s for grannies in some shop but it’s got some sort of weird swag, or maybe i’ll see something I like in Zara or H & M and i’ll look at the women’s and men’s side because there’s a lot of stuff i can wear out of context. With the rest of my clothes, it’ll look dope.
15. And Air Maxes have been a staple all along? How do they fit into such a range of looks?
I’ve been wearing Air Maxes for a quarter of a century man. I’ve been more of a fan of Nike shoes than any other shoes, it’s just the shit. I love the steez, I love the comfort, and you know what—the shape goes with phat jeans, skinny jeans, shirts, everything. The swag is intact.

HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-33

16. Indeed. So back to getting to know you again—can you pin point 1-2 defining moments in your life?
Ok, there’s one defining thing I think made me more productive and more accepting of myself - the first time i decided to take a crew on tour. I ended up taking like 3 rap crews (including Foreign Beggars) a DJ, 5 friends and a couple of other people. We all went on a tour to Norway, and I was like 24. Basically the crew from the Norwegian side didn’t really handle that side of things for shit. I mean, we got the shows booked but that was it. I ended up coordinating 21 people arriving into the country, promoting the shows when they hadn’t been promoted, I was seriously embarrassed. There was teaching people lyrics as they were getting off the planes and shit, sound guy at the first venue was blind, we almost died a couple of times, literally trying to deal with that level of Bullshit. Basically, it was the most stressed out I’ve ever been in my entire life. And when the tour was done, at the back of my head, there was a patch of white hair about that big (4 fingers wide) at that point I was shocked i was stressed, I hadn’t experienced anything like it before and I just told myself you know what, in life, you can do your best in situations and you can work hard but certain things will always be beyond your control and you can’t blame yourself for that shit so it’s just like try your hardest, do your best. and then there’s no point fucking giving yourself white hair or any other physiological problem because of other bull shit, you know what i mean? That’s kind of an ethos i think I’ve taken with me for the rest of my life. Do your best but don’t kill yourself.
[hesitates for a while]
And another moment was being in love with somebody for a long time, knowing it’s completely right, knowing they loved you but also knowing that they weren’t in the right place to be with you. So it becomes not just about being able to let someone go, but being able to let go with love and understanding that there’s a very indulgent side to love which you have to kind of learn to balance out. I don’t know..I guess you still come out of it jaded no matter what the fuck happens but it’s also good to learn you shouldn’t block certain things out. Every experience that you have in life can be super deep. Super deep…that’s a really good way to put it! (laughs)
17. And finally, what’s left to fulfill in this legacy? What’s one thing you really want to accomplish in the next year or so?
Just to become more of a powerhouse, you know. We (Foreign Beggars) have a management company, a record label, a publishing company, a band. I want to see equal growth for all those verticals and I definitely want to see regular nights for my record label. I really want to elevate to record label to something like an Ed Bangers status you know, just really international shit.

Quick Question Round:

- A moment in your life you’d like to live on repeat. 
First orgasm.
- What (older) era of music do you feel you would have fit into best? 
Glam Rock
- India’s most exciting local talent, according to you?  
Sandunes
- One thing about you most people don’t see/ pick up on? 
I really care (smiles angelically)
- Disco ball sunglasses or leather kilt?  
The Glasses.

- Do you ever sleep? 
Yeah… I get plenty. Everything in extremes.
- Where’s the after party?  
In your 30’s.
I’ll keep that in mind. For now, all I want is a bed and a comforter to make up for the sleep Mukhi’s deprived me of.

HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-29
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-31
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-34
Screen-Shot-2015-03-23-at-2.41
Screen-Shot-2015-03-23-at-2.40
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-50
1213
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-5
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-71
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-15
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-25
q1w2
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-21
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-17
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-18
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-27
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-24
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-76
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-74
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-73
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-77
HomegrownxArmsHouseXNike-FinalWeb-43

Click on the image below to buy the Nike #Airmax Lunars on Myntra.

HEADER-1


[March 26th marks 30 years of the Nike Air Max’s iconic goodness. As they embark on their own epic rewind, we dug deep into the past of personalities who fit Nike’s own powerful legacy. Here’s Pavan Mukhi of Foreign Beggars.]

Image Credit: Mohitt Joshi

[London-based Mo Joshi aka Mo Styles first took up photography at the legendary Chai Wallahs Festival venue in 2009. Since then, he has photographes over 500 live shows around the world. Honing a special passion for live music, his repertoire includes working with the likes of Mos Def, Joss Stone, David Rodigan and Reeps One to name a few. In his spare time, he loves to travel—places which offer pool time are preferred—spend time with his dogs and when he has a minute, run 4 other businesses dealing with Data & Social Media Strategy. Get further acquainted with his work on his website, instagram, twitter and Facebook.]

Words: Mandovi Menon

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
Homegrown
homegrown.co.in