{"id":46697,"date":"2025-09-06T05:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T05:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/46697\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T05:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T05:22:09","slug":"indians-cant-speak-bm-rapper-balan-kashs-cekap-ep-proves-critics-wrong-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/46697\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Indians can\u2019t speak BM?\u2019 Rapper Balan Kash\u2019s \u2018Cekap\u2019 EP proves critics wrong (VIDEO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 \u2014 After more than a decade in the game, Klang-born rapper Balan Kash is proving his versatility with his first full Bahasa Malaysia EP, Cekap \u2014 and the scene is taking notice, with two of its tracks now nominated for Malaysia\u2019s prestigious Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM).<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old artist is currently on cloud nine after his songs, Cekap and Kuala Lumpur, were recently nominated for Best Rap\/Hip-Hop Song at this year\u2019s AIM 24.<\/p>\n

Commemorating Malaysia\u2019s national month, Balan also released a bold music video for the title track, layered with powerful messages of unity.<\/p>\n

But before diving into the story behind Cekap, it\u2019s worth recapping the journey of the \u201cMacha Magic Freestyle\u201d rapper.<\/p>\n

\"Malaysian <\/p>\n

Malaysian rapper Balan Kash is on cloud nine after getting two nominations at this year’s Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM 24). \u2014 Picture by Firdaus Latiff<\/p>\n

The long road to \u2018Cekap\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inspired by Malaysian hip-hop Ogs like Poetic Ammo and Too Phat, Balan started rapping in high school.<\/p>\n

He was part of early rap groups KLG Sqwad and 7th Redemption, making a name for himself in the local scene by opening for Teh Tarik Crew and even being featured on Too Phat\u2019s final album in 2005.<\/p>\n

After the group\u2019s disbandment in 2008, Balan went solo, delivering raps in both English and Tamil.<\/p>\n

His big break came in 2016 with the hit song Start That Thiruvizha, which caught the attention of Sony Music India and led to a collaboration with famed Indian composer Anirudh Ravichander on the hit soundtrack Hola Amigo.<\/p>\n

In 2023, he also made his acting debut in Budak Flat, Prime Video\u2019s first Malaysian Amazon Original film.<\/p>\n

\"According <\/p>\n

According to Balan, the Cekap EP is a culmination of things that he\u2019s good at. \u2014 Picture by Fidaus Latiff<\/p>\n

The Klang connection<\/strong><\/p>\n

The interview takes place on a bustling Friday evening at a tea shop in Balan\u2019s hometown of Klang.<\/p>\n

As sirens wail in the background, he casually explains, \u201cOh, today is Friday. That means they are transporting remanded individuals to the balai (police station) from the court complex just behind here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a glimpse into the street-level awareness that shapes his music. He speaks with pride about the city\u2019s recent rejuvenation, from cleaner streets to vibrant murals.<\/p>\n

Seeing his love for his community,\u00a0Cekap comes as no surprise. But why the sudden focus on Bahasa Malaysia?<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter Covid-19, I realised I\u2019ve done Tamil songs, but as a musician, I\u2019m still unsatisfied because I didn\u2019t do anything in my country\u2019s own language,\u201d Balan explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the point of being known abroad only amongst your community, but the people in my own country don\u2019t know me? In Malaysia, everyone understands BM… I also want to break the stereotype that Indians can\u2019t speak BM fluently, and it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five-track EP, titled Cekap (meaning efficient or competent), is a culmination of what Balan does best.<\/p>\n

The AIM-nominated track Kuala Lumpur\u00a0is a personal song based on his life navigating the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cKL taught me both the good and the bad. It will eat you alive if you don\u2019t know how to survive,\u201d he said, adding he was inspired by legends like the late Datuk Sudirman and Too Phat, who all have songs about KL.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt almost felt like if you want to be a legend here, you need at least one song about KL.\u201d<\/p>\n

A beat for unity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The music video for Cekap opens with a powerful archival sound clip of the late PP Narayanan, a prominent Malaysian trade unionist, declaring that talking about race after independence is \u201ccomplete nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balan decided to use the clip after a friend shared it, wanting to introduce a new generation to this key historical figure.<\/p>\n

The video\u2019s other highlight is its infusion of dikir barat, a traditional Malay musical performance.<\/p>\n

Balan said the art form has always been part of his life, from school performances to famous 90s public service announcements.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had this idea to open the doors for the closed-minded Indians, Malays, and Chinese so that they could embrace Malaysia,\u201d he said. \u201cMusic is the only way because there are no social classes, no status, religion, or even language when it comes to music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can use it to inspire or to destroy, and I choose to inspire.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 \u2014 After more than a decade in the game, Klang-born rapper Balan Kash is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[34745,34743,34747,34744,18,117,19,17,32503,34746,337],"class_list":{"0":"post-46697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-anugerah-industri-muzik","9":"tag-balan-kash","10":"tag-budak-flat","11":"tag-cekap-ep","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-kuala-lumpur","17":"tag-malaysian-hip-hop","18":"tag-music"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}