Taboo and Santana ready to go desi
American rapper Jamie Luiz Gomez aka Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas is coming to Delhi to play at the F1 Amber Lounge on October 28. “It’s my first time in India as an individual. I hope the crowd’s as excited as I feel,” says the 37-year-old.
American rapper Jamie Luiz Gomez aka Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas is coming to Delhi to play at the F1 Amber Lounge on October 28. “It’s my first time in India as an individual. I hope the crowd’s as excited as I feel,” says the 37-year-old.
The rapper will be playing a lot of new music at the event. “I like to play open format, which means that I’ll be playing some dance music, a little bit of electro, a little bit of hip-hop and R&B and some new material I’m working on.”
He says he’s also here to look out for some Indian musicians to collaborate with them in future. “I don’t really know too much about Indian musicians. I would like to learn more. As soon as I get to India, I’ll definitely look out and try to listen to different upcoming artists and if I get a chance, I would definitely like to collaborate.” Ask him where he got his stage name from, and he says, “I grew up in a predominantly Mexican community and being friends with different nationalities was a taboo in my neighbourhood. I had an African-American girlfriend and so, Taboo!”
Guitar legend Carlos Santana, who will perform in Delhi during the Grand Prix, can’t wait to get started. “I am really excited to be in India and I am really honoured as well to play in here.”
The Mexican-American, who owes a lot of his guitar playing to his spiritual side, says there’s an Indian connection to some of his beliefs. “I am inspired by the works of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Aurbindo and many other great spiritual leaders. They stay with their principles which is what appeals to me and that’s what my guitar playing is about. It’s about sticking to one’s own principles, staying true to your heart.” The 65-year-old, who is being brought to India by DNA Entertainment Networks, adds, “I am 65 and I am still a hippy.”
Speaking to us over phone, Santana, who loves food and also has a restaurant named Maria Maria after his chart-topper by the same name, admits that he loves Indian food. “I am a big fan of Indian food. I love the chicken curries, especially the spices! Columbus settled here because he found spices here, which was the main reason he left Europe!”