Malaysian Veteran Artist Sasi the Don Pairs Nursery Rhymes and Reggae in Latest Video
‘Humpty Dumpty’ is taken from his upcoming full-length album ‘My Second Wave’
Malaysian reggae and dancehall veteran Sasi the Don.
In his latest music video for the new single “Humpty Dumpty,” Malaysian reggae artist Sasi the Don turns a bookstore into a fantastical realm featuring a unicorn, a princess and more. And yet, it’s not even close to the wild ride he’s had shooting in India for previous videos.
He says, “I remember when I was shooting ‘Hello India’ [2015], we were filming in front of the Gateway of India… we were cowboys and we were caught for trespassing and they forgave us and let us to go forward with the footages. We filmed me in a hot air balloon in Pune, which was a mind blowing experience too.”
A dancehall and reggae frontrunner in Asia for nearly two decades, Sasi puts a twist on a nursery rhyme with “Humpty Dumpty,” keen to engage with kids as a new target audience. Nevertheless, it’s got a bigger message for people of all ages. The artist says, “The song is about sometimes people having a great fall. There comes moments when everything comes crashing down, like it did during the pandemic.”
Like many, Sasi does marvel at the year that’s gone by in the midst of COVID-19, but he also mentions he’s had a productive time. Releasing his previous single “Daddy Don” in June (with a music video shot under tight quarantine regulations), the artist says he’s been as creative as possible, whether it’s with his job in advertising or taking up oil painting. When it came to recording music, he was meticulous to the point of maintaining a diary and planning each session and ideas for songs with producers and collaborators. Like his mentor and close friend, fellow Asian-origin reggae artist Apache Indian, Sasi says he’s always keen to work with new talent.
On “Humpty Dumpty,” he calls on 24-year-old Malaysian rapper Eli, whom Sasi discovered after hosting a rap competition in July. “I worked with another newcomer from Malaysia named Yunohoo, she is a very prominent female rapper from Malaysia who’s featured in South Indian film music a couple of years ago,” the artist says. While there’s also Indian-origin producer Deyo Thomas working with Sasi, a name more familiar to Indians is likely to be singer and Indian Idol winner Abhijeet Sawant, who’s become fast friends with Sasi over the last three years. “We collaborated for the song ‘Jaanejana,’ it’s about love… a male seeking the right girl in Mumbai city,” Sasi says.
Tentatively slated to include 10 or 11 tracks in total, Sasi the Don’s upcoming album is called My Second Wave. Originally titled The Second Wave, Sasi has perhaps slightly re-jigged the name to avoid any ire, lest he be called insensitive. He explains, however, that the title came from an honest, personal place of understanding. “I have been in the two decades and have accomplished many things, which is my first wave. In my second wave, it’s a very personal thing, it’s all about creating new opportunities for people in the world I live in […] People could look into my second wave as a very positive way, like the pandemic was a turning point and what it is after that,” he says.
Watch the video for “Humpty Dumpty” ft ELi below.
