This Week In Dallas Music History: The Transcendental Rhymes of Bhakti

It turns out that Neon Indian isn't the first area musician to essentially invent a new genre.Fourteen years ago to the week, something new was brewing in the then-somewhat dry Dallas hip-hop scene: Bhakti, a project by Dallas rapper Reggie Shaw, was garnering international attention for its new style, "Krishna...

By Daniel Hopkins

September 12, 2011

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It turns out that Neon Indian isn't the first area musician to essentially invent a new genre.

Fourteen years ago to the week, something new was brewing in the then-somewhat dry Dallas hip-hop scene: Bhakti, a project by Dallas rapper Reggie Shaw, was garnering international attention for its new style, "Krishna Rap."

So, in this edition of This Week In Dallas Music History, we look back to 1997, when Observer contributor Richard Baimbridge introduced us to Bhakti.

At this point in Bhakti's career, things were already moving along quickly for the the 23-year-old Shaw, with international interest from The BBC World Service the UK, a potential record deal with Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White and a production deal with DJ Zero of MC 900 Foot Jesus.

All of this was birthed out of Shaw's Hare Krishna beliefs, which grew strong during his former stint as a monk, and in his study of metaphysics. Hit the jump to read the entire story, it's all rather interesting.

Check out the story in the Observer online archives.

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