Where there are Brasilieros, there is music, and Nagoya’s very own Brazilian Hip Hop band ‘MDG’ prove this point emphatically and musically every time they step to the microphone. MDG, or ‘Mundrungos’, is a 6 piece band, no, family of musicians sharply on the rise here in the 7-5-8 (‘Na-Goh-Ya’)-as the title of one of their songs says. Taken literally, the word ‘mundrungos’ means ‘street people, people raised in the culture of the street’, and therefore, mundrungos can be found anywhere in the world.
If MDG has their way, they’ll be spreading the message of mundrungos worldwide with their sick combo of hip hop, samba, reggae, rock, and whatever else they can think of. But it all starts here in Nagoya.
Read on.
“…we are trying to do a lot of events, for foreigners, Brazilians, Japanese, English speakers..for everyone..”
td: What’s next for MDG?
MDG: We’re taking it step by step. Some people are asking us to do something for a label, but we’re trying to finish our album first. It’s the most important thing now.
td: What’s the name of the album going to be?
MDG: We’re thinking of “Welcome To Nagoya”.
td: What genre of music is MDG?
MDG: Well, it’s difficult to say what genre we are. Actually we’re a hip hop band, but we mix a lot of things into it because we’re seeking the music. It’s bigger than hip hop.
td: What other elements do you put into MDG’s music?
MDG: Reggae, Samba, Jazz, Funk, we try to include these in our music.
td: How long have you been together?
MDG: We’ve been working together almost 5 years, that’s how long the band has been together, but in different forms. Shin did a freestyle at Wakamiya Skate Park about 5 years ago, and it started from there.
td: Tell me the names of the members.
MDG: There is Shin the MC, Khalil, DJ Kazka, Chicao Dievy, and Gori, the beatmaker.
td: How does MDG rep Nagoya?
MDG: We represent Nagoya in our music, we have a song called ‘Welcome To Nagoya.’ I sometimes think we love Nagoya more than some people who are from Nagoya.
td: There are always many different nationalities and races at an MDG show, how do you draw such a mixture of people?
MDG: There is only one race, the human race, and music is the only thing that can touch all the races. It doesn’t matter where you come from, or which language you speak, you come to the shows, hear the songs, and you get the feeling and the vibe, you can have a good time at an MDG show.
td: Where did the name ‘Mundrungos’ come from?
MDG: It’s a slang word. It came from the street. It means the ones born into the street culture, the music, the art, the scene, the ones raised in the street vibe.
td: What do you think of Nagoya’s music scene right now?
MDG: There are many different genres and scenes of music happening in Nagoya, Rock, Hip Hop, Reggae, R & B, techno, so people don’t really get together and get involved in one thing-so that’s where MDG comes in-we have all these and more in our music, because that’s who we really are, we hope to get everybody together at our shows who wants to hear these types of music.
td: Some influences please..
MDG: George Clinton, Parliament Funkadelic, James Brown, Tim Maia, Peter Tosh, Dr. Dre, Rage Against The Machine, Ramones, Bob Marley, The Clash, Danzig, Jack Johnson, Stooges, Buzzcocks, James Taylor..
td: All over the place! What is the main message of MDG?
MDG: MDG is a family, that’s how we operate. We need to educate people’s hearts and know where we live. We have to stay connected to Jah, and never forget your roots. We want to leave our message in a lot of places for a lot of people.
Be sure to check out MDG at
Rocktoberfest Live October 16th, 2011 at Tsurumai Koen Ampitheater.
Or Connect with them online:
