MC KABIR

KABIR SEN / MC KABIR BIO:
Kabir Sen (also known as “MC Kabir”) is both a professional recording and performing artist and a full-time music teacher, who has been a staple of Boston’s music scene over the past two decades. Originally from London, he is an independent singer, rapper and producer whose music brews a robust blend of thoughtful lyrics, soulful melodies and funky rhythms from around the world. Fusing his creative interests in hip hop, songwriting and education has long been a passion for Kabir, and his background in music education has enabled him to bring his inclusive message to schools, colleges and clubs all over the country. In addition to numerous recording projects and features on other artists’ albums, Kabir has five solo albums under his first name "Kabir": “Cultural Confusion” (2001), “Fuel for the Fire” (2003), “Peaceful Solutions” (2006), "The Time is Now" (2009) and "Olympic Gold” (2012). His 6th album “No More Excuses” (2016) was a Beatles-inspired mix of bluesy soul songs and ballads, and his 7th album "The Good Life (If You Only Knew)" returned to his hip hop roots (both were released under his full name "Kabir Sen.")
Kabir has received highly positive reviews in The New Yorker, Billboard, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The International Herald Tribune, SPIN, VIBE, URB, and countless other publications. His career was featured on National Public Radio, including a 10-minute feature on PRI’s “The World”. He wrote, arranged and produced a multi-genre children’s music album for IBM, as well as several educational hip hop songs for a number of subjects and school curriculums. Kabir is a writer, producer and consultant for “Rhythm Rhyme Results” (winner of two Parent Choice Awards). He has been a guest host for a Top-10 video countdown on MTV, he appeared on an episode of the PBS children’s cartoon “Fetch”, and he was even commissioned to write and record a song for PBS about "Masterpiece Theater" (in honor of the show’s 50 year anniversary). Kabir was commissioned to write, record and perform a song in honor of Berklee College of Music president, Roger Brown, and last year he penned an article about his relationship with his father for GQ magazine. He was also recently invited to showcase his work and musical journey in “Beyond Bollywood” – an Indian American Heritage exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.

Kabir grew up on all kinds of music from the Beatles to Ravi Shankar to Thelonious Monk (and everything in between). He fell in love with funk, soul and jazz music in high school and, while in his college band “Uncle Trouble,” he began writing songs that were influenced by the music of Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone and Jamiroquai. As he began diving deeper into the world of rapping, recording and performing, Kabir steered his energy toward writing message-oriented hip hop music. Over the last twenty years he has shared stages with plenty of established hip hop and live band acts, many of whom have influenced his own sound, including (among others): The Roots, KRS-ONE, Slick Rick, Talib Kweli, Lyrics Born, De La Soul, Blackalicious, A Tribe Called Quest, People Under the Stairs, Coolio, Wyclef Jean, The Perceptionists (Mr Lif & Akrobatik), Ed O.G. Aesop Rock, El-P (from Run the Jewels), Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Soulive, The Slip, Lettuce, The Motet, John Brown's Body and many more.

Kabir is also a founding member of "The Krush Faktory" - a live band community that features many talented Boston musicians, performing every Thursday night for almost 10 years at Bull McCabes pub in Somerville. He has hosted and curated a monthly show at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge on the first Saturday of every month (also running for almost10 years now), and the show continues to thrive and reach new fans each month. In affirmation of his love for the music of “The Beatles,” Kabir also does a monthly show at the Plough & Stars in Cambridge on the third Saturday of every month in which he blends Fab 4 tunes with his own repertoire (the night has come to be known as “KaBeatles”).

Kabir's wide range of professional experiences as a performer, music teacher and recording artist have enabled his musical work to take on a variety of different shapes: interactive performances (either solo or with a live band), recording projects for any number of purposes, and hip hop education workshops and lectures at schools, where students of all ages learn about the history of the art form and explore hip hop as an expression of their own cultural identity. For booking and press inquiries please contact: mckabir@yahoo.com and for Kabir’s albums please visit: http://www.kabirsen.bandcamp.com
Website: www.kabirsen.com