By Esther Sanchez
Friends since childhood, this trio of emcees has been honing their skills as lyricists, producers and performers for the past couple of years and now they are chomping at the bit to be heard. Feeling as though they are as ready for the local scene as the scene is for them…The Bermuda has arrived. Armed with a new album consisting of 20 tracks and a couple of new videos, they have plenty to offer.
I first met the boys who go by the monikers, Bunkz, Ivy the Giant and Madd Hatter, when they competed against Chill Magnet, Upper Class Poverty and Wicked Jed in the 2nd preliminary round of competition for the CV Music Showcase. Wicked Jed ended up taking the win that night, but, myself, along with the audience, judges and fellow competitors were all impressed by The Bermuda’s performance and the balls that it took for them to compete in a situation where they were rappers with tracks going up against full bands. Jeanette Krehbiel, owner of Plan B in Thousand Palms was one of the judges the night of the competition, Krehbiel: “Their performance was tight. I told them they must practice their lyrics in their sleep because they were so synchronized and spot on with each other!”
The chemistry that Jeanette is mentioning comes from a deep connection the three of them have that is clear as day, not only when they are performing, but more so when they are just hanging out. They were friends before they were bandmates. In fact, 2 of the 3 members of The Bermuda had never even considered rapping before the encouragement of their more experienced friend who simply didn’t want to rap alone anymore.
Madd Hatter: “I have been rapping since around the age of 12. I did it by myself for a while and started a group with my brother. That didn’t last long, but by the time I was a freshman in high school I had pretty much decided that this is what I want to do with my life. Bunkz and I got together around that time because I found out that he was making beats. Ivy the Giant was this homie that was just always in the studio.”
Ivy the Giant: “Honestly, I never really considered rapping or even producing tracks. I was just always hanging out because I liked to be around the music. Making beats came first. Bunkz got me into that.”
At this point, I can’t help but interject….Esther Sanchez: “So basically, they figured since you were always there you needed to stop wasting everyone’s oxygen and make yourself useful?”
(everyone laughs)
Madd Hatter: “That’s exactly what it was! I was rapping by myself as usual and I was like, ‘Dude, just hop on this track with me! Just try it!’ And admittedly, the first few times were terrible. In fact, if you listen to any of our tracks from way back in the day, they were pretty much all just awful; the flows, our voices, all of it, was bad. But, we kept at it. Then we did this song together called, “Reppin” that was produced by Bunkz and it sort of changed everything for us.”
It was more encouragement from Madd Hatter that brought in the 3rd member that completes The Bermuda.
Bunkz: “Yeah, I had produced “Reppin” but up until that point I had never rapped before and he (Mad Hatter) was like, ‘…just try it.’ I finally did and it came really natural to me.”
The Bermuda have a list of somewhere in the ballpark of 75 original songs under their belts. They aren’t exactly sure on the number but they picked 20 of them to be on their new CD Backyard Hooligans.’ Check out their videos and follow them online for upcoming gigs and more.
Instagram @thebermudaa
