If you don’t already know, then it’s about time you found out. The takeover begins here and now as the devastatingly superfly sounds of The Sona Family, speed their way to your stereo leaving it smoking. Straight outta East London, this collective have been blazing a trail with their anthemic mixtapes and international releases. So much so, that their last trip to India warranted 40 foot high, hand painted Bollywood style billboards of them on the main highway in Mumbai.

So far, the collective have been allowed to run riot on a rap special with Tim Westwood on Radio 1, appeared on hit selling Hip Hop Compilations, earned 4 nominations at the BRAMA’s [British Asian Music Awards] for their club smash ‘Glassy’ [an ode to Punjabi shot drinking culture], played to huge crowds at Glastonbury and more recently, delivered their latest mixtape ‘Family Hustle The Mixtape’ which has sold in excess of 1,000 copies online via word of mouth only. Their extensive tour schedule had taken them around the world allowing them to perform in Germany, India, Dubai and the USA. In September 2006 they headlined at the ‘Dubai Rain Festival’ performing to 15,000 people and sent fans into a frenzy and message boards on fire.

Head honcho and producer Harry Sona’s all star casts includes, mixmaster extraordinaire JC who he met with while at University. It was with JC and some additional members that the original line up for the Sona Family came into existence. The original line up has evolved and now includes honeyed vocalists and rapper Mr. Riz who joined the crew after a chance meeting at seminal UK Hip Hop event ‘Kung-Fu’. Completing the ensemble is female songstress Kazz, who was introduced to the crew via a mutual friend. Collectively their inimitable ability to unify scorching R&B, Crunk, dancehall and slabs of infectious Hip Hop laced with a sprinkling of desi piquancy, has made them stand a whole block away from the pack.

Their premiere underground mixtape ‘Sona Kaandaan’ [Sona Family in Hindi] brimmed with exuberant punchlines and satirical insights on being stigmatised as a Brit-Asian act that produced “some of that in fashion rang-a-jang stuff”. It featured a standout refix of ‘More Fire Crew’s’ now garage classic, ‘Oi!’. The Family’s version, ‘Oi, Whos That Asian Girl!’ was a no brainer. More than 10,000 illegal copies of the mixtape were downloaded landing them a prime time slot on Bobby Friction & Nihal Presents… on Radio 1 plus a B-Side on More Fire’s single release. The track was hammered on Kiss 100, Choice FM and countless pirate radio shows around the UK.

2003 saw the Family, drop a succession of club bangers with ‘Indian Style’, Bang Boogie’ and Hey Hey’ all of which had massive specialist radio plays and featured on countless compilations worldwide. The Sona Family’s production outfit, the Trailblazerz then went on to release the acclaimed ‘100 Rupee CD’ mixtape in 2004 demonstrating the crew’s progression through production, songwriting as well as showcasing South Asian talent from the UK, USA and Canada. It also spawned one of the biggest records of 2005...’Glassy’. The infectious chorus grew to behemoth proportions and is even today, a huge club anthem in India and the UK.

In the UK alone, the single remained in the on the BBC Asian Network’s Top 20 chart for an incredible year! It was also #1 in Adil Ray’s Desi Dancefloor chart for 9 weeks. The side-splitting video for the single was directed by Harry Sona himself and won a ‘Bollywood Music Award’ last year for ‘Best Dance Video in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Just as much Hip Hop and R&B as they are Asian, the collective have struggled to be recognised simply for who they are, bold, outlandish, innovative and fresh. Their nouse and passion for the music they create, has pushed them to explore their sound and continually stretch the parameters of mainstream Hip Hop.

Harry Sona’s hours of analysing and becoming consumed with Hip Hop and its stars including NWA, BDP, A Tribe Called Quest and GangStarr, led him to begin writing raps. His interest in production stemmed from realising that he needed to create his own beats to spit his raps over to make him more conspicuous in the Hip Hop arena. His premiere release as a producer ‘Indian Style’ made the final cuts and featured on ‘Bobby Friction & Nihal Presents…’ plus ‘Global Hip Hop’ compilations. His production work under the guise of Trailblazerz has led to him being officially commissioned to remix for the big dogs. His official remix discography includes, Busta Rhymes’ ‘Light Yo Ass On Fire’, Missy Elliot’s ‘Pass That Dutch’, Terror Squad’s ‘Lean Back’, J-Kwons ‘Tipsy’, Dave Banner’s ‘Play’ & ‘I Ain’t Got Nothin’, MVP’s ‘Bounce’ and Nathan’s ‘Come Into My Room’. All of which were huge cuts on radio nationwide.

The two vocalists in the crew are like chalk and cheese. Mr. Riz has a delectably soulful sound akin to R&B crooners, Joe and Jon B. Born in East London, his foray into the world of performing was triggered by his love of playing drums. As his obsession grew he would diligently spend hours on end searching out and learning as many of the ‘breaks’ used in 90’s Hip Hop records as he could. It wasn’t until he was heard half singing half mumbling at a recording session with Harry that they realised that he was an amazing vocalist! His smooth melodies blend perfectly over the crews signature hard hitting club beats. With his female fans in full effect there was no looking back.

The latest addition to the collective is 22 year old fiery vocalist, Kazz. Her musical stimulus as a child has been colourful with artists including Madonna and Cindy Lauper through to Aaliyah and Linkin Park shaping her creative output today. Of Sri Lankan descent, the multi talented performer tried her hand at a gamut of instruments including the piano, flute, violin, guitar and drums but settled at her voice as first choice. She has been vocally coached by Kim Chandler [backing vocalist for Michael Jackson, P-Diddy etc] performed for audiences at The Royal Albert Hall through to a solo at Disneyland Paris and was a member of an all Asian girl band. However, the girl band was to last only a short time before they split and Kazz went on to University. The experience left her with a lasting impression and after having already set her eyes on the top of the world, Kazz’s thirst for exploring music wasn’t quenched. She made the decision to take a sabbatical from her University studies to join the Sona Family and has added that matchless female attitude and edge.

Last but by no means least, is the backbone to The Sona Family’s live experience, JC. Born and bred in Southampton, JC learnt his craft by attempting to emulate his older cousin who was already a local hero DJ and taught breaking and popping. By tagging along, JC soaked up the art of turntablism or as his cousin would call it the science of “Deck-nology”. His innate ability to single out beats and instantly hear how two records could work simultaneously meant he excelled at scratching and beatmixing. But it was his mixed influences and ability to mix records by Slick Rick, Too Short and Eric B with traditional desi artists such as Yamala Jatt, Surinder Shinda and Manak that earned JC a giant sized reputation and one that superseded his cousins. This reputation has meant that he not only is he resident DJ at Notting Hill’s hot spot ‘Bombay Bronx’, and one of Birmingham’s largest club nights ‘Shaanti’ [run by Galaxy DJ Manga] but he keeps booties on the dancefloor across the UK, and at some of the biggest club nights in Europe, India and NYC.

If imagination was worth its value in carats then The Sona Family would no doubt be the biggest ‘motha’ of a blinder. Reinventing the tired thug-life image of Hip Hop, The Sona Family and their idiosyncratic personalities, inject a meter long solution of blistering beats and thigh-slapping humour into all of their creations. Their video’s, live shows and appearances radiate genuine and boundless positive vibes and there is never a dull moment.

Honestly speaking, if you don’t find The Sona Family witty, then your funny bone must have been surgically removed. As they prepare to unleash their off kilter style to an unsuspecting world, there is a passion and mutation of genres that makes their take of a quintessentially UK sound, the sound of a new generation.