Parimal Shais (left) and Killa K team up on their new song “Hamilton.” Photo: Def Jam India
Killa K teams up with Parimal Shais for a vibrant, celebratory ode to his North Bengaluru neighborhood on their latest single, “Hamilton.”
Released via Def Jam India, the song arrives with a high-energy music video centered around a village rivalry that escalates into a cycle race.
The track draws inspiration from Killa’s hometown of Sultanpalya, where he’s lived for 23 years. “Whenever I go out, I go dripped. So that’s where the hook came from—like [F1 driver Lewis] Hamilton, people look at me like I’m a celebrity,” he says. Still based in the area, Killa now takes pride in showing off the things he’s earned through music. “The kids come up to me and ask, ‘When’s your next song?’” he adds.
The racing reference carries into the video as well, with a cycle race replacing Hamilton’s F1 track. While it doesn’t feature a mock press conference like the one in the song, the visual is rooted in real life. “There’s this guy in Sultanpalya whose passion is just cycles. Last year, I bought him one. All these stories are connected,” Killa shares.
Killa and Shais first connected at a gig in 2021 and have since worked on tracks like 2023’s “Superstar.” “Hamilton” began with the hook and was originally part of an EP concept. “We didn’t find the right sample, so we thought—why not add a brass section?” Killa says.
The rapper and producer worked together and called on local clarinet player Vinod (“He plays at all the local festivals here,” Killa says) and a trumpeter from KGF named Martin. Shais says, “Initially itself, when we made the song, we knew we wanted a local sound for the song, we wanted to represent as local as possible.” Looking out for a festival vibe, the clarinet didn’t fully capture the euphoria that Killa K and Shais were seeking, which led to the addition of trumpet. “We made the melodies with our mouths. We recorded that on our phone, then we went back, made this guy [Martin] play exactly what we wanted,” Shais recalls.
The fun factor has always been a constant between the artists and that shines on “Hamilton.” Shais says, “In the beginning, we thought we’ll have a marriage in the music video. We thought there were too many marriage videos happening though. One intention was we wanted the video to be as celebratory as possible. We wanted people to just have fun; kids, old people, like normal people from the village, everyone being together.”
Killa points out that it would’ve been an ideal release for the harvest festival Pongal later this month, but they put it out sooner, capturing village life in all its quirks, with filmmaker Prayoon Sajeev setting up in the Karnataka town of Maddur. “It was very hot, so the villagers would come out and help us between shots, giving us water. We were able to experience the local vibe of the place,” Killa says.
With over 10 tracks in the vault, Killa and Shais could easily put out an EP, but they’re taking things one project at a time. “It’s more than 10 songs we have together,” Killa says. “We have a couple of singles coming up,” Shais adds. “I’m hoping going forward, we’ll keep celebrating, making people dance and have a good time.”
On the solo front, Shais is relaunching his 2020 series Curry Chatti Beats and has a producer-led EP in the works. “We are taking it to the next level this year,” the producer says. Killa, meanwhile, is working with Tamil rapper, Paal Dabba, “Big Dawgs” producer Kalmi and more. “There’s an R&B song I did too. I’m just excited to see what this year has to offer.”