Yuvir Pillay (born 15 July 1989), better known by his stage name Sketchy Bongo, is a South African record producer, DJ and songwriter from

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

. Bongo has worked with artists such as AKA, Da Les,

Shekhinah Shekhinah () is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature. The word "Shekhinah" is found in the Bible onl ...

and Aewon Wolf. His signature is the ski mask that he is constantly seen wearing. Bongo is also the only South African producer to have his own feature on MTV Base. Together with Shekinah, the two created the hit " Let You Know", which got Bongo a record deal with

Ultra Music Ultra Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Group. Company history Established in 1995 in New York City by Patrick Moxey, a former executive of PolyGram and Virgin Record ...

and

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

Life and career

Yuvir Pillay grew up in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He started producing music from the age of 13. He started off producing mainly hip-hop music, and was influenced by producers like

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

. He thereafter moved on to producing

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

as well. Sketchy is part of a group called Wolf Pack, which consists of a group of producers, artists,

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

and kwaito artists. Wolf Pack includes other notable artists such as Aewon Wolf and Kyle Duetsch. Sketchy's hit collaboration with

, " Let You Know", made the

BBC radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

playlist in the UK. This track turned out to be his big break, and got him his record deal with Ultra Music.

Discography

Singles

* "Trill" (2014) - Sketchy Bongo ft. HBK & Manon * "Noises" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Ameen Harron & Sheen Skaiz * "Back To The Beach" (2015) - Shekhinah and Kyle Deutsch ft Sketchy Bongo * "Wild Side" (2016) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Kyle Deutsh & Aewon Wolf * "Falling" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Michelle Ostler * "Shotgun" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Aewon Wolf & Sheen Skaiz * "The Bridge" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Aewon Wolf & Plastic Shadows * "#Dip" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Kyle Deutsh & Aewon Wolf * "Sunlight" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Kyle Deutsh * "The Struggle" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Aewon Wolf * "Paul Walker" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo * "Sniff Sniff" (2015) - Sketchy Bongo * "All About It" (2016) - Sketchy Bongo and Jimmy Nevis * "Cold Shoulder" (2016) - Sketchy Bongo & Locnville * " Let You Know" (2016) - Sketchy Bongo &

* "Inside My Head" (2016) - Sketchy Bongo &

Danny K Daniel Koppel (born 8 September 1977), known professionally as Danny K, is a South African singer, songwriter and actor. Early life and education He was raised by Jewish parents, Gavin and Pam Koppel in Johannesburg. He is the eldest of their ...

* "Moving On" (2017) - Noma Idols ft. Sketchy Bongo * "Just Hang On" (2019) - Sketchy Bongo and Shenfm * "On Fire" (2019) - Sketchy Bongo ft. Yashna

Albums

* ''Unmasked'' (2017) * ''Dream Lab 9'' (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bongo, Sketchy 1989 births Living people Musicians from KwaZulu-Natal South African record producers South African people of Indian descent Musicians from Durban Ultra Records artists