When the Goan gets tough...: A Wknd interview with rapper Tsumyoki

Nathan Mendes aka Tsumyoki, 22, just won an MTV Europe Music Award, for a song about unrequited love. ‘Now people will see we make original music too,’ he says.

His first reaction was one of disbelief, says Nathan Mendes aka Tsumyoki.

When his manager called to say he had won Best Indian Local Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), the hip-hop artist was at home in Margao. “I rushed to my parents. There were literal tears of joy,” he says. “The award is great news for Goa, especially for the younger generation.”

When one thinks of music from that state, he adds, one thinks of cover songs