By STEVE SPRINGER @racercard
With a line of famous people throwing L’s up nowadays, from multiple-MVP Lamar and future-MVP Spida Mitchell on the gridiron and hardwood, from Louisville’s own Jennifer Lawrence off the silver screen and Jack Harlow in between monster hits, there has been a growing list of athletes and celebs that have transcended the local scene and vaulted into stardom in their respective fields.
The next icon (or icons in this case) on the come up from the streets of the Ville’s East End are climbing the ranks of the pop music genre one song at a time. Kush and Neil Nijhawan are twin brothers that make up the American pop music duo known as Twinjabi.
Get used to the name.
Just like Jack leaving the Wildcat mascot hanging and Jennifer cheering from the Luxury suites, they’ve been front and center of the ReviVILLE happening at The KFC YUM! Center lately, and if you’ve been to any games or watched them on television, you’ve seen them styling courtside and on the Jumbotron cheering up Pat Kelsey’s Cards as they have been a part of the revitalization of Louisville Basketball.
I had the honor of interviewing Louisville’s next up and getting to know Twinjabi and how they support the city and the city’s team.
“So we’re Indian, Indian-American, but born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky,” said Kush. “So that’s why we’re big Louisville fans, of course. Louisvillians, I guess you could say, born and bred, but of Indian descent and you hear it in the music. So, with Twinjabi you kind of get that clash of our upbringing being Indian, but also being American as we’re born and raised. We’re as American as it gets, as Kentucky as it gets, as Louisville as it gets, and that’s what makes Twinjabi unique, because you really don’t see that perspective in entertainment, right? That clash of India and then being actually American, and that perspective is very unique, and that’s what we’re bringing to the table.”
And being a Fern Creekian/Douglass Hills miscreant myself, the conversation naturally turns to what part of Louisville were they from.
“We grew up in the East End/Middletown, around the Middletown area,” said Neil. “We actually swam for Owl Creek as kids, and we actually used to go up against Douglas Hills, and Douglas hills, would beat us every time. We went to Greathouse Elementary School, Meyzeek Middle and then DuPont Manual (for High School). We played a lot of sports, with swimming being the main one, we played soccer and tennis as big sports guys.”
Besides multiple sports that they played, they also dabbled in creating music for fun, which is how their musical career became a thing.
“So besides big sports guys, we’ve always been creative,” said Kush. “We used to make videos, had a YouTube channel. We dabbled in the music a little bit in high school, but we didn’t really grow up doing music. Twinjabi was just kind of a reflection of us teaching ourselves and us just expressing ourselves authentically. We didn’t do music our whole life; our parents weren’t musicians or anything like that, so when it came to it with us, it’s always about just being creative and doing things outside the box. We created Twinjabi just as a way to just express ourselves, you know, and it started off as an idea in our basement, how it always is. And now we’re here, so ready, and we’re just getting started. We haven’t accomplished all the things you want to accomplish yet, so we’re excited, and people seem support us a lot now, which is great. We love that.”
When it comes to the motivation behind Twinjabi, they have a positive message for their fans and what they’re about.
“We’re trying to raise a vibration of music,” said Kush. “We’re trying to have music that is positive, pretty much in good taste, that’s more clean. You know, if you look at turn on the radio, we feel like it’s very soulless. If you watch the Grammys, it’s very soulless. It’s very demonic, satanic. It just is. And honestly, most people get it, and that’s why nobody really watched it anymore. And so, we’re here to just kind of call it out and say, you know, why? On the radio every like, every hour you had to play a song like ‘paint the town red?’ I mean, I just don’t think that’s a good thing. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good thing. So I mean that maybe that can raise some eyebrows, but that’s really our bigger message, because it needs to be more artists like this that are putting out positive music and actual music that uplifts people, makes girls feel good, makes people feel beautiful, makes people feel happy. We don’t need to always reduce the lowest common denominator. And so that’s our bigger mission. People ask all the time. ‘What are you like? What are you?’ Well, we’re American, born and raised on American soil.
“Last time I checked, that means I’m American, right? We do have Indian heritage descent, which we love and respect and cherish, of course, but we are American. Music is English. There’s a little Hindi in it, but it’s English music. Compare us to Justin Bieber or The Weeknd based off our music. Sometimes people just go straight in and make it an Indian thing, and that’s not really fair either. So we just want to show the Twinjabi could be accepted in Louisville, Kentucky, which is actually revolutionary, honestly, because no one would ever think that. But anyone that thinks that they wouldn’t do that, all you got to do is look at Muhammad Ali. Nobody cares about religion or race. We just look at him as a champion. Nobody cares. I don’t care. So I think Louisville can equally accept us. And I always defend Louisville when it comes to that.”
Their love for Louisville Basketball started at a young age, as well, with the genesis being around the beginning of the Rick Pitino era and maintaining the course over the ups and downs of the following years.
“Louisville basketball started in elementary school for us, I would say, probably, like 2003, 2004, 2005, that timeframe with (Francisco) Garcia,” said Neil. “I don’t know people read newspapers much anymore, but it was actually almost a ritual. Almost every day at school, go to the sports section of the Courier Journal and read the games. Read about the game, see the stats. It was literally a ritual every single game that we would do that. Rick Pitino had just been hired at the time and that’s kind of how we started becoming fans growing up. As far as going to the games, our dad did take us to a couple games, but it’s interesting, because then we would be, not in the best seats, nosebleeds, way in the back. I remember Louisville and Marquette. There were some good games with them. I think that was a good rivalry back then. He would just scalp tickets, and we would end up sitting in random places in Freedom Hall, honestly. I guess that’s how it started. And then we would support the teams through the years, and then it’s funny, when they actually end up winning the national championship in 2013, we were class of 2012, so after supporting teams all these years, that one year where we’re not in Louisville, because I went to Stanford, he went to Illinois, we win the championship, which is amazing. We’ll take the championship whenever, but we weren’t in Louisville to enjoy it, but we were in California at Stanford and Illinois reppin it. In that championship team, we’re friends and very close to Russ Smith. you know, he, we’re very close to him. And then we know Peyton, we know Luke, we know them pretty well, so that’s how it really started. Really started from elementary school, and then now it’s like, you know, obviously we went through whatever we went through with the program and it just not being good for many years. Honestly, it was terrible.”
And they’ve been front and center for the ReviVille starting this year under new Head Coach Pat Kelsey and have bonded with the new face of the program and the players.
“But now we’ve got Pat Kelsey here and we’ve got the new team,” said Kush. “Even a lot of the new players, they follow us. We’re familiar with them and the majority of them we’ve texted and exchanged some messages with welcoming them to Louisville, playing our small role and letting them know that whatever you need we’re here to help, and just trying to make them feel comfortable because they’re new here. So it’s kind of been a long road from being in the nosebleeds to being courtside.”
They are diplomatic when it comes to other programs in the state, but still bleed red when it comes down to it.
“We actually support Kentucky, too, “said Kush. “But Louisville was our preference for we’re born and raised in Louisville. It was a pretty hot rivalry when I was Pitino and Calipari, to be honest with you; kind of fun a little bit, kind of like celeb factor there. We were at the (California) game actually, and we were behind the backboard, so it was pretty loud.”
Like true L1C4 fans, they are not just limited to men’s hoops with their fandom and support of the program. They expressed a deep fondness of Coach Jeff Walz’s Lady Cards, as well as the state of women’s sports in general.
“We’re big into women’s sports in general,” said Kush. ‘Honestly, I think it’s women’s athletics is really cool. It’s very important and we’re actually close with Jeff Walz and so we support him and lot of his players. We’ve actually appeared at a couple of women’s games, and they really show us a lot of love, and they really appreciate when we come. How that all started, last year we were at a Florida State game, a men’s game when Kenny Payne was there, and was actually one of the very few wins we had, and the whole first row in the first row was the whole woman’s basketball team watching the men’s team. We’re just walking up at halftime to get some food or whatever, and they started screaming ‘Hey, Twinjabi! Y’all gotta come to one of our games! Come to our game!’
“So I’m like, really? They want to feel the love too, you know? I understand that. We want to feel the love, too, so I get it. The very next game was Louisville/Notre Dame last year, and they actually had won the game, and we were there. It was a big game. We were there courtside. Next game, we’re there. They asked us to come, and we’re there. They never forgot that, and that’s why we have a certain attachment to them, as well. We were at the North Carolina game that they had lost that game in a very close game. They lost at the very last second, but we’re walking out and we say hi to a few of the players, and they look us in the eyes and shake our hands and thank us for coming, thank you for coming. Women’s sports is really, really important. We’re America’s so we’re spoiled, but in a country like India, they’re trying to get the woman sports going. And a lot of countries, women’s sports are still, you could say, in their infancy. So, I think it’s very important we support the women athletes, as well.”
Twinjabi has not infiltrated L&N Cardinal Stadium, as much as they have the KFC YUM! Center, but like with the rising basketball program, they are making inroads and the best contacts to do so with the up and coming football program, as well.
“We didn’t go to any games this past year, but we did the year before,” said Neil. “But it’s interesting. You say that because we’re actually invited to an event with (2024 Heisman Trophy winner) Travis Hunter in Louisville on Monday for the Paul Hornung Award, and we got to meet with Brady Brohm. He’d already followed us and stuff, but we got connected with him. He’s a very funny guy, very nice, very likeable, very humble, honestly, and actually a young guy. So we may be doing some more things in football and meeting with him again soon.”
In regards to being recognized at games, the guys addressed their rising popularity on the local scene and their relationship and any possible future collaboration with fellow Louisvillian and worldwide superstar Jack Harlow.
“People have talked about (working with Jack),” said Neil. “They always talk about it. People close to him say, ‘we’re gonna make it happen’. I mean, we know him, and we’ve been at events with him and stuff, but I’m sure maybe something will happen. Maybe something will happen.”
With Jack shouting out the Cards in his tracks, and other artists over the years spitting lyrics with a UofL theme, is there anything on the horizon between Twinjabi and UofL? And what would drive them to do so?
“We’re going to be doing some stuff with Louisville athletics and a song for Louisville,” said Kush. “That’s something that we’re working on. I won’t give up too many details, but something big is kind of being worked on right now, We’re kind of taking our time with it, so when it’s out, everyone sees it. Why Louisville? Why do we rep Louisville? Well, actually, we were born here, you know. I can’t say I was born in Miami. I can’t say I was born in LA. I was born in Louisville, whether we like it or not. That’s where I grew up here, you know, an attachment to it. Went to high school here, swam here for 10 plus years. I try to give back and help out any way possible. I try to help out with the youth and let them know people care about them and that they can accomplish their dreams, as well. People are always surprised to hear that we’re from Louisville. And the way our journey worked, we started getting our fan base overseas, of course, and in Europe, then Brazil, and now it’s like, Louisville is kind of waking up to us it feels like last few weeks, which is nice. We appreciate it, but it’s just one percent. We’re barely just scratching the surface of where we want to go, but it’s a good start, you We do appreciate it, because I don’t care what any artist says they want to feel their hometown love. And if they don’t, it does hurt their feelings. They want to feel it.”
And finally, would any collaboration with Harlow, or anybody else in the industry as they come up, cause them to outgrow their relationship with UofL? Twinjabi gave fans reason to jump on the bandwagon early and hold on for the long ride.
“We’ll never be too big,” said Neil. “We’re always gonna shout out Louisville any place we go. We actually do that right now. If we’re on the Grammy stage, if we win a Grammy in my speech, I’m gonna shout out Louisville. We’re repping Louisville to the end.”
