Danial Bawthan (Singapore Musician)

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Danial Bawthan
Danial Bawthan Wheelsmith 2020.jpg
Born14 February 1994
EducationHigher Nitec
Alma materInstitute of Technical Education

Sheikh Muhd Danial Bawthan bin Shamiun Ali Bawthan (born 14 February 1994), also commonly known by his music alias "Wheelsmith" is a Singaporean rapper and music producer. He has performed at numeorus live venues, including Singapore's National Day Parade, and appeared in collaborative productions like Fire in the Rain (2019)[1] - a music video project for the National Council of Social Service's (NCSS) See True Me campaign.[2] Outside of music, he is a competitive national Wheelchair Rugby player[3][4] and also has experience in wheelchair racing and swimming.[5]

Background

Early life

The oldest of six children, Danial Bawthan was born on 14 February 1994.[6] He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at four years old,[7] a disease that progressively causes a person's muscles to weaken over time.[8] He was on crutches by the time he was 12 years old and was confined to a wheelchair at 16 years old.[9] At that age, he started writing rhymes[10] and taught himself how to beatbox as an alternative to playing the drums.[11]

Education

Danial Bawthan attended Marsiling Secondary School.[12][13] After which, he furthered his studies at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) where he graduated in 2015 with a Higher Nitec in Information Technology.[14]

Music

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The album art for Vanilla (2019). Photo from Hear 65.

Before he was known as Wheelsmith, Danial Bawthan went by the music alias RideXRoll. According to Danial Bawthan, he started releasing his tracks in 2015 but has been producing music since 2012.[15] Danial Bawthan produces his music at his home studio. Before releasing his first solo single, he released Point Blank (2015), a collaborative effort with the rapper, Nick Lester.[16]

Debut single (RidexRoll) - Problems (2016)

Danial Bawthan released his independent single, Problems as RideXRoll in 2016. The track has an accompanying music video that has over 2,000 views as of August 2020.[17]

Debut single (Wheelsmith) - Vanilla (2019)

He released his debut single as Wheelsmith in 2019 with a single track called Vanilla featuring the artiste, Luq Here.[18]

Live performances

Since his first single release in 2016, Danial Bawthan has been invited to perform on many stages as RideXRoll and Wheelsmith. The following are some of the larger stages that he has performed on over the years.

Danial Bawthan (middle) pictured at NDP 2019 alongside Yung Raja and Fariz Jabba. Photo from Facebook.

President's Star Charity (2016)

In 2016, Danial Bawthan performed at the President's Star Charity concert alongside MediaCorp artistes like Rahimah Rahim, Tay Ping Hui and Kym Ng.[19] This was his debut performance on a national stage as he had only performed for corporate events with the Inclusive Arts Movement (I.AM) at the time.[20][21]

True Colours Festival (2018)

In 2017, Danial Bawthan was selected as one of the 20 acts for the True Colours Festival 2018.[22] The festival spotlighted lesser-abled artistes from the Asia-Pacific region.[23] Presented by the Nippon Foundation and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and produced by Very Special Arts, the festival was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and OCBC square in March 2018.[24][25]

National Day Parade (2019)

In 2019, Danial Bawthan was one of the three hip hop musicians featured in the National Day Parade's rap music segment.[26][27] He performed alongside the musicians, Yung Raja and Fariz Jabba.[28] Alongside the local musician Akeem Jahat, Danial Bawthan wrote and produced the song 'stand up, Lion City, stand up' which was then performed on national television.[29]

References/ Citations

  1. National Council of Social Service. "Look Beyond My Disability, See The True Me - 'Fire in the Rain' Music Video". YouTube. February 22, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  2. Arteche, Michelle. "Celebrating talents beyond disabilities in Singapore’s first fully inclusive music video ‘Fire In The Rain’". Hear65. April 10, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  3. Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. "Wheelchair Rugby Athlete: Danial Bawthan". YouTube. January 9, 2020. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  4. Sya Taha. "WHEELCHAIR RUGBY PLAYER REPRESENTS COUNTRY WITH “PRIDE AND LOVE”". AbleThrive. November 29, 2017. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  5. Teo Teng Kiat. "Singapore wheelchair rugby athletes at home in rough sport". TODAY. February 11, 2017. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  6. Wheel Smith. "About". Facebook. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  7. Cheah, Megan. "These Youths Are Thriving In The Local Arts Scene Despite Their Disabilities". YP.sg. October 14, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  8. "About Muscular Dystrophy". Muscular Dystrophy Association Singapore. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  9. Wong, Casandra. "Disabled rapper Wheel Smith preparing for his biggest gig to date". Yahoo! News. March 16, 2018. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  10. "Episode 5: Beyond the Stage podcast with Grace Lee-Khoo & Wheelsmith. A Learning & Engagement Podcast." Singapore Repertory Theatre. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  11. Sya Taha. "HIP HOP MAKES RAPPER WITH MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY FEEL EQUAL". Able Thrive. November 27, 2017. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  12. Yeoh, Grace. "For These Singaporeans, Life Without Ride-hailing Would Be Nearly Impossible". Rice Media. April 22, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  13. Run and Gun Media. "Danial "Wheel Smith" Bawthan". YouTube. June 25, 2018. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  14. Ang Tian Tian. "Celebrating artists with disabilities at new festival". The New Paper. March 19, 2018. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  15. TIKSTOGRAPHY. "RIDEXROLL : BEYOND YOUR BOUNDARIES". YouTube. May 13, 2016. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  16. _wheelsmith. "41s - "Point Blank" (RideXRoll x Nick Lester)". YouTube. September 28, 2015. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  17. "RideXRoll - "Problems" ft Kroinky [Official MV]". YouTube. May 5, 2016. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  18. "Singapore music reviews: Sam Rui, Richard Jansen and Big Calo, Jjdroy and Mithun Karthik, Wheelsmith and Luq Here, Shahrizal, and Burmese Bombshells". Hear65. December 20, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  19. Seah, May. "President’s Star Charity 2016 raises S$7.37 million". TODAY. October 24, 2016. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  20. Tang, Lisa. "Beatboxing from his wheelchair". The New Paper. October 24, 2016. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  21. Toh Ee Ming. "Universal Sound". Singapore Magazine. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  22. Tan, Winnie. "Singapore's first festival for artistes with disabilities to be held next March". The Straits Times. April 18, 2017. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  23. Toh Ee Ming. "Universal Sound". Singapore Magazine. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  24. Wong, Casandra. "Disabled rapper Wheel Smith preparing for his biggest gig to date". Yahoo! News. March 16, 2018. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  25. Tan, Winnie. "Singapore's first festival for artistes with disabilities to be held next March". The Straits Times. April 18, 2017. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  26. MLGSlayer. "NDP 2019 - Act 4 (Our Nation) [9 August 2020]". YouTube. August 10, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  27. Lim Min Zhang. "Making their voices heard at NDP's first rap, hip-hop segment". The Straits Times. August 2, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  28. Cheah, Megan. "These Youths Are Thriving In The Local Arts Scene Despite Their Disabilities". YP.sg. October 14, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.
  29. Lim Min Zhang. "Making their voices heard at NDP's first rap, hip-hop segment". The Straits Times. August 2, 2019. Accessed on 20 August 2020.