Coimbatore rapper takes inspiration from Sangam literature to write songs for modern times

Tamilarasan believes words, even without music, can turn into songs when pronounced right
| Photo Credit: Siva Saravanan S

For long, V Tamilarasan had been singing a popular Tamil devotional film song without knowing it was actually a rap. “ Muthai Tharu is a rap song,” says the 21-year-old Tamil rapper from Coimbatore. Written by saint and poet Arunagirinathar who lived in Tiruvannamalai in the 15th Century, the song is from Thiruppugazh, and Tamilarasan observes that it boasts a “unique word structure”, that renders itself well for the fast-paced singing of rap. Tamilarasan, who is pursing a Master’s in Tamil literature, believes words, even without music, can turn into songs when pronounced right.

“This is where rap begins,” he says. Tamilarasan, who is now working on his second album Olivaangi Parisodhanai that will feature 14 songs, draws from Sangam literature for inspiration. All of his original songs, feature metaphors, scenes, emotions and words from ancient Tamil texts. “I use words from Sangam Tamil, write them in the context of today’s world, and set them to tune to Western beats,” says Tamilarasan, who listens to a lot of Yogi B, Hip Hop Tamizha and Sri Lankan rapper and songwriter Ratty Adhiththan.

Dressed in skinny jeans, bright red shoes, sporting a bulky neon wristwatch, Tamilarasan looks like regular college kid chasing project deadlines. But when he talks about rap, he sticks strictly to Tamil. He drops terms like ‘ perumpal kilathi’, (young woman), and ‘ vanamaan kurathi’, (like a deer in a forest), and it is hard to say if he is singing or speaking.

Tamilarasan has always been an avid reader. When he started writing songs at the age of 15, he decided to read simultaneously to enrich his craft. “My Tamil teachers introduced me to the Five Great Epics of Tamil literary tradition,” he says. He was drawn to songs from Kurunthogai, and soon, Tamilarasan was traversing the five Tamil landscapes of Kurinji, Mullai, Marudham, Neithal, and Paalai through books in his college and home library.

His songs do not derive entirely from Sangam literature. “I try to extract the essence of a mood or situation from Sangam poems, and bring in my own voice,” he says. Love is a recurrent theme in his work, much like in Sangam era poetry. But he also talks about society and women. Tamilarasan says it was not easy to arrive at his current style of writing. “It was like two stones hitting each other,” he says of his initial attempts. “There was fire, and plenty of crushed paper cast into the dustbin.”

He eventually settled into a rhythm. Tamilarasan is now working with a group of 15 rappers from across Tamil Nadu to come up with a set of songs for street rap performances every weekend at popular spots in Coimbatore. “If necessary permissions fall in place, we will start by May this year,” he says. He has written and composed four songs for street rap, and more are in the works.

Tamilarasan, meanwhile, has made appearances in reality shows in television channels, and is constantly collaborating with upcoming music directors and filmmakers to create content. “These are small steps,” he states, adding that he ultimately wants to create a body of work that will speak for the “love of language”.

He knows he is not the first to turn to Sangam literature for inspiration. Popular Tamil lyricists, including Vairamuthu and Yugabharathi are known to pepper their songs with classical words and phrases. “But in rap, words are everything; words are the music. I am able to render over 3,000 words in a three-minute song,” he points out.