Indian hip hop is a part of the South Asian hip hop culture, is a genre of popular music developed in India. Desi hip hop is a term for music and culture which combines the influences of hip hop and the Indian subcontinent; the term desi referring to the South Asian diaspora. The term has also come to be used as an alternative for rap music and even pop music which involves rappers of South Asian origins.
Gaana is a style of Tamil music from Chennai, India. It is rap-like "collection of rhythms, beats and sensibilities native to the Chennai people." It evolved over the past two centuries, with influences ranging from the siddhars of ancient Tamilakam to rural Tamil folk music to Tamil sufi mystics. Its popularity rose when it was brought to the music of the mainstream Tamil film industry. Contemporary gaana bands are bringing the genre to new audiences while using it for social activism, especially against caste discrimination.
Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan, popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He lent his voice to actors and thespians in the Tamil film industry such as M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, N. T. Rama Rao, Gemini Ganesan, S. S. Rajendran, Jaishankar, Ravichandran, A. V. M. Rajan, R. Muthuraman, Nagesh, Sivakumar, Kantha Rao, Rajkumar, Prem Nazir and A. Nageswara Rao. He also gave his voice to many new generation actors like Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Vijayakanth, Satyaraj, Rajesh, Prabhu, and Vijaya Kumar, in addition to other known and unknown heroes and supporting actors like M.R. Radha, K R Ramaswami, T. Rajendar, V.K. Ramaswami, Thengai Sreenivasan, M.N. Nambiar, Thangavelu, Y.G. Mahendran, R.S. Manohar, S.V. Ashokan, Ranjan, Narasimha Bharathi, Sahasra Namam, T S Balayya, Jagayya, Nagayya, Thyagarajan, Sreenath, Shankar etc. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 films, including devotional, semi-classical, Carnatic, classical and light music songs. He gave classical concerts starting in 1943.
Ghantasala Sai Srinivas, known professionally as S. Thaman, is an Indian music composer, professional drummer and playback singer who predominantly works in Telugu films, along with Tamil and Kannada films. Thaman entered the film industry as a supporting musician with the Telugu film Bhairava Dweepam in 1994, and later became a film music composer and became popular for his work as a music director. His debut films as music director were Sindhanai Sei in Tamil and Malli Malli in Telugu. He made his acting debut in Boys (2003).
7aum Arivu is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language science fiction martial arts film written and directed by AR Murugadoss, featuring Suriya, Shruti Haasan and Johnny Tri Nguyen. In the film, a medical student enlists the help of a circus artist, who is a descendant of Bodhidharma, to revive the legend's skills and knowledge, while a Chinese man with hypnotic powers starts a government-planned biological war against India.
Santhosh Narayanan is an Indian composer and musician in the Tamil film industry. He made his debut as a composer in the 2012 Tamil film Attakathi.
Pa. Ranjith is an Indian filmmaker who works at Tamil films. He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi, before earning unanimously positive reviews for his second film, the political drama Madras (2014). In 2016, he wrote and directed the gangster-drama Kabali and in 2018, Kaala both starring Rajinikanth. In 2021, he directed Sarpatta Parambarai, which was well received by both critics and audiences.
Dheekshitha Venkadeshan, known professionally as Dhee, is an Australian singer of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. She has sung songs mostly in her step-father Santhosh Narayanan's albums and has once been nominated at the Filmfare Awards for Best Singer. She is known for her distinctive alto voice.
Pariyerum Perumal is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by Mari Selvaraj in his directorial debut and produced by Pa. Ranjith under his production banner Neelam Productions. The film stars Kathir and Anandhi in the leading roles, while Yogi Babu and G. Marimuthu appear in supporting roles. The film features music composed by Santhosh Narayanan. with cinematography handled by Sridhar and editing done by Selva R. K.
Thoothukudi Massacre denotes events that took place on 22 and 23 May 2018 in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India. The violence took place during an ongoing protest against proposed expansion of a copper smelter plant run by Sterlite Corporation in Thoothukudi town. Police opened fire on the protesters, killed 13 people and left 102 injured. Several policemen were also injured during the protests.
The Casteless Collective is an anti-caste indie band based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The band was formed in 2017 by Neelam Panpaatu Maiyam, an initiative of filmmaker Pa. Ranjith.
Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi Gundu, also known simply as Gundu (transl. Bomb), is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Athiyan Athirai. The film stars Dinesh and Anandhi. Produced by Pa. Ranjith under his banner Neelam Productions, the film focuses on the fictional story, inspired from the true events from World War II. The film has cinematography handled by Kishore Kumar, while the music is composed by Tenma. Released on 6 December 2019, the film received critical acclaim from critics and audiences.
Kaala is the soundtrack album for the film of the same name, starring Rajinikanth in the title role, produced by Dhanush and directed by Pa. Ranjith. The album composed by Santhosh Narayanan, in his second collaboration with Rajinikanth and Ranjith after Kabali (2016), features nine songs written by Kabilan, Umadevi, Arunraja Kamaraj, Arivu, Dopeadelicz, Logan and Roshan Jamrock.
Arivarasu Kalainesan, more commonly known as Arivu, is an Indian Tamil rapper, lyricist, and playback singer who works in Tamil language films. He is best known for the song "Vaathi Raid" from Master (2021) and for his single "Enjoy Enjaami".
Rohith Abraham, known professionally as ofRo, is an Indian record producer and songwriter who has worked with Asal Kolaar, Madan Gowri, Sandy, Arivu, Tenma, ADK, Roshan Jamrock, Psychomantra, and Ben Human, among others. He is the co-founder of Madras Medai, a music festival and conference focusing on the growth of independent music in South India. He is the co-founder of Atti Culture.
Sarpatta Parambarai, known more simply as Sarpatta, is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language historical sports action film directed by Pa. Ranjith, who also co-produced the film under his banner Neelam Productions, along with Shanmugam Dhakshanaraj of K9 Studios. The film stars Arya, John Kokken, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Dushara Vijayan, Pasupathy, Anupama Kumar and Sanchana Natarajan. Set in the 1970s, the film revolves around a clash between two clans namely Idiyappa Parambarai and Sarpatta Parambarai in North Chennai, which also showcases the boxing culture in the locality and the politics involved in it.
"Enjoy Enjaami" is a Tamil-language song recorded by singer Dhee featuring Indian rapper Arivu and Indian producer Santhosh Narayanan. It is Dhee's debut single, composed and arranged by Narayanan, with lyrics by Arivu, under the music label/management Maajja, an independent platform launched by Indian producer A. R. Rahman. The song was released on 7 March 2021.
Tiburtius Vinodh Rubin, better known professionally as Tenma, is an Indian music producer, singer, composer, bass guitarist, and festival director. He is most well recognized as the co-founder and leader of the indie band The Casteless Collective and the now-defunct band Kurangan. In 2019, he debuted as a music director for the Tamil film Irandam Ulagaporin Kadaisi Gundu. He is the co-founder of Madras Medai, a music festival and conference focusing on the growth of independent music in South India. He is also the founder of the Madras Indie Collective.
Made in Jaffna is a 14-song studio album curated by Toronto-based Tamil artist Shan Vincent de Paul which released on 6 September 2021. It is Shan's third studio album after Saviors (2017) and Kothu Boys (2020). The album describes about identity, perseverance, and reconciliation and learning to embrace the tenets of an outsider juggling multiple identities in a foreign land.
"Neeye Oli" is the 2021 Tamil song composed by Santhosh Narayanan and Shan Vincent de Paul, who also recorded the track along with Navz-47; with lyrics for the track being written by Arivu and Shan Vincent de Paul. It is the second release from the upcoming studio album Made in Jaffna curated by Shan which was under production for four years. It released on 30 June 2021 by the music label/management Maajja, an independent platform launched by A. R. Rahman. The song is used as the theme track for Pa. Ranjith-directorial Sarpatta Parambarai.
