Arivu

Tamil rapper, singer and songwriter Arivu is not only a torchbearer for conscious hip-hop in India, but has also established himself as a steely voice of a generation through blockbuster Tamil film soundtracks. The Chennai artist aka Arivarasu Kalainesan began writing and singing before he understood rap, drawing from Tamil poetry found in the ancient texts of Valluvar’s Tirukkural. In 2019, he played on the importance of the text by naming his debut album Therukural, which was produced by OfRO. In hard-hitting takedowns such as “anti Indian.” and “snowlin.”, Arivu also channelled traditional music forms such as gaana and oppari. His mainstream breakthrough came with 2021 folk-rap anthem "Enjoy Enjaami" alongside Dhee and Santhosh Narayanan. Arivu’s raw, politically charged approach has electrified tracks including “Vaathi Coming” from 2020’s Master and “Neeye Oil” from 2021’s Sarpatta Parambarai and brought protest rap to film soundtracks. Songs like “Sanda Seivom” also prove his firebrand credentials, using hip-hop as both a weapon and an instrument of healing.