Nikhel Kallingal (rapper name: Dasa) is playing Need For Speed Unbound as we await his rapping partner Shakthi Karthik (rapper name: Shaq-T) to join us for a conversation about their new two-track EP Throw It/Thooki Veesu produced by record label maajja. “I really like the aesthetics of this game. Look at the visuals. It’s similar to the latest Spider-Man animated films,” he points out. Looking around Dasa’s living room, you can gauge his aesthetics. A portrait of the American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. with a big thiruneeru pattai photoshopped on his forehead hangs on his wall. Another side of the wall has a neon sign board that says ‘CJB’ and ‘BOM’, the International Air Transport Association codes for Coimbatore and Mumbai (Dasa’s partner is from Mumbai). The TV stand has a timepiece resembling the ones from the famous Salvador Dali painting, The Persistence of Memory.
Throw It/Thooki Veesu‘s music videos reflect this quirky aesthetic sense. The first video, ‘Throw It’, starts with the entry of a bright red car with Goundamani’s line, ‘Indha car ah yaar yaar vechurundhaanga nu theriyum la?’ (from the Tamil film Karakattakkaran) in the background. In the second video, there’s a nod to the iconic ‘vazha pazham’ (banana) comedy from the same film: A character asks, ‘Onnu inga irukku. Ennonnu enga?’’
The videos and the music feature an eccentric mix of hip-hop, cars, gaming, Goundamani, dappankuthu and more. The English lyrics have a liberal smattering of Tamil words and pop-culture references, which, Dasa says, were consciously woven into the song.
“We were born and brought up in Coimbatore. And when we speak, we switch between English and Tamil. I think most people we hang out with do that. So, that’s why you find Tamil words in our tracks,” explains Dasa. “It’s not like we’re from the hood or anything like that,” he chuckles before adding, “We don’t want to be posers in any way. We want to incorporate our lifestyle into our music.”
Kovai connection
Shaq-T and Dasa have been into music since school. The former’s dad was a rockhead. So, he grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, Guns n’ Roses, and other rock music since the ‘70s. He took up guitar classes when he was in London during 2006-08. “That’s the only musical education I have,” says Shaq-T, who is a designer by profession.
Dasa, meanwhile, is a lawyer. Wait, a lawyer who also raps?
“Yes,” he laughs, “I try to reduce the cuss words and semiclad girls in our videos because I don’t want to lose my clients. But many find it interesting that I am also a rapper.”
Shaq-T and Dasa first met during their schooldays (sometime in 2013). But they lost touch before reconnecting in 2018. “Back then, there was this trend of doing covers of famous tracks. But both of us wanted to make original music,” says Shaq-T. “There’s much more to music than just making the song itself. You need to be able to make the videos, the teasers, the album covers, and performances. I was good with music and design. And he was good at writing and performing. So, we figured out we complement each other.”
Dasa (left) and Shaq-T | Photo Credit: M Periasamy
The duo followed each other’s work till 2019. But their collaboration strengthened after COVID hit India.
They had an idea for their debut EP. But they were not in a hurry to release it soon. They worked on it for a year. In August 2021, they released Kalliyugam, also under maajja’s banner.
“We were quite shocked maajja wanted to work with us. Though we didn’t have the numbers back then, they must have realised they didn’t have to put too much effort into shaping us because we were already making music with the videos, trailers, and everything. So, I think that made sense for them. Plus, they’re also a Tamil-based label,” says Shaq-T.
It took another year to release their second EP. “A lot of work goes into our release. We are meticulous about what we put out. So, we don’t want to put out too much music,” adds Shaq-T.
In their next collaboration, Shaq-T and Dasa are thinking of putting together their travel videos from Berlin and Singapore from last year. What about live performances? “Our priority is to get the numbers online first. The opportunities will automatically follow,” says Dasa.
Though many upcoming musicians move to cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru to nurture their careers, Shaq-T and Dasa have no plans to leave Coimbatore.
“Coimbatore’s music scene might not be as big as Bombay or Bangalore. But it’s growing. We recently got invited by The Living Room to perform at their venue. With more places like that coming up in the city, the music scene here might take off big time in the next five years,” believes Dasa.
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