Can we do the interview during the drive?” asks Aadhi better known as Hiphop Tamizha in the music world. Thanks to his foray into Kollywood with Aambala, life for him has been incredibly busy of late.
We leave his studio in R.A. Puram at 9 p.m. He speaks about the time he first met Sundar C., who would eventually give him his first big break in the industry. “He wanted me to do just one song for the film. I immediately said no,” laughs Aadhi. “I wanted to work on all the songs and played him three sample tunes that I had already composed. He liked all of them and there, in the first sitting itself, we were ready with three songs.”
The numbers will have a commercial reach, he says, without losing the ‘sound of Hiphop Tamizha’. “The single that we released, ‘Pazhagikalam’, has done really well. It trended on social media on the day it was out, though it was a Monday. The other songs were challenging too, especially one in a new genre that we call ‘Kuthutrap’. We’re planning to promote this genre, which includes a fusion of dubstep, trap and our very own kuthu , in a big way.”
We reach Adyar. But his mind is in Coimbatore and on nostalgic mode, as he recalls the days he fought with his parents and headed for Chennai. “I come from a middle-class family. My parents have no knowledge about the music industry or films,” he says. “Appa is with the Bharathiar University and amma hails from an agricultural family. So they didn’t understand what independent music was all about. But now, they find it hard to believe I’m composing for films.”
In Chennai, living in a miniscule apartment in Mahalingapuram, he understood how hard life was. “I was doing something useful — I was studying at that time — but my life was more about music. Though I thought I got my first big break when I was asked to compose for the State’s election anthem, the result — it sank without a trace — was disappointing.”
We’ve reached Elliots Beach and even as we hear the sound of waves crashing on the shoreline, I ask him about why he decided to enter films. “My heart remains with independent music. But I’ve come to realise that for independent artistes to be heard — and there are many in our country — you need financial backing. I plan to put the money I get from both my films — Aambala and Indru Netru Naalai — into the independent music scene. Soon I will launch Madrasi Mafia, a music label that will manage such artistes.”
Though it sounds like a good idea, isn’t it far-fetched when the money is actually in the movie music business? “When I came to Chennai, I longed to make independent music. I wished to rap and write my own lyrics. I wanted it to be heard on radio. But the scene wasn’t very encouraging at that time although slowly things began to look up.”
And then, his controversial-yet-popular Club Le Mubbule was a hit and the rest, as they say, is history. His fondness for Bharatiyar is well-known — the Hiphop Tamizha logo features the legendary poet. And his favourite actor is Sathyaraj, for ‘his versatility and affinity towards Tamil.’
It is close to midnight and we’re back where we started — R.A. Puram. But Aadhi has his eyes set on the future. “I’m living a dream now and I hope it continues,” he says pensively as he looks out of the window of his car.
