Remember rapper Blaaze, who had a dream start in the Tamil film music industry, rapping for Rajinikanth (in Baba and Sivaji ), and forging successful musical collaborations with music composer A.R. Rahman?
He’s totally into Sanskrit now. “The last couple of years, I have been introspecting about life. I’ve been lucky and blessed to have Rahman by my side, and I got name and fame. But I wanted to move on and do something for society — that’s when I was drawn to Sanskrit. And, I’m taking it upon myself to do a lot of things in Sanskrit.”
He discovered the power of Sanskrit while listening to DK Pattammal’s ‘Shyamala Dandakam’ a couple of years ago. “It felt like something I needed to do. I listened to it thrice a day for six weeks continuously to absorb it.” When he was confident, he tried his own version — a Sanskrit rap — that’s online now. “I’m in the process of trying out another version with veena player Rajhesh Vaidhya.” Singing in Sanskrit, he feels, generates a certain kind of positivity that he wants everyone to experience.
On July 1, Blaaze will present a rap bhakti mala, a concert with “Sanskrit stuff in a hip-hop way. I have been practising the words every day; the syllables are magical and they open up your vocal chords”.
Meanwhile, he feels that Tamil rap should voice society’s problems. “Right now, it’s the voice of the guy who wants to go to a club or someone who is drunk. It should actually be about the voice of someone who talks about how we don’t have water or electricity, or about street dogs that have no one to care for them.”
