In the video of his song ‘Panam’, Rahul Sridhar steps out of an ATM in the first shot, holding a bundle of notes in his hand. He starts rapping to his friend, stand-up comedian Abhishek Kumar, that he wants Rs 20 crore in his bank account, and how “it’s a great vibe bro”.
On Tuesday, one of his rap songs hit the internet, but it was a very different kind of song, Rocketlane, a Chennai and US-based B2B SaaS (Software-as-a-Services) firm announced its $24 million Series B funding through a rap music video written and sung by Rahul. The song ‘I Like B’ not only announces their milestone, but also features Rahul rapping in the corridors of his workplace while narrating the company’s journey so far. In the song, he raps, “Hey, we thought let’s do a press release, but in a little more aesthetic way.”
“Even in 2022, we created a rap song to announce the company’s Series A funding, and it feels great to be able to mark another milestone through a song,” says Rahul, who is also part of his marketing team. Music has paved the way for many full-circle moments for him. It was a rap song for the 10th anniversary of a software testing company a few years ago that got him the attention of the head of his current organisation as well.
A cursory glance at the Chennai-based rapper’s Instagram account reveals songs written and sung by him, which are based on various themes – be it things to say about the city, work-life balance in a corporate work environment, the struggle to find everyday solutions or even a satire on the concept of self-care.
“Artists who come from extreme poverty, and grow up in troubled environments – this features prominently in rap music. I was raised in a very comfortable and privileged way and I can’t speak about something I haven’t lived. The lyrics I write are centered on my own experiences,” the rapper says, while talking about how wide-ranging hip-hop culture is. “Only when I’m involved in it can I be authentic, and I try to reflect on things around me that are interesting,” he says.
When the world shut down due to the pandemic, Rahul felt he had time on his hands and believed he had nothing to lose if he started writing songs. Beginning his journey on Instagram, he started by asking people for prompts and words based on which he wrote his initial songs.
“Initially I was most comfortable in English and now my songs have lyrics in both Tamil and English. I strongly believe that the language should be accessible and not alienate the audience. I feel inspired by the way rappers here like Asal Kolar and Pal Dabba use the Tamil language,” he says.
Rahul, who doesn’t consider himself a music connoisseur, says he limits himself to sharing his songs on Instagram because he feels he can deliver a great beat, some comedy and a visual element, all packaged well thanks to the audio-video reels format. “If there’s no music, I feel there’s at least one aspect that stands out and hopefully people will stop and pay attention while scrolling,” he says.
Rahul and stand-up comedian Abhishek Kumar in a still from the music video ‘Panam’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
After writing, shooting, editing and acting in all his songs for a while, recently he has started collaborating with people to act in his videos. Stand up comedian and actor Ramkumar Natarajan, theatre artistes Naresh and Abhishek Kumar have appeared in his last three songs – all of which have garnered millions of views.
“It’s great to work with collaborators who share the same energy. We shot the ‘Panam’ video with Abhishek on a very hot Chennai day, and it just kept flowing thanks to how enthusiastic we all were and fed off each other’s energy. Even with Ramkumar, all I had to do was ping him, who is a manager in a corporate setting, to talk about an idea and he got excited immediately,” he says.
Rahul, who began his journey with stand-up comedy, also hopes to do a show that brings together his two passions, comedy and music, like Bo Burnham’s show. “Incorporating music always makes for an engaging performance experience, and I can’t wait to try it out,” he says.
