Chennai| From funding announcements to the city, Rahul Sridhar has a rap song for everything

In the video for his song ‘Panam’, the first shot of Rahul Sridhar coming out of an ATM with a wad of currency notes in his hand. He starts off by rapping to his friend, stand-up comedian Abishek Kumar, about wanting 20 crore in his bank account and that “that’s a good vibe, bro”.

On Tuesday, a rap song of his, albeit of a different kind, hit the internet: Rocketlane, a Chennai and US-based B2B SaaS (software-as-a-services) company, announced its $24 million Series B funding with a rap music video written and performed by Rahul. The song “I like B” not only announces their milestone, but Rahul also raps his way through the halls of their workspace, tracing the company’s journey so far. “Hey, we thought let’s do a press release but a little more aesthetic,” he raps in the song.

“In 2022 too, we made a rap song to announce the company’s Series A funding and it feels great to be able to mark another milestone with a song,” says Rahul, who is also part of the marketing team. Music has paved the way for several full-circle moments for him. It was a rap song he made a few years ago for a software testing company’s 10th anniversary that also got him the attention of the head of his current organization.

A quick look at the Chennai rapper’s Instagram account reveals songs he has written and performed on a variety of topics, from the city, poking fun at the work-life balance that exists in a corporate environment, the daily struggle of determination, and even the concept of self-care.

“Artists who come from extreme poverty and grew up in difficult circumstances – that is clearly felt in rap music. I had a very sheltered, privileged upbringing and I can’t look past something I didn’t experience. The songs I write focus on my own life experiences,” says the rapper, while talking about how pervasive hip-hop culture is. “Only by tapping into that can I be authentic and try to reflect on interesting things around me,” he adds.

When the world came to a standstill due to the pandemic, Rahul had more time on his hands and was convinced that he had nothing to lose by starting to write songs. He started his journey on Instagram, initially asking people for suggestions and words based on which he wrote his first songs.

“English was what I was most comfortable with initially and my songs now have both Tamil and English lyrics. I strongly believe that the language should be accessible and not scare away the audience. I feel inspired by the way rappers like Asal Kolar and Paal Dabba use Tamil,” he says.

Describing himself as someone who is not very musically savvy, Rahul says he limits his presence to sharing his songs on Instagram, as he feels he can offer a great beat, something comedic and a visual element there, all packaged well thanks to the audio-video reel format. “If it wasn’t for the music, I think at least one aspect will stand out and hopefully make people scrolling through stop and notice,” he says.

After a while of writing, shooting, editing and acting in all his songs, it is only recently that he has started collaborating with people who feature in his videos. Stand-up comedian and actor Ramkumar Natarajan, theatre artist Naresh and Abishek Kumar feature in his last three songs – all of which have garnered millions of views.

“It was great to work with partners who have the same energy. We shot the ‘Panam’ video with Abhishek on one of the really tough summer days in Chennai and our enthusiasm allowed us to keep going and feed each other’s energy. Even with Ramkumar, I just had to call him to talk about an idea I had, a manager in a corporate environment, and he was instantly enthusiastic,” he says.

As someone who started his career as a stand-up comedian, Rahul is also hoping to do a show that brings together his two passions, comedy and music, in a Bo Burnham-style show. He says, “Music always makes for an exciting performance experience and I can’t wait to try that out.”