- CV Laksh on shining the spotlight on Tamil rap and tackling issues through music
Nowadays, firing up music software on a laptop and making music seems a simple task, where even someone not knowledgeable in music could manage to string a tune together. There are many that do so, posting snippets online and calling themselves musicians, but this was not the case several years ago. While laptops did exist, such software was a lot harder to navigate, and if you were from a less privileged area of the country, then breaking into the music industry, even with facilities available to you, was almost impossible.
CV Laksh, a rapper and lyricist hailing from Trincomalee, filmed his first music video on an old laptop he had at home, after writing and composing an original track, which he decided to release online. Although there was no initial immediate rise to fame – and with many telling him to give up on his “futile” dreams – he pursued his passion for music and kept writing, rewriting, composing, and making his music videos, until one day, he hit the jackpot. His determination to make it eventually became his claim to fame and he is now a revered rapper in his hometown as well as around the country.
In conversation with The Morning Brunch, CV Laksh spoke about breaking into the music industry in Sri Lanka. He named his biggest challenge to be that he stays true to his mother tongue – Tamil. Unfortunately, Tamil isn’t spoken by many in the country, which means that small artists – like himself, when he began making music – won’t get noticed, as their songs are not in English or Sinhala. When Laksh began making music about a decade ago, there was hardly any platform for homegrown Tamil musicians, and most of them would opt to perform Hindi music or mainstream Tamil songs at the time.
“I only saw a semblance of hope back in 2009, when many new Tamil songs were being released on the radio and TV,” he told us, adding that he realised these songs were rapidly gaining fame and acknowledgement amongst the music industry and fans of music alike. This motivated him to begin putting his own music out, as he realised that there actually was a market for Tamil music in Sri Lanka.
“After that, my passion for music rekindled and I spent days on end coming up with new and innovative music to give this newfound audience something unique, which speaks about their heritage and culture here in Sri Lanka.”
Currently, Laksh has written, composed, and released over 35 songs, not counting his covers, and his fans cannot get enough. Over the years, he has come to believe that the message and lyrics are the most important aspects of any song, and told us that any song he creates will also be a form of self-identification for him. “As always, my lines and lyrics aspire to bring about social change; that is my biggest goal with my music,” he told us, adding that he hopes to send out a strong message that will one day make the world a better place. While his journey was certainly far from easy – with having to listen to echoes of demotivation and even having his studio burnt to the ground – he simply wishes that the lines in his songs can serve as a source of inspiration to youngsters.
“Despite the language barrier for most, I believe the message I am striving to put out can be universally understood by many,” he added.
His most recent release, Vallaaikari featuring Sri Niro and Caitlin Kenny, speaks about issues that we as a country are facing. In fact, he seems to have tackled an issue that not many artists have touched. This particular track was produced by Tamilaa, mixed and mastered by Thinesh Na, and features music and lyrics by Laksh, Sri Niro, and Caitlin Kenny. The song also features additional keyboard work by Bonifus, with Thaarshan Jena on cinematography and editing.
Sharing more details on the track, he said: “The song is about a lady living in London who came to Sri Lanka for a vacation. The music video depicts us rapping to her to show off the talent that our local musicians have, wanting to impress her with it,” he told us. While the video may come off as a typical love story where a man woos a woman, Laksh told us that this was made with a foreign audience in mind. “Aside from our environmental attraction, I wanted to show that Sri Lanka has much more to offer in terms of music, and attract more tourists to our country,” he told us.
He also pointed out that a solution to our forex crisis is to attract more tourists, and he hopes that by putting out music videos on international platforms like YouTube, he will be able to promote niches that our country has to offer, as well as bring in more tourists.
With this, he also hopes to promote the Tamil language and Tamil music to a foriegn audience and offer them something they haven’t seen before. As Sri Lanka has only a small Tamil population, Laksh believes that the citizens of the country need to support artists from his background. “Our Tamil music industry needs as much support as is given to the Sinhala music industry, and despite the lack of support, I will continue to promote my music both locally and internationally,” he told us, adding that he hopes the Tamil rap genre will blossom into one of the main attraction that Sri Lanka has to offer.
