Chennai rapper Paal Dabba's 'Kaathu Mela' fever grips nation; Japs too love it
The song has taken over social media as young and old are grooving to the jaunty vibe of the rap number
Chennai-based rapper Paal Dabba’s new number ‘Kaathu Mela’ is whipping up a stink, sorry storm, and how.
The jaunty song, 'Kaathu Mela' (which translates in Tamil as ‘Air Flow’), with its flippant lyrics starting off with the flow of air and smelly air, has gone completely viral. The 'Kaathu' (air) fever has caught on as scores of Instagram users are dancing to their own versions of the peppy, lively song.
If children and young men and women across India are seen matching their step to the typically energetic, fast-paced song; in far-away Japan, youngsters too seem smitten by it.
There’s one video on Instagram where a young Japanese man dances to the Tamil song with a group of girls and boys. 'Music is a universal language. Love from Japan', he wrote in his post.
North Indians and fans of 'Kaathu Mela' outside Tamil Nadu may not make head or tail of the Tamil lyrics except for a stray English word like a ‘biryani’ or a ‘mango bite’. That’s all they have to play with but that’s not stopping them from going crazy over it.
'Kaathu Mela', which has been sung and written by Paal Dabba, a rising star in the indie rap world and composed and produced by ofRo, an Indian record producer, singer and songwriter via ThinkIndie, is trending big time. Young and old are grooving to the jaunty vibe of the rap number. The dance video of the song, is set in a police station. The inspiration stems from Paal Dabba's own experience of once been “caught by the police” for riding without a helmet.
In the song Paal Dabba laments how he gets delayed for practice since he has to spend about two hours in a police station. He mocks the overcrowded station and also pulls out a gun cinematic style to rev up the chaos and the fun. There’s a fierce looking mom who also stomps in between the mayhem and the dance and berates him for not getting his life together.
There are no signs of the 'Kaathu Mela' fever abating any time soon as Instagram teems with hundreds of versions of the song.
This craze seems reminiscent of the time when Tamil actor Dhanush’s 'Why this Kolaveri Di or the time the Sri Lankan song, 'Manike Mage Hithe' by Yohani and Satheesan caught the imagination of music lovers. No one understood it but the upbeat beat was enough and people could not get the tune out of their heads.
Who is Paal Dabba?
The 23-year old Paal Dabba, whose real name is Anish, has slowly made a name for himself in the indie rap scene. His songs are considered to be "fresh" and the use of words from Yoruba (Nigerian language) in his lyrics; a blaise, chilled outlook to life and his natural flair for beats and rhythms make him stand out. Currently, the young rapper is riding a high as his songs are a hit. In fact, Apple's ad for Mac done by TBWA\Media Arts Lab APAC featured Paal Dabba's song '170CM'!
He has also sung 'Galatta' for music director Sushin Shyam in the film 'Aavesham' and 'His name is John" in Harris Jayaraj’s 'Dhruva Natchathiram'. There's no stopping this Tamil rapper, it seems, as his latest 'Kaathu Mela' too is creating waves and has become a sensational hit.