Toronto-based Tamil rapper Shan Vincent de Paul drops new single
Toronto-based Tamil artiste Shan Vincent de Paul on Friday released Savage, the new single of his third studio album, Made In /FƉSF.
Shan says he has written the track solely for personal artistic expression, to appease the “rap head” in him. “Savage was a purely cathartic creation for me where the expression took precedence over ‘accessibility’. I wanted to write an ‘anti-hit’, something that didn’t pander to any kind of audience, sound or trend. It was a gateway to tap into a darker side without having to keep up the facade of a glossy, perfect world that we often see on social media. The title is also a tongue-in-cheek reference to the term colonizers used to describe us for eating with our hands,” he says. Savage is the first of 12 singles to be released for the 14-track album, which is scheduled to release on August 27. Previously released singles — One hundred thousand flowers and Heaven featuring fellow Canadian Tamil artiste Navz-47 — are also part of the album.
Matching Shan’s vocal ferocity in the video of the new song is Paris-based hip-hop dancer and Bharatanatyam enthusiast Usha Jey’s choreography, whose hybrid mix of two dance styles have made her a social media star. Shot in Berlin, the video features two avatars of Usha, performing her trademark hybrid Bharatanatyam.
On Usha Jey’ s choreography, Shan says, “Her style is so unique and innovative while perfectly capturing elements of the East and West. I knew she had to be the star of the video when I saw her style. It was a perfect way to respond to the derogatory title of ‘Savage’ that was often used against us. I also wanted to take Bharatanatyam as far away from the realm you would expect it to be in.”
2FIJ .S /FƉSF will be released on the AR Rahman-led artiste-centric platform and label, maajja.