Chatsworth’s ‘Tiger’ Moodley takes rap by the tail
LOCAL rapper Taragan “Tiger” Moodley’s music has been racking up interest on social media with his sound being celebrated as some of the finest rap to come out of Durban.
The recent spate of attention follows his feature rap on local singer Oli Milne’s Hold On, which has been playlisted on Durban Youth Radio and featured on Lotus FM’s News Break.
However, Moodley has been in the game for some years now.
In an interview with he spoke about his early musical influences, and how US rapper Eminem’s hit film 8 Mile steered him towards his path in rap and more.
“As an artist I’m always going to be a rapper but sound is a question of relevance, being current and marketable and whether I want my songs to be heard in the communal sense. That sometimes means rubbing shoulders with other genres.
“My song Can’t Stop, for example, is lyricism over soulful 1990s R&B with a splash of pop-funk guitar and quirky flutes.
“However, you can’t define it as anything other than rap, rhythm and poetry,” he said.
“I grew up in a musical household. My late father played acoustic guitar and sang. He listened to and played a lot of folk like Simon & Garfunkel, Don McLean and Bob Dylan. I’m sure that influenced me to rhyme words at an early age.
“I received my first award for poetry at the age of seven. In high school, once I had fully discovered Eminem and watched 8 Mile, there was nothing else I wanted to be but a rapper,” said Moodley.
Born and raised in Chatsworth, his family later moved to Wyebank.
He attended Kloof High School and later completed a degree in environmental management at UKZN.
“I’m also a qualified, but unemployed, high school geography teacher,” he quips.
Commenting on the artists who inspire his music, Moodley said he was inspired by artists that he “can relate to”.
“I’ve always been a fan of rappers who are outsiders and underdogs, but ultimately game-changers.
“The Notorious BIG, Eminem and Drake all showed vulnerability while being entertaining, clever and you can relate to them.
“I’d like to think that that description fits me too,” he said.
“Locally, I’m a big fan of AKA. We’re the same age and I’ve seen him as competition ever since I heard his group Entity, when I was in high school.”
Determined to realise his dream, Moodley has recorded his songs at home since 2010.
“But the audio quality left a lot to be desired and, as a result, there was not much attention garnered.
“In 2016, a close friend of mine took her life.
“I felt guilty that I couldn’t help her and I wrote a song to honour her, in the way that Don McLean wrote Vincent. The song is called Yolande.
“I felt like her story needed to be heard and her song was the first I recorded in a professional studio,” he said.
Over the past 15 years he has released more than 20 songs on Soundcloud, which have now mostly been removed by Moodley “for future use”.
“At the beginning of this year I had all but given up on my dream until a young singer named Oli Milne heard Yolande and contacted me to feature on his song Hold On. That song has been playlisted on Durban Youth Radio, featured on Lotus FM’s News Break and was added to the LV Music Spotify playlist.
“The video is also doing well on YouTube.
“Can’t Stop serves as my first single and I’m hoping to get it on radio as soon as possible.
“The song is available on all digital platforms, including iTunes and Spotify and the video is up on YouTube,” he said.
You can follow Moodley on Instagram @tiger_danger_moodley, soundcloud. com/taragan and Taragan Moodley on Facebook and YouTube.