MUMBAI: Ahead of his India tour, Toronto-based, award-winning Tamil rapper and director Shan Vincent de Paul dropped a new single with his Mrithangam Raps collaborator and Sri Lankan-Canadian singer/producer Yanchan, ‘Best Friend’.

The track – the lead single from their collaborative album titled “IYAAA”, which drops on March 27,  samples music director AR Rahman’s iconic song, ‘Mustafa Mustafa’ from the 1996-released Kadhal Desam.

Watch here:

“At a surface level, it’s a catchy song about best friends,” says SVDP, before adding, “But for us, we wanted to make a song that would challenge society’s ideas of masculinity, especially in the South Asian community. So we decided to make a fun catchy anthem that celebrates the love between friends. Yanchan and I have been speaking for a while about visiting a Tamil classic, so when Yanchan sent me the beat with the “Mustafa” sample, the song immediately started writing itself in my head.”

AR Rahman, like for millions around the world, is someone that has influenced SVDP and Yanchan both.

“AR is arguably the most influential South Asian musician of all time and one of the most prolific musicians in the world. He’s been a beacon of light to so many brown artists, including us. Not only with the music itself, but how far you can take your art form, he let our community know that there really is no limit. ‘Mustafa’ was ahead of its time in almost every way, the production, the content, and the video. We wanted to bring that feeling back, but with our own twist,” Shan offers.

The Jaffna-born rapper, who caught the attention of Indians everywhere with his Mrithangam Raps series last year, has been at the forefront of a global South Asian arts renaissance, and comes to India in February on the back of a stellar mixtape, and as the creator of Carnatic rap – an entirely new fusion of classical Eastern instruments with Western-influenced rap.

SVDP will perform in Pune, followed by dates in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai with support from Yanchan and DJ Dwell.

SVDP will also be performing songs from his upcoming album Made in Jaffna as well as material from his collaborative album with Yanchan titled “IYAAA”, which drops on March 27. “With IYAAA the focus is to give our South Asian audience a project they can really connect to,” Shan explains.

Tour details

Feb 9: Pune - VH1 Supersonic Festival

Feb 11 – Mumbai - Workshop @ True School of Music

Feb 12 – Mumbai - Dharavi Rocks

Feb 14 – Bangalore - Fandom

Feb 21- Delhi - TBA

Feb 20 – Chennai – Bay146

Feb 22 – Chennai – Global Isai Festival 2020

Tickets for gigs: https://tourlink.to/svdp-ohgawdtour2020