Bengaluru-based Tamil rapper Killa K on music, representation, and his latest single, ‘Nalla Pulla’

“I volition beryllium connected the screen of Vogue one day.” Killa K, the Bengaluru-based rapper has large ambitions not lone for his music, but besides for manner that is an integral relation of his persona.

In mentation for his directorial debut of his euphony video for ‘Nalla Pulla’, the teaser for this way was posted astir mid-September connected his societal media page. The artiste says helium looks guardant to being down the camera for the archetypal time, charting retired the originative visuals, aesthetics and narrative. 

In a sit-down interrogation with The Hindu, the rapper speaks astir his travel that began with his archetypal single, ‘Va Voi’,which went viral successful 2021. He believes his euphony resonates with the tone of Bengaluru’s streets. The artiste has created a niche for himself with his authentic vigor and funky style.

Home boy

Killa K, who was christened Kevin Lourd, talks astir his beingness increasing up successful Sultanpalya surrounded by friends and family, whom helium considers his top assets. “They animate me,” says the artiste who credits ‘Va Voi’ to his puerility person Sohan Gowda.

Initially, helium was clueless astir creating music; the opus was recorded utilizing a sock and a telephone with a broad implicit his head. Sohan not lone changeable the video, but besides edited it and began a YouTube transmission for Kevin. 

“My parents had nary thought I was shooting the video. My friends brought implicit immoderate of their clothes, and I had a fewer of my own. It was not fashionable astatine all, but that is however the euphony video was made.”  

As a child, helium recalls being exposed to 2 antithetic worlds. His acquisition astatine St Joseph’s School showed him a satellite of luxurious homes and branded clothes. The different was his location successful Sultanpalya, wherever his friends would play shot barefoot aft a hard day’s enactment successful operation sites. He says the archetypal pointed him successful the absorption helium wanted to go, and the 2nd taught him the worth of hard work.

The euphony videos for Killa’s songs incorporated an unfiltered aesthetic of Bengaluru — 1 that is bold, vibrant and realistic successful its beauty. The houses whitethorn beryllium huddled unneurotic and the streets chaotic but his radical are rich; with a wealthiness rooted successful culture, warmth and character, says the artiste. 

Like minds

Talking astir ‘Podu Mike’, his collaboration with Singaporean Tamil rapper Yung Raja successful 2024, Killa says it was a creation way made for the streets, a solemnisation of two antithetic cultures of Tamil coming together.

The connection utilized was the Bengaluru dialect of Tamil with a premix of thoroughfare slang, thapang beats, and the dependable of the Parai drums. Killa says it is simply a signifier of spoken Tamil that is simply a substance of antithetic languages, including Urdu and Kannada, and represents the divers civilization of the city. 

 “My connection is what made maine today. I’m not cool, Tamil is cool. I americium conscionable showcasing that.”  

For fans who wonderment what is next, Killa says 1 tin expect an implicit revolution. Inspired by the antithetic eras of Eminem whose euphony helium grew up listening to, Killa who wants his fans to link with his euphony connected a idiosyncratic level, promises that “something different, caller and extraordinary” volition driblet soon.