Therukural Arivu, the rapper, composer, and songwriter known for his socially conscious lyrics, has released his new album Valliamma Perandi. The album, launched by Sony Music, represents Arivu’s artistic response to recent controversies and a deeper exploration of his identity.
At the album launch in Chennai, filmmaker Pa Ranjith, who introduced Arivu to wider audiences through the Casteless Collective, provided context for the work. “The 12 songs in Valliamma Perandi are his answer to the struggle he faced after the ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ controversy,” Ranjith explained. He added that Arivu’s writing has consistently “transformed great politics into words and carried it from adults to children.”
The album’s title, Valliamma Perandi, references an important historical figure. Arivu elaborated, “The history of Valliamma, who was taken from here to Sri Lanka during British rule for tea plantation work, overcame many hardships, and returned to face life here, is very important. That is my identity.”
Composer D. Imman praised Arivu’s growth, noting, “He has changed his name to Therukural and given many epithets. The songs of the album are amazing.”
Sivagami IAS, speaking at the event, highlighted the emotional impact of Arivu’s work. “If we say that a great album can bring about a change in feelings, we can cite the song of Arivu as an example,” she said.
The album also marks a step toward greater representation of independent artists in the Indian music scene. Pa Ranjith observed, “Solo music artists are hugely popular worldwide. The role of Arivu becomes more important when it comes to why it did not happen here.”
Valliamma Perandi features collaborations with various independent artists, with Arivu writing, arranging, and composing the tracks. As he steps into this new phase of his career, Arivu reflected, “This album is the answer to my questions. Let us restore love in today’s world.”