Blaaze is an Indian rapper, singer, songwriter, composer and music producer. He sings mainly in Tamil. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Indian rap scene and was instrumental in introducing hip-hop music to South India. Some of his famous songs include “The Boss” and “Style” from the movie “Sivaji: The Boss”, “CEO in the House” from the movie “Sarkar”, “Slumdog Millionaire” Gangsta Blues”, “Raajali in Cinema 2.0” and many more.
Wiki/Biography
Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopala Sheshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman was born on Wednesday, October 15, 1975 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (46 years; as of 2022). The reason why the name “Vijaya” was added to his name is because he was born on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami. He was born in India but grew up in Kitwe, Zambia. From 1980 to 1983, he attended Luanshya Trust School in Zambia and later Belvedere School in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 1985, he attended Nkana Trust School in Kitwe, Zambia. In 1987, he entered Mpelembe Secondary School in Kitwe, Zambia. At the age of 14, he went to St. George’s School, a boarding school in Finborough-Suffolk, England, to study for GCSE “O” levels. In 1995, he received a Diploma in Film and Television Production and Film/Film/Video Studies from St. Xavier’s College. In 1997, he studied for a bachelor’s degree in film/film/video studies at Columbia College in Hollywood, USA. His father was an architect who designed stages for various events. When Blaaze was 9 years old, he was touring with his family and performing break dance on a stage designed by his father. During this period, he became interested in hip-hop music and decided to become a rapper.
Childhood photos of Blaaze with his mother and sister
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Weight (approximately): 65kg
Hair color: N/A (bald)
Eye color: black
family
Blaaze belongs to a Brahmin family in Mylapur, Chennai.
Parents and siblings
His father R Venkataraman is an architect and his mother’s name is Sathya Bhama. His sister Rekha Srinivasan is the founder of Bhaarat Nritya Academy in New Jersey.
Blaaze with his parents and sister
wife and children
Blaaze married Nandini Raman on June 21, 2000. She is a columnist and consultant. He has two children. His daughter’s name is Mrishti Vaishnavi Raman and his son’s name is Mrishal Neelakantan Raman.
Blaaze and Nandini’s wedding photos
Blaydes and his wife Nandini
Blaaze’s children Mrishti and Mrshal
Signature/Autograph
Blaise’s signature
Profession
rapper
In October 1991, at the age of 16, he began his rap career by performing for Zambian President Chiluba at a campaign event for him. In 1992, he collaborated with the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation to produce and perform in Zambia’s first music video, “Advice 4 Livin'”.
Movie
He made his debut in the Indian film industry in 2002 with the song “Baba Rap” from Rajinikanth’s Tamil film “Baba”; AR Rahman gave him his first opportunity to sing in a Tamil film. Thereafter, he worked with AR Rahman in many films. In the 2003 Tamil film “Boys”, Blaydes sang two songs, “Date” and “Secret of Success”. He rapped in the song “Aaha Thamizamma” from the 2004 Tamil film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei. After working with Rahman in a few films, he received offers from other music directors in the film industry. Apart from rapping, he has also appeared in the music videos of many songs, including “Yennadi Muniyamma” from the 2006 film Vathiyar, “Taxi Taxi” from the 2008 film Sakkarakatti, “Yennadi Muniyamma” from the 2009 film Unnaipol Oruvan Vaanam Ellai” and “Padapadakkudhu” Maname” from the 2013 movie “Moondru Per Moondru Kadal”.
television
Blaaze wrote and rapped the lyrics for the title song of the 2004 teen TV series Remix.
album
In September 2011, Blaaze released his debut album “Time For Gandhi”, which was also India’s first true hip-hop “protest” album. In 2017, Blaaze collaborated with music director Paul Jacob to release the world’s first Sanskrit hip-hop album “Rap Bhakthi Mala”.
Cover of the 2017 album rap bhakthi mala
band
Blaaze formed a band called “ZambeZi funK” together with musician, composer, arranger and architect Sagar. In 2004, he released their first song, “In My Father’s Words”. “funKalistiC syllaBleZ” is the band’s first album released in 2007.
Photos of the band “ZambeZi funK”
composer
Blaydes co-wrote the lyrics for the song “The Secret of Success” from the 2003 film “The Boys.” In 2008, he co-wrote the song “Dreams on Fire” for the British drama film “Slumdog Millionaire”; he also wrote the lyrics for the song “Gangsta Blues” from the film. In 2008, Blades wrote “Pray for Me, Brother”, the United Nations’ official poverty anthem, with the help of AR Rahman. He rapped in the 2012 Malayalam film Casanova and wrote the lyrics for two songs in Vince Vaughn’s film; he co-wrote “Couples Retreat” with AR Rahman, Co-produced “NaNa” with Vivian Chaix and AR Rahman.
Music Director
In 2008, he served as the music director for the song “What’s Up India” in the movie “Saas Bahu Aur Sensex”. In 2010, he directed the original soundtrack (OST) of the action film “Forward”.
Awards
In 2008, he received the MTV Young Icon of the Year Award for his contribution to socially relevant issues through his music and lyrics for “Pray for Me, Brother”, the official United Nations song on the eradication of poverty, written by AR Rahman.
Favorites
- Location: Peter Park, Yelagiri, Zambia
Facts/Trivia
- His stage name Blaaze means “do your own thing”.
- He is the morning host of 94.3 Radio One.
- He considers his father RV Raman, 2 Pac and Paul J as his role models.
- He was named Rajesh after the famous actor Rajesh Khanna.
- Blaaze is the first Sanskrit rapper in the world to sing the entire poem “Syamala Dandakkam”, composed by Mahakavi Kalidas in the 4th century.
- In 2016, Blaaze opened for Shaggy and C&C Music Factory on their India tour. He also performed at a tribute concert to Bob Dylan.
- He can rap in English, Tamil and Sanskrit.
- In 2020, Blaaze started a series called “Rap Kitchen,” in which he raps while cooking. He spreads awareness about the benefits of healthy food and the joy of cooking. He said in an interview,
I want to convey the message that food is important and if we all know how to cook, we can be self-sufficient and less of a burden on our loved ones. Also, with these videos, I hope to get kids (kids who love the hip-hop vibe) into the kitchen and discover new experiences. I love rapping and I love cooking, why not combine the two? ”
Blaaze bakes bread in one of the episodes of his series “Rap’s Kitchen”
- Blaaze revealed his songwriting process in an interview, saying:
I think it’s important to always write your own lyrics. Especially for rap. Because this is what is in your mind and what you want to say. I think it’s more than just trying to say what people want to hear rather than what you want to say. This is poetry. Rap is rhythm and poetry…rap. “
- In an interview, when asked why he prefers rapping in English and how AR Rahman helps him rap in Tamil, he replied:
I think in English, so rapping in English feels more natural to me. But AR Rahman did bring out the Tamil angle. I have always understood and spoken Tamil but never thought I could rap in Tamil. So I was lucky that he was able to take that away from me. Tamil is not an easy language either but is definitely one of the languages phonetically comparable to Hip Hop… A lot of times when I speak in Tamil a lot of people do criticize my accent but at least I am trying . “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education