MIA

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, the daughter of a Tamil activist-turned militant, Arul Pragasam, was born in Hounslow, London. She is best known by her stage name, MIA. Her style contains elements of grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro, reggaeton and baile funk. Her early underground singles, ‘Galang’ and ‘Sunshowers’, shocked listeners with sharp lyrics about urban unease thrown on top of raw beats you could dance to. In 2005 she released her debut album 'Arular.' MIA is also very popular for her fashion sense.

Chakrasonic

Chakrasonic is a Malaysian band made up of former backup dancers for the group Poetic Ammo. They left Poetic Ammo to form their own band in 2000, releasing their debut album Kalai Oru Por in 2001, which included the hit song Kalai Oru Por. In 2006, they launched their second album - Rise of the Brammah's in 2006.

Yogi B

Yogi B, real name Yogeswaran Veerasingam, is a Malaysian rapper, formerly of the now-defunct hip-hop band Poetic Ammo. Most of their songs were in English but they also released tracks in Malay, Tamil, and Cantonese. Recently, Yogi B has teamed up rap duo Natchatra. The album Vallavan has been a huge hit in Malaysia and elsewhere. Their track 'Madai Thiranthu' has become very popular among Indians everywhere.


Article about Yogi B and Natchatra

Shine

Shine is a Norway-based Tamil hip-hop group made up of two brothers, Sudas and Sahaya, originally from Sri Lanka. They were forced to flee to Norway in 1990. Their rap is usually in Tamil and English, but also features Norwegian lyrics in some of their songs. They have been a hit in the Norwegian underground scene. Their two latest songs, Ulagam Mudiyum Varai and When Will We Rise, are political in nature, focusing on the conflict in Sri Lanka. Shine's songs are released through Rough Rhythm Records.

Shine Profile on Rough Rhythm Records Website

Krishan

Krishan Maheson, born in Colombo on May 4, 1983, is a product of Royal College and a final year BBA student from London Metropolitan University is the former member of hip-hop group Urban Sounds. Krishan started off his rap career at the raw age of 15 when he formed Urban Sound together with Brother Gajan Maheson. They created original hip-hop songs which were frequently played on all English Radio stations.
Krishan has collaborated with the another popular Sri Lankan singer, Iraj, on a number of works including J-Town Story and Ran Ran Ran. His music incorporates Tamil, Sinhala and English.

Interview with Krishan

Rap-PulavarZ

Rap-PulavarZ is a brand new Tamil hip-hop band from Switzerland, made up of six youths of Sri Lankan origin. The released their debut album Ayubovan-Vanakkam
(welcome in Sinhala and Tamil) in January 2007.
These guys are as exciting as they are fresh. The mix of Tamil with German and English in the lyrics is exciting, although it also makes understanding of parts of the songs beyond a lot of people. The Swiss accent in the Tamil rapping is particularly catchy. The music is exceptional and original. I am hoping for more egreat things to come from these guys in the future. At the very least, we all know there is now someone flying our flag in Switzerland.
www.rap-pulavarz.com

Boomerangx

Boomerangx is a Malaysia trio who made a huge splash in the local Tamil music scene with their debut album Nil Gavvanee in 2000. Songs from this album include Kanavae Kanavae, Nallavar Sollai, Moxsha, Mario, Nil Gavvane and Cari Makan. One of the hottest bands in the Malaysian scene with a loyal following.