Dalits in Arts & Music
Arivu Arivarasu Kalainesan, professionally known as Arivu (born October 29, 1991), is an Indian rapper, singer, songwriter, lyricist, composer, and social justice activist whose music fuses Tamil folk traditions like oppari (mourning laments) and gaana with hip-hop, rock, and beatboxing to confront caste oppression, inequality, and cultural erasure. Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Arivu rose to global prominence with his 2021 breakout single "Enjoy Enjaami," which amassed over 500 million YouTube views by late 2024 and symbolized a renaissance for independent Tamil music. As a key member of the anti-caste band The Casteless Collective and curator for Coke Studio Tamil, his work—spanning albums, film scores, and poetry—amplifies Dalit narratives, drawing from Ambedkarite influences and ancestral stories of labor and resistance. At 33 in 2025, Arivu continues to evolve, releasing the introspective album Valliamma Peraandi: Volume 1 in 2024 as a tribute to his grandmother, while naviga...