Amid Vedic chants that slowly build, creating a meditative atmosphere, a beat pulses beneath the sacred verses. Then the words begin to flow. Reverberating steadily like the hum of a river.
This is the trip of Rahul Ramachandran, aka ‘The Real Alien Back’, aka AVU, and his brother Rajesh Rajagopal, aka ‘Ape State of Mind’, aka ABU. Their debut album, Potential, is a meeting point of ancient Vedic chants and rap — two unlikely musical companions.
“That is the beauty of it,” smiles Rahul. “Having grown up in an environment where mornings were filled with Vedic chants, like a blanket settling over the fog, we carry some of that influence. Then, as our fascination shifted to modern hip-hop, rap battles and basketball during our teenage years, somewhere, somehow, those two sides converged.”
Though the two genres seem worlds apart, Bengaluru-based Rahul and Rajesh prove that music can bridge any divide. “That is the power of music. It is like water. Dynamic. Free-flowing,” says Rajesh.
With 14 tracks, Potential, in the duo’s words, is “conscious hip-hop — spiritual street wisdom”
The lyrics inspire and invoke cosmic energy, the chants draw listeners into a hypnotic state, while the beats gently pull them into the rhythm.
Listening to the album — out on Spotify and iTunes — is an experience that is difficult to describe in words and is best felt. It’s trippy.
“We grew up with the Vedas in an agraharam in Palakkad. Then, during our school years, it was all rap. Youth was all about DJs and parties. Creating music became a natural extension of all those influences,” says Rahul.
Away from music, the brothers also run an ed-tech start-up, ‘Hybrid Acquire’, which is steadily growing.
The platform uses games to make education more interactive, with parents and teachers serving as game masters.
Amid data crunching and building 3D models for the platform, music became their path to unwind.
“We wanted the platform to be a space where positive behaviour is appreciated. To create that, we also needed to cultivate the same mindset ourselves. This is how we do it — through rap and the Vedas,” Rahul says.
While Potential is largely Rahul’s creative work, Rajesh contributed during the production process despite travelling frequently for work.
“When I returned from meetings, he would already have finished three or four songs,” Rajesh laughs.
Rahul says that once he begins writing, both the lyrics and the music come together quickly. “Within two weeks, the album was ready. We just had to record it properly,” he says.
Impressed with the experiment, DJ and composer Shekhar Menon joined the brothers as producer.
“He was the brain behind the sound,” the brothers chorus.
The opening track, ‘Beginnin’, starts with chants from the Sama Veda. “It is one of the most musical of the Vedas,” Rahul says.
Beginning with Rahul’s trademark “Yehh”, the song reflects on humanity’s place in the universe, reminding listeners that we are nothing more than a speck of dust in the vast cosmos.
The album also draws from spiritual traditions beyond the Vedas. The second track, ‘In Da Now’, incorporates a Buddhist prayer to Rinpoche, complementing lyrics about the universe, celestial bodies and the mysteries of existence.
Another track, ‘33’, features a prayer attributed to Solomon in Aramaic.
‘Rain Forest’, meanwhile, uses a shamanic hymn. “It brings a chorus feel to the beat,” Rahul says.
The song features both brothers on vocals and reflects on violence, humanity’s shortcomings and the growing disconnect between people and nature.
“This is an album through which we wanted to send positivity into the universe. It is our way of contributing to the cosmic vibrations, where everything is in perpetual motion,” says Rahul.
Rajesh adds, “We, too, are constantly moving and evolving. It is a call to become one with nature.”
Their unique, heady brew might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But Rahul and Rajesh hope to carve out a niche that listeners can groove to, rap along with, and, perhaps, even meditate on. As said, it’s a trip.