Known to many as the voice behind the only Tamil hit with a billion views till date, Rowdy Baby, Dhee is one of the most inimitable talents in South India. Born in Colombo to Carnatic musician and singer Meenakshi Iyer, Dhee grew up in Sydney with sounds of music all around her. At home, she spent time watching her paati (grandmother) and mother teach Carnatic music, and with friends, Dhee fell in love with the swag of hip-hop and sway of jazz. Her summer trips to Chennai, while still studying in Sydney, presented Dhee with opportunities to work with music directors like A. R. Rahman and Yuvan Shankar Raja. This helped kickstart a career that has seen chartbusters and other critically acclaimed hits. As the accolades increased, so did Dhee’s desire to become an artist in her own right. Her debut single as an independent artist, Enjoy Enjaami, was the first step in that direction with an album in the works. A song that got the world tapping on its feet and exploded on Instagram. We explore her journey below:
BEGINNINGS
I’ve always been in love with music and art. I think I learnt to feel things through music and then, later, express those feelings through music. Music has been a part of all my core memories. I never saw it as a job though. I really didn’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now.
I look up to artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Santhosh Narayanan, Kendrick Lamar and Billie Holiday. Beyoncé is one of the first artists I was enamoured by ever since I heard the music of Destiny’s Child. I was in complete awe. When I was young, my family used to play and sing a lot of old Tamil songs, especially MSV, Ilayaraja songs, and that has immensely influenced me.
ENJOY ENJAAMI
We wanted the song to celebrate nature, our roots, ances- tors and all life forms, not just humans. Enjoy Enjaami was created with the purest intention of bringing us closer to each other and the life around us. To acknowledge, celebrate and protect. We wanted to speak about this in a way that was fun and accessible for children, almost like nursery rhymes, and we definitely had so much fun doing that.
This song was initially made for maajja’s YAALL festival. maajja had asked if I’d be down to make a song for the festival and I thought it’d be nice to do to a bridge song in Tamil that would lead to my album and touched on the same concepts. My father Santosh Narayan and Arivu were kind enough be a part of it. Dad and I have co-composed this song. The song’s core is about ancient Tamil society, who lived being one with nature and worshipped பஞ்சபூதங்கள்(the five elements). They lived free of the adversities that came with manmade divisions (caste, religion, et cetera). They are our roots. This song is a reminder and a call to that time. That this Earth belongs to all life, not just humans, and our collective responsibility is to protect and preserve the Earth and all its life forms. This song was born out of our love and respect for this Earth, life, the roots, people and each other as co-artists and friends. It came from hope. I still hope that this song will lead us on a search for our roots.
ART FOR A CAUSE
My ultimate goal is to unite people through everything I create, to bring people together. To not make art that leaves people feeling angry or guilty. I believe the things I speak about or represent should always be honest. With the little experience I’ve had, when it comes to civil and environmental issues, I’ve seen a lot of success happen when people come together, when people raise their voice for something collectively. People are ready to come together, so I think it’s important that art helps make that transition faster.
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Text Hansika Lohani Mehtani
Date 07-02-2022