Prophet Named Prem-vocals, guitar, drums, piano, composition, recording, artwork & production
Influences
A. R. Rahman, MF DOOM, Radiohead, the Pillows, the Beatles, LTTE Musicians, M.I.A., Fear Factory, Mad Capsule Markets, Tool, Bush, Deftones, Wu-Tang Clan, Yoko Kanno, Jon Brion, Danny Elfman, Non-Phixion, Brujeria, Atari Teenage Riot, Offspring, Charlie Parker, Portishead, From Autumn to Ashes, Rage Against the Machine, Deicide, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapian, RJD2, Mr. Lif, Yum! Yum! Orange, Timbaland, Poison the Well, In Flames, Mudvayne, Sleater Kinney, Le Tigre, M.I.A., Lady Sovereign, John Lennon, Aesop Rock, Talib Qweli, Mos Def, Slug (and Atmosphere), Brother Ali, Eyedea & Abilities, Ant, Mr. Dibbs, DJ QBERT, System of a Down, Monster Island Czars, King Gheedorah, Ghostface Killah, RZA, GZA, Notorious B.I.G., Dead Prez, Three 6 Mafia, Ludacris, Lil Jon, and countless others I don't remember.
The Prophet Named Prem is the first published compilation by a second generation Tamil American heavily influenced by the bloody conflict in Sri Lanka. He grew up listening to A. R. Rahman, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Mobb Deep, the Beatles, the Mad Capsule Markets, and other artists who have revolutionized the music world. A guitarist, pianist, singer, rapper, and drummer, the Prophet Named Prem is also a poet, composer, and producer of Tamil, hip hop, rock, classical, and experimental fusion of these and other genres. Eelam’s Rise: Tamil American Instrumentals is the result of five years of music production. It explores rock, hip hop, and Tamil and uniquely fuses the genres while also offering the listener in-depth insight into the conflict in Sri Lanka between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Government of Sri Lanka which has raged on since 1983. The last few decades in Sri Lanka have witnessed repressive structural injustice and extreme human rights violations, ranging from indiscriminate bombing campaigns, to state-sponsored genocidal riots, to attacks on Tamil media and parliamentarians. The Prophet Named Prem visited the tear-shaped island of Sri Lanka in 2002, and witnessing the impact upon entire generations of ethnic warfare irrevocably influenced him. Observing the devastation caused by Sri Lankan government bombings of orphanages, schools, temples, churches, hospitals and other civilian areas, the Prophet Named Prem realized that as a Tamil American, he needed to use his resources and musical talent to bring a voice to the silent genocide of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. If you enjoy Mobb Deep, A. R. Rahman, U2, Rage Against the Machine, M.I.A., the Beatles, the Mad Capsule Markets, and other artists of these genres, you will definitely enjoy the Prophet Named Prem’s debut album, Eelam’s Rise: Tamil American Instrumentals.
