Tired of stereotypes, rapper Arunboii hits back through his rhymes

Throughout Arun Syarmaa’s childhood in Klang, he was surrounded by immense injustice faced by Malaysian Indians and the stereotypes they struggled to defy.

Determined to prove society wrong, Arun, better known as Arunboii, produced the hit single ‘Enge Port’ that has garnered more than 420,000 views on YouTube since its debut in June.

“The inspiration behind the video is my childhood experiences and the places that were associated with it.

“I have seen the real struggle that Malaysian Indians undergo and how they manage to live despite these problems,” he said in an interview with Malaysiakini.

He said the video portrayed the stereotypes of working-class Indians, especially those who hail from Klang - such as being regarded as gangsters by their looks or judged by the community for their jobs.

Klang is primarily made up of blue-collar workers, comprising mostly Indians.

Directed by Buddha X, the video starts off with Arun handcuffed and donned in prison scrubs standing in between two police cars.

He takes on different personas throughout the video, such as a tow truck driver, a mechanic, a car washer, scrap metal worker while slowly making his way up to success.

In a creative attempt to depict a drug syndicate, he also dresses up like the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar - brandishing a gun and rapping the remainder of his song in front of a mansion.

“I did that Pablo Escobar scene because people always think Indians are drug dealers.

“But the truth is if you go down the wrong path, you will somehow end up in handcuffs.

“I wanted to portray that temptation is around the corner and it’s easy to get caught up in it,” he explained when asked about the scene.

Positive feedback

The song also gained traction among the Indian community on TikTok, with many using the track over videos of them working blue-collar jobs - in solidarity with Arun’s message about not stereotyping the Indian community.

“I came across a lot of TikTok videos using the ‘Enge Port’ track and I am motivated by the level of dedication and hard work by our community in any situation,” Arun said.

Despite completing most of the shooting in early 2020, the Covid-19 lockdown delayed the rapper’s single debut.

The team was only able to shoot the final scenes and edit the video in March this year after the pandemic halted the production.

Arun said there were only three people involved during most of the filming process - himself, the director and a cameraperson.

“I played many roles in the video which led to me cutting my hair in different ways. That took some time. When the lockdown happened, we had to drop everything,” he recalled.

When asked about his anticipation from the video release, Arun said he was surprised by the immense support he had received.

“I believed that people would accept my video but I was shocked when many of them reacted to my videos positively.

“I was so happy that people accepted my music video in this industry,” he added.

Despite rapping in Tamil, his talent cuts across language barriers, earning praise from reviewers and commentators of other races.

Many urged him to rap in other languages as well.

“Collaborate with Malay rappers as well - it will pave Malaysia’s music industry and racists in Malaysia. I salute you macha (brother). I am Malay and proud of you,” said a commenter.

“You guys have brought this to a new level of rap culture which is expressing a single Indian man in Malaysia who has struggled throughout his life, good and bad times of him, and the video creativity by including Pablo Escobar character is definitely a game-changer.

“Together we hope this video shoots out to million views and becomes a YouTube Trending,” said another.

'No shortcuts in life'

Recalling his childhood memories, Arun said he had to fend for himself from a very young age after the passing of his father at the age of 10 and his mother at 19.

He began working at a supermarket post-secondary school and now works as a forwarding officer.

Arun said he strongly believed that there were no shortcuts in life, which he hoped had been translated in ‘Enge Port’.

“It's also about unity and if we unite, we can be strong and successful. I feel that in reality many can relate to this,” he said.

He cited Eminem and Nathan John Feuerstein, also known as NF, as his western rap influences, adding that he only started rapping in 2018.

Following the success of ‘Enge Port’, Arun is now eager to release more singles and is currently working on collaborations with other Malaysian artists.

“As an independent artiste, it's hard to get recognition but I have more songs I want to put out soon. Perhaps in January or February,” Arun said.

‘Enge Port’ is available for streaming on YouTube, Spotify and other major music platforms.  - Mkini