He might have been Hirandas Murali in his school attendance rolls, but to everyone else, he was Vedan. It was only natural that it became his moniker (which translates from Malayalam into “hunter”) when he released his debut song “Voice of Voiceless” with a music video on YouTube in 2020.
He tells Rolling Stone India, “People have called me Vedan since childhood. More than my real name, people knew me as Vedan, that’s what everyone called me. When I became an artist, I continued with that name.” Speaking through a translator so that his unfiltered thoughts can be best expressed in Malayalam, the rapper isn’t just one of Kerala’s top talents, but also one of India’s most fiery and uncompromising artists. He’s shown great range in his catalog of singles since 2020, which are always politically and socially conscious (“Theruvinte Mon,” his recent video with producer Hrishi released by Saina Music Indie), but sometimes also in the throes of love (like “Mauna Loa”).
Asked if there’s a difference between the persona and the person behind the mic, Vedan says with a laugh, “I also feel there’s a big difference between the Vedan who became an artist and the Vedan from before. I don’t know if I can ever go back to being that person I was before (life) all of this happened.”
In recent months, life has come at Vedan fast, but so did the outpouring of support when “Mauna Loa” and the “Theruvinte Mon” video came out. In April, he was arrested by the Kerala Excise Department for alleged possession of cannabis in Kochi, while another case was filed by the Forest Department under the Wildlife Protection Act over him reportedly sporting a leopard (or tiger) tooth pendant. The latter case arose after his home was searched, while the former appears to be part of a broader pattern involving several actors and artists in Kerala facing scrutiny over alleged drug use.
“Mauna Loa” and even his recent film song “Vaada Veda” from the Malayalam film Narivetta were perhaps already ready to be deployed, but people began to hear them in a different light after Vedan was in the news for anything but his music. He told a media gathering after being granted bail in the second case, ”I can’t comment about the case, but I regret smoking and drinking. They were wrong. I seek forgiveness and want to become a better person.”
When asked about his current headspace and what he’s writing after these cases, he says, “I’ve been going through a tough phase mentally; there have been a lot of personal challenges and ongoing issues that have taken a toll on me. But despite all of that, music continues to be my goal. It’s the one thing I keep doing, no matter what I’m facing.”
Born in Thrissur to a Tamil mother (originally from Sri Lanka) and a Malayali father, Vedan was raised near the city’s railway station. His father worked in construction, and Vedan would often join him, listening to him sing songs like “Innalekal” by K. J. Yesudas from the 1986 Mammootty-starring political film ‘Vartha’ as they worked. Having grown up listening to Malayalam and Tamil songs and reading poetry, Vedan was drawn to Tamil hip-hop artists like Yogi B and Dhilip Varman at first. He adds, “I remember that whole wave of Tamil hip-hop and how the culture was growing. When I began writing music, I got inspired by artists like Arivu, Tamil songs in general, and also Malayalam folk songs. I was especially used to being moved and inspired by the performances of Manichettan (singer-actor Kalabhavan Mani).”
It was in December 2019, after a few years of being a studio hand in Thiruvananthapuram, that Vedan blew up after performing “Voice of Voiceless” in Kochi, alongside Kerala’s socially-conscious band Oorali at a rally against the Indian government’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act. With a snarl in his voice, Vedan was dead set on dismantling and questioning caste and class hierarchies, a goal he carries with him even today. His track “Bhoomi Njan Vazhunidam” also remains relevant as ever, considering it references the conflict between Israel and Palestine. By his own admission, these songs built the foundation for him. “When I hear those early tracks now, I sometimes think, I could’ve written this better if I were at the stage [of growth] I am at now. But I also know those songs came from real, raw places. What I created back then came from the struggles I was living through at the time,” Vedan says.
Vedan’s popularity in Indian hip-hop came at a time when Malayalam rap was also blowing up, with peers like Dabzee, Baby Jean, and NJ aka Neeraj Madhav also making their name after stalwarts like Fejo and Street Academics had laid the foundation years prior. Vedan lent a particularly primal verse on Kshmr’s Indian hip-hop-focused album Karam, on the song “La Vida” with Dabzee in 2023. As he carried forth with conscious rap, he also got tapped by film music composers like Sushin Shyam (“Kuthanthram” from Manjummel Boys) and Sam C.S. (“Kondal Vedan Song” from Kondal) and Topshe for an added song in the acclaimed film All We Imagine As Light (“Kisses In The Clouds” with Haniya Nafisa).
He says, “Some film projects give me the space to be political and write music with that intensity. And even when I don’t get that space, I still make sure I’m always writing for the working-class people—the ones who live through real struggles every day.”
Among those taking the singles route (for now), Vedan says he’s working on another “independent track.” He adds, “It’s still in progress, and I’m slowly figuring out what the song will be about. It really depends on where my mind is at when I’m writing.”
Arguably becoming a political target for his music, Vedan ruminates on the cost of calling things out. “Because of the things I choose to hunt down, I end up being hunted too,” he says. In the digital age of stan culture existing alongside troll armies, Vedan just wants people to understand what he’s saying through his songs. “That’s what matters to me. I am not trying to be a role model, and I don’t want to be one either.”
The wins are still coming his way. Recently, Calicut University included his 2020 song “Bhoomi Njan Vazhunidam” in a comparative literature module for Malayalam Language and Literature students. It’s analyzed alongside Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us.” In a prior TV interview, he recalled how his friends joked that he would one day be studied in school textbooks. But now, it’s already reached university students. He says, “I’m really happy that the song is being included in academics. When I write, I try to make sure my songs are understandable to everyone, people from all walks of life, not just one group or those familiar with [certain] slang. That’s something I’m always mindful of, and I try to do it within my limits.”
Vedan says he wants to be remembered like Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, or Tupac—for writing music that holds everlasting relevance. “Not just as a musician, but as someone who brought change through his art to society and people,” he says.
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