Iykki Berry’s alter ego oscillates between two personalities: that of the “funky, vibe-y, cute-sy, effervescent Barbie”, and the “stubborn, bold, raw and rooted queen”. When one of these personalities takes over, the words write themselves. Her new single ‘Ithihasam’ taps into the latter.

The rapper and singer-songwriter — a familiar face and name, thanks to her debut in the reality television show Big Boss 5 — hails from Thanjavur and discovered the world of hip hop only in 2015. Before that, pop icons like Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga and their distinct soundscapes reassured little Iykya Kamaraj of the world of possibilities in music. Cut to 2024, and ‘Ithihasam’, released on November 1, celebrates Tamil pride, through crisp verses that honour the many greats of the Tamil literary world.

Iykki calls ‘Ithihasam’ a “magical work for the whole crew”. It started with an impromptu beat that Dev Major — who has composed the music for the song — belted out on a random evening. Iyyki was quick to jam to that beat with verse:

I believe in the sun/ I do surya namaskaram.

You’re doing pazhi pavam, you gotta do pariharam.

“We moved on to other work until we got a call from [AR] Rahman sir’s office. They said they are going to launch an Unreal Engine music studio and asked if we would like to work on a music video,” recalls Iykki. Unreal Engine is a software tool used to create interactive, 3D visual worlds using realistic lighting and special effects. Iykki continues, “We were very excited to experience this new technology. This meant, we didn’t have to look for a location, whatever we needed was created virtually.” The song was shot in ARR Film City in collaboration with the Ustream team who facilitated the visualisation of the video. “We went back to the studio and finished the song in five to six hours! We shot it in nine hours and we could do so only because of this technology.” A music video that typically takes three or four weeks for production was wrapped in four days’ time.

Iykki’s lyrics lean towards the inspirational, for the sheer reason that a large part of her following comprises women, especially little girls | Photo Credit: special arrangement

Dev’s music, especially the leading wild horn interlude, sets character to the song. “The beat hit me hard, and I wanted to touch my roots. I decided I wanted to show the world where I come from,” says Iykki, adding, “Thanjavur is a majestic place and holds a lot of Tamil literary importance. I wanted to show everyone that this is me.”

In the video, Iykki appears as a queen, the inspiration for which came from Velu Nachiyar, the queen from Sivaganga who waged war against the East India Company in the late 1700s and reclaimed her territory. In another frame, she is seen draped in black and red, surrounded by shades of red, in an ode to the Tamil epic Silappathikaram’s heroine, Kannagi. The verses also invoke Aditya Karikalan, hailed as one of the greatest emperors of the Chola dynasty and Avvaiyar, one of Tamil’s most notable women poets, as verses that hail women and their infinite possibilities make up the rap.

Iykki’s lyrics lean towards the inspirational, for the sheer reason that a large part of her following comprises women, especially little girls. “Whenever they listen to my songs, I want them to feel empowered.” The rapper is planning to release another single titled ‘IYKKI’, that will be a stark contrast to ‘Ithihasam’, in both its tone and appearance. It will delve into the dream of a girl, and will be futuristic.As of now, ‘Ithihasam’ is on the move — through live performances across different Indian cities. The first stop, naturally, is Chennai. The Ithihasam Tour, curated by Quriosity, will also feature fellow musicians like J-Queen, Nixon, Kiran Surath and Arcus in performance alongside Iykki.

Ithihasam Tour will be at Dank, T Nagar from 7.30pm on November 8. Book tickets on skillbox.com.