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DUGGANNA RALA Interview by Black Dog Bone I was reading in the introduction you wrote in your book that at the beginning certain writers in the newspapers have said Rap music is meaningless. Yes, but it is not so. I know that rap can be used for many purposes. It’s a very unique art form. Rap is the most powerful music today. It has influenced all culture. Sometimes it can deal with sex or even a revolution. It can be useful to society. Isn’t Tupac a good poet? It’s his poetic ability that has made him a good rapper. There are many variations to rap. Even Sinhala songs can be rapped if you speak the words fast. Are you referring to Sinhala folk songs? A certain style of ancient Sinhala Folk songs are rapped. It’s like Rap you hear now. Rap isn’t alien to Sri Lanka, that is why I like hip hop music. I have studied the subject, so I clicked with people like Iraj, Chinthy, Bathiya & Santhush, and it was easy for me to write songs based on rap. I don’t have a recording now, but I will get one for you. We have tribal blood in our veins, our true ancestors are Veddas—the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. The roots of Sri Lankan music has always been drums and vocals. Yes, even our indigenous songs convey our feelings, whether they are right or wrong. Rap does the same thing. It’s close to our culture. The artists who rap are honest about their feelings. Even they are not from the ghettos or African Americans, still our Rap is authentic. It is the same as our folk songs. We say what we want without hiding anything. They contain a lot of emotions and feelings. Many people have accused me of talking about sex. It has become a big issue, but rap conveys what you really want to say. Yes. What is wrong with talking about sex? This whole civilization is very hypocritical. How can sex be bad? Sex is the most natural thing, a very sacred act, reproduction of your kind. Trees do it, animals, it’s the lifecycle. We have cultural issues in our country; my work has been criticized because of our traditions. We have Victorian values that were imposed upon us by the colonizer, mainly the British. Long ago we hardly wore clothes; our men wore the loin cloth, the women the reddha cloth. The White man came and made it look like a sin so our people were ashamed to dress like that. The White man changed all that was natural to us, basically destroyed our way of living. They made many changes to our culture. We have a British education system. Now our values are based on their values, so everything is an issue here in our country because the educated people still uphold the colonizer’s values. If you are going to ban the first song sung by Chinthy talking about “mal” or flowers meaning ganja, then you must also ban Ayuruduvedha traditional medicine because we use ganja in our medicine. Ganja is legal in many other parts of the world. It is recognized as a medicinal herb. There are many clubs where marijuana is available here in Sri Lanka. There are brothels and prostitution. Here all that is hidden so we think rap is bad. I think I was able to click with rappers because of my knowledge about other styles of music and Sri Lankan folk songs. You are like a bridge. Because you came from Anuradhapura you brought a lot of ancient tribal wisdom. A lot of artists after that started rapping my lyrics, they started to get popular. Earlier our people didn’t accept Rap. When we started out there was no market for Rap. Artists like Bathiya & Santhush, Chinthy and Iraj became popular after I took old literary works and converted them to rap for them, so they have a lot of acceptance today. How did you get involved in working with rap music? Was it when you were in Anuradhapura? I met them after I came to Colombo from Anuradhapura. I always wanted to do something modern but I didn’t have the tools. But after I met Bathiya & Santhush I realized that they were leaning towards the Western trends so I thought I could introduce tradition to it. Then I did some research, only then did I realize that we could use rap to our advantage. Then it came to me very easily and I started writing. I write the lyrics to their music. Do you listen first to the music and then write the lyrics? Yes. I feel only then does it become a success. That is why all of then come to me to have a hip-hop track written. I don’t write much though, only a limited amount. I hope that there will be another writer in the next generation. But your influence will be there. People like you who understand both sides are very few. It’s very important to have poets like you. You have a broader vision. You can see the whole picture. There must be someone who has been accepted like me to take my place. You make music that appeals to the common people. There is no mass market for English Rap here in Sri Lanka. Also Rap sounds good in Sinhala or Tamil because of the beat. In the villages throughout Sri Lanka Iraj and Chinthy are very popular, but people don’t know who has written the songs. Only when I interviewed Chinthy and Iraj did I find out that you were the writer behind the Sinhalese rap. I can see you poetry is very original. I knew you were doing something original. What can you say about the music, are we too westernized? Our music industry has improved after the introduction of hip hop and Rap. Before we only had Indian or Western classical or rock music. Our people didn’t accept hard rock. It didn’t suit us. We also catered to a limited crowd. The hard rock bands have failed. Hip hop incorporates different types of music. Even highly respected artists like Amaradeva and Nanda Malini appreciated what I do. Also there were some people who had heard the Sinhala classics who were fascinated by the words. That was a great improvement. You can do something controversial through Rap to educate the people. Even politics. We can guide the young generation through the music. Are you writing a lot of new material? Yes, I am doing some albums. I have finished a song for Iraj. I have done two for Chinthy. Now I am doing some lyrics for him. There is a team. Do you know Liyanwala? He has come from abroad and has a band on Art Fm. He is a guitarist and a good musician. Now I am doing some lyrics for him. I like to change this trend. What direction would you like to take it? To create political consciousness through shows. There were songs about the wrong done to women. We can have a concert about the war we must have a concert for above 21 on one theme of a relevant topic. Then even the older generation would appreciate it. Do the older generation singers like the new music? What do you think about that? There is a generation gap. It’s everywhere. Sometimes I don’t approve of what my children do. But we must respect our elders even if they criticize us. Iraj told me that it will take another 5 years for Rap to be done entirely in Sinhala. I feel we should do it now. They think a Sinhala or Tamil album would not be successful That’s what they think, but I think we must take the challenge. When we started this, Iraj was not around, and Bathiya & Santhush were not sure they wanted to get into sarongs and run in the paddy fields for their video. I did the video for “Na Na Ne Na” all set in the village, and now it has a good market. Maybe we are making money because of this mix. Now there is a mass market for Bathiya & Santhush’s music. There are successful hip hop concerts even in the rural areas. That was a groundbreaking video. We should do more in that vein. How did you get your name, Dugganna Rala? Rala is a very ancient Sinhala name. It has come down from generations. We were like the king’s security. Our ancestors had to taste the food before the king ate it. We took risks on his behalf. What was it like for you when you were growing up? I was born in Kandy but moved to Anuradhapura in the 1970’s. My father was transferred there to the dry zone up north. It was a thick jungle then. He was a forest officer. I was about 5 years old. I went with my father everywhere. I have seen many wild animals. It was a cultural change for me when I came to Colombo, which is the big city. Then I married a girl from Matara (down south), so I have a mix of many cultures with me. Your story reminds me of the painter Seevali Illangasinghe who came to Colombo and got married to a dancer. He is also from Anuradhapura. Which singers in Sri Lanka do you like? I like Nanda Malini and Amaradeva. I also like Umara who sings a duet with Bathiya; I also like Santhush’s voice. He has a good performing voice. I heard you were doing TV and radio news? That was my start. I began writing songs in 1996 or 1998. I am a professional video director. I read news for national TV. I have worked for most channels and have done many popular programs. What kind of things do you like the most? I like to make documentaries, like travel programs. I plan to go to very rural areas in Sri Lanka and do a documentary series. If I can get a sponsor I will even go abroad. There are amazing places for people to see. I want to make documentaries of unheard places to create an interest in places people have never heard about, for example the Diya caves on the way to Siripada and Hathi in Anuradhapura. Did you like to write when you were a child? In grade 9 or 10 I started writing small poems. In the university I wrote for the papers. Then I changed to writing songs, which I have been doing since. Do you have a lot of songs that are not yet published? There are thousands. I have not made a collection of all my songs; I never kept them. Why haven’t you kept them? They are valuable. I haven’t thought seriously about it. I have some songs and short stories that I have written. I didn’t have a system to collect what I wrote. Only now I realize their value. What influenced you to follow this path of music and poetry? My parents are not artists. My mother was a teacher and my father a forest officer. My mother used to play the violin and could sing. My mother taught me many things. How many members do you have in your family? I have two older sisters. My younger sister a drafts woman, and my older sister is housewife. She lives in Bandarewela. Her husband is a sailor. My younger sister can sing a bit. She has taken after my mother. What does your family think about what you’re doing right now? Both my parents are dead. My father died recently. They knew that I am now popular, though I had some problems earlier. My father wanted me to be an accountant, but later he realized that I was doing something good. I was offered many jobs. Now I have a new car and am able to help my sisters, so they are happy, A lot of people don’t pursue art. Most parents want their children to study and do a regular job. It was the same in our family. Do you prefer writing lryics or stories? I like the novels by Simon Nawyalthayana. He has revolutionary ideas, he also is from Anuradhapura. He is famous as a filmmaker. I like his point of view. As a poet I like Ratnasiri Wijeysinghe. Are there any new people in the scene? Yes, but many fail. Now I think Hip Hop artists like Chinthy, Iraj and Centigrade have got it right. Some try to imitate, but they just come and go. They don’t study the subject. I always tell them to try it out first to see whether they can be become popular. Music is a full time job. You have to make sacrifices to succeed. Even if you can’t make money you must pursue your dream. Some groups can’t survive. There are some who try to imitate people like Victor Ratnayake and Sunil Edirisinghe. It is good to be influenced by someone who writes lyrics. A lot of people try hard, but there is no role model here. I have changed my lyrics and written songs. I started using rural dialect to music. I studied in the Sinhala language so it comes naturally to me. Can you tell me more about the folk poetry you talked about earlier? We call it Hitewana Kavi, which is a lot like Rap. They have very rhythmic beats. Rohana Baddage sings them good. What about the video you did with Bathiya & Santhush? The big break came with the production of the video. It changed mass culture. I used frames and wide angles, traditional village clothing, and got them in different locations. That is how the trend started. Then people learned how to do a video. It is very costly. I did the very first commercial video in Sri Lanka. Commercial video is very popular in the world. I did a video that goes on for about an hour. It became a commercial brand. I started this by being sponsored by the commercial bank, now many people are doing music videos. Now it’s very advanced. Now are you concentrating only on music? I do many things. Because I am a journalist I work in the media, but those experiences helped me to write my music. I am not confined to one thing. Whatever I do I do it properly. Even when I write a song I negotiate a price and sign an agreement. At what time do you like to write? Sometimes I write when I am traveling, when someone else is driving. Then I listen to the track. In the weekend I write songs in my room. I can see a forest of rubber trees from my window. That inspires me. Sometime I write when I travel outstation. You were saying that in the past you wrote stories? I used to write short stories. Some said I write like Franz Kafka; that was 10 years ago. The last one I wrote was in 1993. I don’t know where it is. When did you meet your wife? I met her when we both were working as journalists. We met at the radio station where I was an announcer. She gave up work after the 1st baby. Now we have 5 children. How did you write the songs for Bathiya & Santhush and Iraj ? Did they tell you what they want or what inspires you? We are friends; I got them down for a TV program I was doing. I had done a documentary on artists. I was not into music then. I told them I had the idea of a writing a song based on Janna Kavi (folk songs). They were very happy, so I told them to do a track for me. That is how it started. Then I wrote many more songs for them. When it was becoming popular Ranidu suggested that we do a track for a song. Earlier he was with Bathiya. He also wanted to do a video. Then came Iraj when Ranidu was studying in America. Iraj used to accompany Ranidu, and he wanted to sing. He had done so in England. He has remained with me ever since. Bathiya & Santhush told me I should meet you. What were you saying about Up Country and Low Country? Even though our country is small we have Up Country, Low Country and Sabaragamuwa. Then we have Jaffna. Each has its different music, types of drums and tunes. Different kings ruled in those places, so different types of music were popular in different parts of Sri Lanka. You should do an interview with Rohana Baddage; he will analyze all this beautifully. Will we see any of your short stories published? My next task is to write a film script. Funding is my problem. I want to write the modern version of Kashapa’s story; that is my dream. Then I will publish my short stories. All the information about me is on my website www.rala.com. Thank you.
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