What happens when classic hip-hop meets ancient Vedic chants? Hip-hop producers Avu and Abu take us through a poetic soundscape which blends rap with the musicality and wisdom of the Vedas.
In their debut album Potential, the brothers journey back to their roots in the agraharams of Palakkad to create 14 meditative tracks that explore the potential of sound. “It is interesting to look at sound in a basic manner. And we experimented freely with frequencies,” says Avu. And that resulted in the album.
Avu and Abu’s debut album, ‘Potential’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Avu (Rahul Ramachandran/The Real Alien Back) and Abu (Rajesh Rajagopal/Ape State of Mind) say their childhood vacations were mostly spent in the family home in Palakkad, in an environment charged with music and spiritual chanting. “We grew up listening to our grandparents chanting and many of the mantras are embedded in the fibre of our being,” says Rahul. “We could recite them, too, but we didn’t understand the meaning,” he adds. “With Potential, we are trying to bring back what we have learnt and hip-hop is the language we communicate best in.”
Growing up in multicultural Delhi and later moving to Dubai, they were exposed to hip-hop and the two found themselves gravitating towards an art form that afforded the space for self expression. During the 12 years they lived in Dubai, completing their education (in BBA) and working, the brothers also dabbled in hip-hop; deejaying and experimenting with music and finding their space. They moved back to India in 2017 and in 2023, released their first EP, Outer Space.
One of the tracks in the album
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Through their experiments in music, the brothers realised their common interest was in conscious hip-hop, which is “more introspective than angry.” “We believe more in content than style, more purposeful lyrics. Call us old school, but we stand for uplifting, street wisdom hip-hop,” says Rajesh. “It tries to influence people to bring about positive change, rather than rage about the world,” he adds.
The lyrics for the tracks in Potential are largely inspired by daily events, integrated with the essence of Vedic mantras. “Every word has a universe,” says Rahul, who has written the songs. “There are profound ways of looking at a word. We freestyle a lot and the lyrical flow just happens organically.”
Most of the tracks reflect the need to connect with one’s inner self, the transience of the human experience, and the need to protect Nature. For instance, the opening track, ‘Beginnin’ dwells on the ephemerality of human life. Drawing inspiration from the Samaveda, the song urges listeners to hit the higher realms of human potential. “We are just a speck of dust in this cosmic universe… we are just vibrational beings…. Hit your potential, hit your purpose, yeah.. that’s how we roll…”.
Avu and Abu with DJ Sekhar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Some of the tracks are also rooted in Buddhist chants, and Shamanic incantations. The track ‘33’ is based on the Solomon prayer in Aramaic, which talks about the ascension of energy through the 33 vertebrae. ‘Rainforest’ is a Shamanic hymn, which is a call to protect Nature. Their friendship with Kochi-based DJ Shekar led to a creative alliance. Having met the duo at an event in Dubai, and impressed with their work, Shekar offered to collaborate. He has mixed and mastered the sounds for Potential.
Rahul and Rajesh also run an education startup, Hybrid Acquire, a gamified learning app, which aims at tapping into the students’ potential. “The work and the music we make are inter-related. It all comes from the same source. We want to create an educational ‘metaverse’, where students are not stressed and enjoy the learning experience,” says Rajesh.
While the album was in the works, the brothers would play the tracks in their office in Bengaluru and there have been days when the music kept playing in a loop. “The others in the team, (we are seven) didn’t complain, they even enjoyed the meditative quality of the music,” says Rahul.
The duo plans to collaborate with artistes in Kerala and is also considering launching a vinyl.
The songs are available on all platforms including Spotify, YoutubeMusic and Apple Music.
Published – July 10, 2026 02:04 pm IST
