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Iraj Weeraratne

(Redirected from Iraj Weerarathne)

Iraj Weeraratne (born 21 February 1981) known by the stage-name IRAJ, is a Sri Lankan rapper, music producer and DJ. Weeraratne had a television show on Derana TV called Iraj Show. He was the first person to introduce Sinhala rap as well as Tamil rap to Sri Lanka in 2004.[1]

Iraj Weerarathne
Born (1981-02-21) 21 February 1981 (age 43)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationRoyal College, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alma materNorthumbria University, UK[citation needed]
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • Music Producer
  • DJ
Musical career
Genres
  • Hiphop
  • Pop
  • RnB
  • Electronic
  • Indian Pop
[citation needed]
Instruments
  • Piano
  • Synthesizer
  • Drum Machine
  • DJ
Years active2003-present
Labels
  • MEntertainment
  • Ill Noize Records

Career

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He won the best keyboardist title which was awarded by Guildhall Music School at the age of 16. He later teamed up with his schoolmates Ranidu Lankage and Yauwana Wigneswaran to form a band titled Zealots while still studying at the Royal College, Colombo.[2] He owns the Bongohd firm in Bangladesh.[3]

His first South Indian composition together with Vijay Anthony featured in the 2009 Tamil film, Vettaikaaran, starring Kollywood star Vijay and was ranked number one in the Chennai Charts.[4][citation needed]

In August 2020, he was appointed as the board member of National Youth Service Council by Namal Rajapaksa and he was supposed to serve in the relevant position for a period of three years.[5] However, a year later after his appointment he resigned from the position citing unavoidable poor work-related commitments.[6][7]

Political activities

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During several election periods in Sri Lanka, Iraj engaged in activism on social media platforms in support of the Rajapaksa family.[8] Iraj has been accused of participating in propaganda campaigns to promote the party he supports to the public.[9][10][11] He has been more involved in the media and acts as a public figure that has exacerbated these allegations.[12]

In 2023, Iraj has been sitting under heavy backlash and calls for boycotts due to his affiliation with Namal Rajapaksa and Yoshitha Rajapaksa.[13][14] His public support for the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government during the Galle Face 2022 Sri Lankan protests met with criticism.[15] Critics highlighted his social media posts condemning the protestors and saw his work in countering their efforts to breed discontent among activists and citizens.[16][17] It was fed by numerous incidents, including last May when a group of protestors stoned his family home, a moment of escalating tensions between the government and citizens during Sri Lankan economic crisis.[18]

Discography

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Albums

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  • Iraj - M Entertainments (2010)
  • Chapter 02: Aloke - M Entertainments (2013)
  • Manamali (2017)

References

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  1. ^ "10 Reasons IRAJ Became The King Of Sri Lankan Hip-Hop". E! Online. 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  2. ^ "Mirror Magazine". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  3. ^ කුඩු ගහන මන්ත්‍රීලා මම දන්නවා | Talk With Chatura (Full Episode). Retrieved 2022-05-07.[unreliable source?]
  4. ^ "Iraj detained in Chennai". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  5. ^ "Iraj made director at NYSC". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  6. ^ "Iraj quits NYSC Director Board". The Morning. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  7. ^ bugsbunny (2021-08-25). "Iraj sends resignation letter to Namal Rajapaksa". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  8. ^ "Suspension of Facebook page: Iraj wants Prez to intervene". 10 July 2019.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka's CID investigates singer for 'defaming Buddhism'".
  10. ^ "Iraj's Facebook Page Unpublished By Facebook Over Complaints On Fake News Item On Antigen Test Kits". 26 August 2021.
  11. ^ "මාව හිරේ දැම්මේ ඉරාජ්, ඩෑන් ඇතුළු පිරිසක් එක්ව කළ කුමන්ත්‍රණයකින්". 2 May 2024.
  12. ^ "ගෝඨාගේ-කුමන්ත්රණය" (in Sinhala). 9 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Four Sri Lankan Civil Organizations Petition Against Iraj's Concert in Australia". 2 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Yoshitha denies rumors that he assaulted musician Iraj".
  15. ^ "Iraj's Kirulapone residence vandalized". 11 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Social media activists grilled by CID over Iraj's complaint". 5 Jul 2022.
  17. ^ ""හොරුන්ට කඩේ යනවා නම් මම මගේ පුතාට වුණත් විරුද්ධ වෙනවා" – ඉරාජ් ගැනත් කියමින් ප්‍රිතිරාජ් වීරරත්න කියූ කතාව" (in Sinhala).
  18. ^ "Iraj Weeraratne's house in Kirulapone attacked". 11 May 2022.
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