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About Me

Basic Information

Gender

Male

Birthday

21/02/1986

About me

http://www.facebook.com/irajw

Iraj Weeraratne is Sri Lanka’s maestro of hip-hop and the island’s new generation star. Going where no local star has gone before, Iraj has amazed Sri Lanka’s music moguls through his unprecedented climb to the helm of the island’s entertainment industry. His amazing track record of number one singles, a consecutive series of top ten hits, and his debut number one album ‘Iraj’ and his follow up number one album – ‘Chapter Two Aloke’ has made him go beyond a local household name, into an internationally recognized and celebrated icon.
In modern Sri Lanka, the phenomenal growth of hip hop culture, and the ability of this music to blend into the island’s cultural and social context, have been catapulted by Iraj’s iconic influence in shaping the interests of this tiny nation’s music tastes. What amazes Sri Lanka’s entertainment analysts most is not how his debut album managed to break the island’s record for the ‘All time fastest-selling’ and ‘Fastest selling debut’ after it surpassed the all important 100,000 mark in just four weeks, but how he was able to sell his ‘gangsta’ beats from the urban to the rural, across age, racial and gender barriers, in this country once known for its ethnic strife, and eternal love for cheesy Sinhala and Tamil pop and a local blend of Portuguese music known as Baila.
Iraj was just no new comer to the music industry. He has been hitting it out on the keyboards for as long as anyone can remember. He won the all island keyboard competition three years in a row – 1997, 1998 and 1999. His music has drawn on the recent interest in hip hop in Sri Lanka, blended with a wide range of other local and international musical styles. His debut singles Ill Noize, Roots and Ahankara Nagare went number one in Sri Lanka and top ten in European Asian charts. His hit single J Town Story, about the hopes and despair of a young boy from the war-torn city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka, broke through to the South Indian Tamil market. Going beyond this to the wider Indian market, Ahankara Nagare became the island’s first single to be released worldwide in both ‘Essential Asian R n B’ and ‘Asian Flavour: Volume One’ albums - Hom Records. The video was played on MTV India and Channel V.
Iraj has his own show on the Sinhala radio station Y FM entitled Hip Hop Party with Iraj on Fridays from 8.00pm to 10.00pm and his own show on Derana TV – The Iraj Show. The Hip Hop Party recently broke ratings records as the most listened to teenage radio programme in the island, and his television breakthrough – The Iraj Show, continues to top viewer ratings in the entertainment category. Iraj has been the success story of modern Sri Lanka.
Iraj blending not just East with West, but the languages of all communities of our island, to make music that can be nothing but truly international; Ahankara Nagare and Ran Ran Ran became the first Sri Lankan videos to debut on both MTV India and Channel V. Following their massive success, His continuing success saw his next single, Aloke, hit the number two slot in the Asian Chart on BBC Radio One, where he remained for an entire four weeks. Aloke’s success led to its release in India through internationally renowned DJ Nihal’s (UK’s Radio 1) ‘Bombay Bronx’ album – another number one best seller.
Iraj is also the first Sri Lankan music artist to have entered into the Kollywood Music Industry. His first South Indian composition together with Vijay Anthony featured in the movie Veittakarran staring Kollywood superstar Vijay ranked number one in the Chennai Charts and as a result Iraj is currently contracted to compose for his forth South Indian movie.
These records are but a fraction of the phenomenal success of Iraj, who has developed over the years into a brand itself. Dubbed by analysts and critics as the revolutionary of the Sri Lankan music industry, Iraj’s success saw him drawn into a record breaking series of merchandising and marketing campaigns. The change of Iraj’s image, from maestro to icon, has seen Sri Lanka experience technological breakthroughs in his many videos and the establishment of a truly household name. His sold out world tour over the last two years has seen Iraj in venues all across the island and in some of the world’s most celebrated international platforms. The tour saw Iraj performing to packed audiences at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne, London, LA , Paris , New York, Cyprus, Male, Seoul and Dubai – strengthening his fan base and promoting Sri Lankan music the world over.

Music

Primary Role In A Band

Composer

Instrument

Keyboard

Single Or Taken

single

Years Playing

12 years

Accomplishments

highest selling artist in sri lanka

Gear

roland akaiz4 protools korgm3 eastwest virtual instruments

Contact Information

Mobile phone

0094777331121

Address

59/2 Edmonton rd kirulapone
colombo 5
Sri lanka

City / Town

colombo

State

colombo

Zipcode

cmb5

Country

ISLANDS: Indian Ocean: Sri Lanka

Website

http://www.irajonline.com

Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8cEIPt7fIk&feature=feedlik