Local rapper Balan Kash is a man of many talents – the trilingual award-winning rap musician, singer, song writer and performer has been a familiar name in the Malaysian music industry for over a decade now and counting.
He has had success working together with artistes like Joe Flizzow, Reshmonu, Anirudh Ravichander and Santesh, and has racked up over 20 million streams on digital platforms throughout his musical career.
Having successfully tapped into the Kollywood and Tamil entertainment scene, Balan decided to set his sights on releasing ‘Terima Kasih’, his first Malay single for 2022.
‘Terima Kasih’, which is a Cendana and My Creative grant-produced project, sees Balan collaborating with local Malaysian rocker, Hazama.
Balan’s first Malay single was written together with award-winning songwriting duo, Mambang and Navin ‘Navigator’ Kumar during the height of the Covid pandemic. The chorus to the song came from Balan trying to put his 2-year-old daughter to sleep one night, and the rest they say, is history.
‘’Terima Kasih is a raw, honest reflection of my life,” explains Balan. “It means more than just ‘Thank You’ to me. It’s that simple feeling of being able to wake up every day and still get to embrace it all – the good, the bad, the highs and the lows. It’s the sense of peace you get from just being grateful for it all.”
“I’ve seen the amazing work Balan has released over the years,” said Hazama. “I was definitely excited to work together with such a big name in the Tamil music scene. There are so many talented local names that don’t get their fair share of the limelight, just because they don’t sing and perform in Malay – but at the end of the day, we’re all Malaysians, and I hope to see even more cross-language collaborations like this in future.”
The music video for ‘Terima Kasih’ is based on key moments that shaped Balan’s life – from being a struggling indie artiste, to having a whole stadium singing along to his song, ‘Start That Thiruvizha’ at Anirudh’s concert.
“It was through my love and passion for music, that I managed to meet and work with my idols and many other talented individuals,”
“It was also through years of hustling and working hard for what I love, that I managed to bring food to the table for my family.
‘Terima Kasih’ represents who I am today, and how I know I have done my best not only as an artiste, but as a son, a father, a husband and a friend,” adds Balan.
Balan’s first Malay single ‘Terima Kasih’ by Believe Music was released on all major streaming platforms on December 16, 2022.
The music video was released on December 20, 2022 on Balan’s music label, Third Eye Music’s YouTube page.
