Bay Area Based Tamil-American Rap Artist Addresses Tamil Genocide and Diaspora

Online, January 17, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Professor A.L.I. a S.F. Bay Area based spoken word artist and hip hop M.C., released 'Forest of Symbols' a single off of his anticipated 'Carbon Cycle Diaries LP.' The song addresses two topics of significance for the artist: the Tamil Diaspora along with its source the Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka.

The song opens with the controversial BBC interview clip with a Sri Lankan representative who is asked about mobile phone video clips showing Sri Lankan army members executing Tamil prisoners in Sri Lanka. He called the clip "a matter for laughter." Professor A.L.I. responds in Tamil, asking as the track opens, "Who is laughing now?"

"As a Tamil-American, it pains me that the world has turned a blind eye to the plight of Tamils worldwide," stated Professor A.L.I. continuing, "I hope that one day our people will have a place to call home, as it appears we are also unwelcome in many of the places we have come to live in the Diaspora."

"If Sri Lanka had oil or diamonds, the global response, coverage, and attention would be different," said Professor A.L.I., "the fact that it doesn't only means that the genocide of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka will continue to hidden in the shadows of other global events."

'Forest of Symbols' borrows its phrasing from Victor Turner's seminal work of the same title, which introduces sociologists to the term liminal. The Tamil Nation is now liminal, and the goal of this single is to bring attention to this event and the mass displacement of a people, to the English speaking audiences through hip-hop. "Hip means to know, it's a form of intelligence. To be hip is to be up-date and relevant," states KRS-ONE, in reference to hip-hop which is a mechanism for disseminating knowledge that is not traditionally erudite.

No American hip-hop or rap artist has addressed this issue in the slightest, until now.

For additional information or a sample copy of the song, Contact: (Professor A.L.I., 12 Recordz, (510) 867-1056, [email protected], www.professorali.com)

'Forest of Symbols' by Professor A.L.I. available on ITunes.

Professor A.L.I. has been a mainstay of the Bay Area Spoken Word and Rap scene for the last decade, but met with his greatest success as part of the rap duo 'Stormshadowz' performing with E-40, and Sann Quinn. His upcoming LP features Hip Hop Legends: Brand Nubian, Killah Priest, Canibus and Hussein Fatal of the Outlawz. While he is not performing music, he is a college preparatory and university educator in the SF Bay Area and lifelong poet.

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