'The Truth Will Always Prevail': Dhee Reacts to 'Enjoy Enjaami' Controversy

Rapper Arivu had spoken out for the first time on his exclusion.

Dhee and Arivu in the poster for Enjoy Enjaami.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Following rapper Arivu's clarification that it was he who wrote, composed and performed 'Enjoy Enjaami', singer Dhee has also taken to social media to weigh in. At the inaugural ceremony of the 44th Chess Olympiad, singers Dhee and Kidakuzhi Mariyammal performed the song, and Santosh Narayanan was credited as the music composer. Many social media users had expressed their disappointment that Arivu was not credited or even mentioned during the event.

Dhee started by saying, "Enjoy Enjaami was created with the purest intention of bringing us closer to each other and the life around us. The song's core is about an ancient Tamil society that live one with nature and worshipped the five elements and lived free of the adversities that came with caste, religion etc. They are our roots... I remain hopeful that this song will lead us on a search for our roots and embrace them. That we remember, through love, hardships, grief, wounds, fear and ego that we are the sweet fruits of an ancient seed. That we come from the same source".

Dhee added that she has always given Arivu the credits as the writer/singer. "I have full control over what I say, do, and the things I share on my social media and I have always made sure I give credits to Arivu as the singer/writer and Santhosh Narayanan as the producer/composer at every point. I have proudly spoken about them, especially Arivu, every chance I got. At no point have I diminished or downplayed both of their importance in Enjoy Enjaami... I don't have any control over the way our work is being shared and promoted by external sources".

Dhee also touched upon the Rolling Stone India incident, when the magazine received flak for carrying a front cover and cover story about ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ in August last year, but not including Arivu. "The Rolling Stone India cover from last year was based around Shan and I's upcoming individual albums and the main reason as to why we are in this particular cover together. It was neither about Enjoy Enjaami or Neeye Oli. The song names weren't on the cover too that we shared. What I was told was that there was a rollout plan where Rollingstone was going to publish cover stories and articles on Arivu, Santhosh Narayanan and other artistes".

The singer concluded by saying, "Though this whole thing has been interpreted in many ways, I am consoled by the importance of what this conversation means in an ongoing battle..."