KUALA LUMPUR – Foodpanda delivery rider Prethip Ramakrishnan went viral recently for a song he produced, the first milestone on his journey to go into full-time music production someday.
The 25-year-old composer and producer of the Tamil song, Amuthavalli, was captured by a social media user recently while on his delivery rounds. He had pasted a hand-written note on his delivery case urging people to support his song, which he posted to YouTube.
“Hi guys, can pls support my new song on YouTube, song named Amuthavali,” the note states.
The photo went viral, prompting social media users to listen to his song, and earning it more than 140,000 views on YouTube within one day of the photo’s circulation.
It is a stroke of luck and the kindness of netizens for Prethip, who has worked as a Foodpanda rider for the last few years.
He left school at 15, and his only paper qualification is a Level 3 Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) skills certificate in the food and beverage industry.
“I worked for a year and a half at an eatery in Genting Highlands after I got my certificate,” said the aspiring singer who hails from Bangi.
He said the inspiration for Amuthavalli came to him while doing a delivery.
“It is about a guy wooing a girl from a strict family, and he succeeds,” he told The Vibes in a phone interview.
The name for the female character in his song came to him “randomly”, he added, and it sounded good with the tune he made up.
“This is my very first song, and it is the very first time that I have created music like this, which is why I am surprised that it went viral on my first try,” said Prethip.
But a good song is no good if no one else gets to hear it, and that’s when Prethip had to think of how he would promote it.
“I pasted the sign on my motorcycle three days before the picture (of me) was taken. I genuinely wanted people to follow my music and I most definitely did not expect it to go viral.”
Grateful for the attention that his song has received on YouTube and other platforms, Prethip credited his late father for giving him a passion for music and singing.
“I grew up watching my father sing, and after he passed away, music became my source of comfort and relaxation.”
Prethip said his friends would tease him for his “terrible” singing, but he never doubted himself nor his dreams to start his own record label one day.
RMC Universe Productions is now his label, started with his own hard-earned money saved from working as a Foodpanda delivery rider from day to night, six days a week.
He also funded the music video production of Amuthavali with his own money.
“I hope to gain more support from people for my music in the future so that I can create better songs, as well as help others who have the same passion for music,” said Prethip.
“I want everyone who thinks that their dreams are impossible due to their current circumstances, to not give up and always go for it.” – The Vibes, January 13, 2023
