Amir Tataloo

Amir Tataloo
امیر تتلو
Amir Tataloo in 2018
Born
AmirHossein Maghsoudloo

(1987-09-21) 21 September 1987 (age 37)
Tehran, Iran
Occupations
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • songwriter
Known forRapper, songwriter
Criminal chargesCriticism of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Musical career
Genres
Years active2003–present
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

AmirHossein Maghsoudloo (Persian: امیرحسین مقصودلو; born 21 September 1987), known professionally as Amir Tataloo (Persian: امیر تتلو), is an Iranian singer, rapper, songwriter.[3] He is one of Iran’s most famous and controversial artists for his full body tattoo and his frequent open dialogue toward politics and social aspects of Iran's younger generations. He is part of the first generation of the Iranian underground hip hop scene and also one of the first R&B singers in Persian.[4] He is currently in Iran and under arrest for criticizing the Iranian government's human rights record in his songs and on social media.[5]

His debut album, Zire Hamkaf, was released in 2011. Since then, he has released 21 albums. In 2021, Amir Tataloo released the album Fereshteh by Universal Music Group. He is the first Iranian to collaborate with Universal Music Group.

Tataloo was arrested several times when living in Iran by the Islamic Republic authorities in 2016 and 2018 and spent months in prison. In 2018, he moved to Turkey and continued and further established his successful career creating albums and big concerts in Turkey that otherwise were not allowed in Iran until 2023. Frustrated from living in exile, and after the expiry of his Iranian passport, he tried to leave Turkey to return to Tehran. In 2023, Turkish authorities first rejected his departure from Istanbul airport with an expired Iranian passport and later arrested him and handed over Tataloo to the Islamic Republic's police where he was immediately arrested with pending serious charges.[6]

Early life

Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo was born in Majidieh, Tehran. His family are Iranian Azerbaijanis and he has 4 siblings.[7][8] Due to his father's job, Amir spent his elementary school years in Rasht. After a few years, he moved back to Tehran. He decided to work and study simultaneously because of his family's financial situation. From 14 to 16, he worked in a carpenter workshop, and from 16 to 18 worked in a grocery store. After finishing high school, he started to pursue music. The beginning of his career began around the same time as other well-known musicians in Persian underground music.[9]

Music career

Tataloo started his music career in 2003 by releasing songs on his blog. He started as an underground musician, and remains unauthorized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. He was described by Time magazine[10] as "A rapper with so many fans" and by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty[11] as an artist with a "strong fan base" among the youth in Iran. His music style has been described as a "popular flashy blend of pop, rap and R&B".[12]

He released a single, "Manam Yeki az un Yazdahtam" (I'm Also One of Those Eleven Players), for the Iranian National Football Team during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[13]

During the Iran/5+1 nuclear talks in Vienna in July 2015, he released Energy Hastei (Persian: انرژی هسته ای), a song supporting the Iranian nuclear program. The music video was produced on the Iranian navy ship Damavand.[14] The song was the top trending Google search in Persian.[15] This song became an instant controversy in Iran, mostly for the Iranian Reformists, who compared the song to Mohammadreza Shajarian's songs in support of Iranian protests in 2009.[16][17]

In 2015 he attended the Tehran Peace Museum and was praised by the Iran-Iraq war veterans for his music video, Shohada (The Martyrs). He was introduced as the peace ambassador of the museum.[18][19]

In 2018, after several arrests by the Iranian authorities and failing to get a music activity license from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Tataloo left Iran and immigrated to Turkey.[20]

Tatality

Tatality was name of the Tataloo's 2012 album,[21] which also is the name of his fan base.[22][23] "Tatalities" mostly consist of Iranian youth who are dedicated to Tataloo.[24] His fans may follow a lifestyle inspired by Tataloo's, including meditation, spiritual routines and vegan diet.[25]

In 2016, after Iranian police arrested Tataloo, his fans protested before the Justice Court and demanded that authorities release him from prison.[26] After his arrest, an online protest began against arresting artists due to their lyrics and lifestyle choices. They used various hashtags to pressure Iranian authorities to release him.[27]

Social media

Tataloo is one of the most popular yet controversial Iranian celebrities.[28] He has a large fan base, as well as critics.[28][29][30]

In 2021, Tataloo broke the record for most comments on YouTube, with a video for his song Ye Saram Be Ma Bezan reaching over 19 million comments.[31]

In 2019, Tataloo asked fans to break the record of the most commented post on Instagram, which was at the time 10 million comments. Fans broke the record with 18 million comments. After this, various political critics discussed the phenomenon and its impact on society. Academics such as Sadegh Zibakalam[32] and Emaddedin Baghi[33] wrote papers on this event.[34][35]

Another record was broken in 2020, when Tataloo hosted a live broadcast with 626,000 viewers.[36]

Among other Iranian singers, he has the most views on Spotify and YouTube.

Personal life and Arrest

Tataloo is vegan,[37][38] and is constantly preaching the vegan philosophy and lifestyle, asking his fans not to kill and eat animals.[39] One of his many nicknames is Nature's Son.[40]

On January 28, 2020, Tataloo was detained by Turkish police in Istanbul, with an Interpol red notice for him in effect.[41] He was released on February 3, with Turkish police citing his detention as being for visa violations; in that time, an online petition had reached almost half a million signatures, aiming for his release.[42]

In May 2020, Tataloo stirred controversy after he advocated for minors below the age of 16 to be able to get married and invited fans, minors at the time, to join his harem.[43] On December 2, 2023, he claimed that he intends to return to Iran, many read his action because of the complaints he had in Turkey; He was finally handed over to the Iranian government on December 6, 2023 at the land border of Iran and Turkey, and was immediately arrested due to accusations and complaints such as corruption.[44][4]

Discography

Main article: Tataloo discography

Albums

  • Zire Hamkaf (2011)
  • Tatality (2013)
  • Man (2014)
  • Shomareh 6 (2015)
  • Mamnoo (2015)
  • Shomareh 7 (2016)
  • Ghahreman (2017)
  • Amir (2017)
  • Sayeh (2018)
  • Jahanam ( (2018.2019)
  • Barzakh (2018.2019)
  • 78 (2019.2020)
  • Sheytan (2020.2022)
  • Fereshteh (2021)
  • Boht (2022)
  • Sahm(2021.2022)
  • Cosmos (2022.2023)
  • Behesht (2023)
  • Yin Yang (2023.2024)

References

  1. ^ Carles Feixa; Carmen Leccardi; Pam Nilan (2016), Youth, Space and Time: Agoras and Chronotopes in the Global City, BRILL, p. 227, ISBN 9789004324589
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  3. ^ "Iranian Singer Handed Over To Authorities After Detention In Turkey". Iran International. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Turkey Arrests Singer Tataloo, Hands Him to Iran". Voice of America. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Türkiye Hands Over Controversial Musician Tataloo to Iranian Police". Iran Wire. 7 December 2023.
  6. ^ Farda, RFE/RL's Radio. "Iranian Rapper Tataloo Detained Upon Arrival After Being Deported From Turkey". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
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  44. ^ جهان, Fararu | فرارو | اخبار روز ایران و. "امیر تتلو به عنوان مفسد فی‌الارض محاکمه می‌شود؟". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 9 December 2023.

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