Tamil-Canadian wordsmith Shan Vincent de Paul goes deep with his new single ‘Uyire,’ released last week. Rather than his usual bombastic delivery, Shan went mellow, backed by fellow Tamil-Canadian producer Yanchan’s sorrowful serenade.

The articulate rapper jumped right in after a brief hook, rapping about a highly personal matter - his recent divorce. When a things start off with “The hardest thing I ever had to tell my Amma/Was that my marriage didn’t work” you know it is about to hit the fan. Shan unfolds his deep thoughts on how his failed marriage affected him as an artist and as a person of Eelam Tamil heritage. Reflecting on the complexity of racial identity has been a thematic development of Shan’s work and the way he unloads his painful experiences via eloquent raps is compelling to all.

The black and white music video for ‘Uyire’ fits perfectly with Shan’s unique aesthetic. Shot in a deserted house, we see a couple doing modern dance with their heads wrapped in a long cloth, symbolizing the loveless marriage Shan had to endure. The lack of color and seemingly disoriented cinematography adds to the intensity and the loneliness of the track. The video emphasizes alienation when it shows a giant UFO floating above the house in the hazy closing shot. The storytelling elements in the video truly elevate the song.

Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, Shan moved to Canada with his family as refugees due to Sri Lanka’s Civil War when he was six years old. He developed his interest in Hip Hop because he felt like an outcast growing up in the suburbs of Toronto. Shan has recently been featured on the cover of Rolling Stone India and has an album, Made in Jaffna, due out very soon.

Check out Shan Vincent de Paul’s ‘Uyire’ featuring Yanchan below.