Amirhossein Maghsoudloo (Persian: امیرحسین مقصودلو; born 21 September 1987) known professionally as Amir Tataloo (Persian: امیر تتلو), is an Iranian singer and songwriter. Tataloo is a part of the first generation of the Iranian underground hip hop scene.
His debut album, Zire Hamkaf, was released in 2011 without a releasing license from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Since then, he has released 16 albums. Tataloo was arrested several times when living in Iran by the Islamic Republic authorities. His first arrest was in 2013 by the Iranian security police. In 2015, he was arrested and held in prison for two months and charged with "encouraging fasad and fahsha".
In 2021, Amir Tataloo released the album Fereshteh by Universal Music Group,He is the first Iranian to collaborate with Universal Music Group
Early life
Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, stage name Amir Tataloo, was born in Majidieh, Tehran. Due to his father's job, Amir spent his elementary school years in Rasht. After a few years, he moved back to Tehran. Because of his family's financial situation, he decided to work and study simultaneously. 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.
Music career
Tataloo started his music career in 2003, and began by releasing songs on his personal blog. He initially started as an underground musician, and remains unauthorized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. He was described by Time magazine as "A rapper with so many fans" and by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 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".
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.
During the Iran/5+1 nuclear talks in Vienna in July 2015, he released a song supporting the Iranian nuclear program. The music video was produced on the Iranian navy ship Damavand. The song was the top trending Google search in Persian. 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.
Tataloo's Instagram account, one of the most popular among Iranians, was permanently shut down on April 24, 2020, due to allegations of grooming underage girls.
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.
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, where he is currently residing.
Tatality
Tatality was name of the Tataloo's 2013 album which also is the name of his fan base. "Tatalities" are mostly consist of Iranian youth who are dedicated to Tataloo. His fans may follow a lifestyle inspired by Tataloo's, including meditation, spiritual routines and vegan diet.
In 2016, after Tataloo was arrested by Iranian police, his fans protested before the Justice Court and demanded that authorities release him from prison. After his arrest, an online protest began against arresting artists due to their lyrics and lifestyle choices. They used various hashtags in order to pressure Iranian authorities to release him.
Social media
Tataloo is one of the most popular, yet controversial, Iranian celebrities. He has a large fan base, as well as critics.
In 2021, Tataloo broke the record for most comments on YouTube with 19 million comments
In 2019, Tataloo asked fans to break the record of the most commented post on Instagram, which was 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 and Emaddedin Baghi wrote papers on this event.
Another record was broken in 2020 where Tataloo hosted a live broadcast that ended up with 626,000 viewers.
Personal life
Tataloo is vegan, and is constantly preaching the vegan philosophy and lifestyle, asking his fans not to kill and eat animals. One of his many nicknames is Nature's Son.
Legal troubles
Tataloo has been arrested various time while he was in Iran. He was arrested for the first time in 2013, which he was charged for making music known as Underground Hip Hop, without any release licenses from Iran's officials.
Tataloo was jailed three times in 2013, 2016, and 2020. Iranian morality police briefly arrested him in December 2013 for distributing his banned music to illegal foreign satellite channels. He was arrested again on 23 August 2016 and spent two months in prison because of insulting the judge in the court hearing, however, he was reportedly charged with "encouraging fasad and fahsha". His fans posted comments on social media accounts of the supreme leader of Iran, demanding his release.
On 28 January 2020, Tataloo was preparing to travel to the UK, where he was expected to play a concert in February. Tataloo whose real name is 'Amirhossein Maghsoudloo', was detained by Turkish authorities in Istanbul after he was flagged as a wanted person by Interpol. Turkish authorities stated that they have acted on an "Interpol red notice" which was apparently issued by Iranian authorities – Iranian police have accused Tataloo of "encouraging citizens, especially the youth, to use drugs", according to a statement quoted by Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency.
Following his arrest in Turkey there were concerns about deportation of Tataloo to Iran. Tatalities and other people concerned about Tataloo's life started online campaigns in order to stop Turkish government giving Tataloo to Iranian authorities. After clearing the charges, it was stated that he was arrested due to Visa violation. After a week in prison Tataloo was released and thanked people helping him, Masih Alinejad, Hichkas,his fans and the Turkish government.
