Amir Tataloo

AmirHossein Maghsoudloo (born 21 September 1987), known professionally as Amir Tataloo, is an Iranian singer, rapper, songwriter.

He is one of Iran’s most famous and controversial artists including his full body tattoo and his frequents open dialogue toward politics and social aspects of Iranian young 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.

He is currently in Iran and under arrest for criticizing the Iranian government's human rights record in his songs and on social media.

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 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".

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.

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.

Tatality was name of the Tataloo's 2012 album, which also is the name of his fan base.

"Tatalities" 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.

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 Energy Hastei, 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.

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.

Tataloo was arrested several times when living in Iran by the Islamic Republic authorities in 2016 and 2018 and spent months in prison.

In 2016, after Iranian police arrested Tataloo, 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 to pressure Iranian authorities to release him.

Tataloo is one of the most popular yet controversial Iranian celebrities.

He has a large fan base, as well as critics.

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 expiry of his Iranian passport he tried to leave Turkey to go back to Tehran.

In 2023, Turkish authorities first rejected his departure from Istanbul airport with 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 life threatening charges.

Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo was born in Majidieh, Tehran.

His family are Iranian Azerbaijanis and he has 4 siblings.

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.

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.