About me

My name is Dhanushan, I am a Sri Lankan Tamil-Norwegian independent recording artist, songwriter, record executive and music video director from Oslo who goes by the stage name "Critical Stage".

I started my journey as a rapper at the age of 13. It was all about respect back then. I was born in the countryside and relocated to the city when I was 7 years old. I was this brown skinned, shy and ordinary kid with an accent who was targeted for bullying. In the beginning, the school days weren't easy to get through. The fear of being a target just got bigger and bigger and I was scared to talk about these episodes with my parents because I thought they wouldn't understand. I also didn't want to make them worry, but at the same time, I wish I had someone to talk to. I was selfish enough to not reach out to any of my teachers because I didn't want to be stamped as a "snitch". It would have made the school days even more difficult, and I started to hate going to school because of that. I fell off tracks, started to skip class and had this rage inside me. I struggled to focus on my studies because I was so determined to fight back by using violence.

Thankfully, I found my redemption when I was introduced to Hip-Hop. I spent my free time reading lyrics by legends such as 2Pac, Eminem, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and The Notorious B.I.G. I was inspired by their powerful stories and that's how the desire to be an artist started to grow inside me. I conveyed my fury in paper and learned to write decent punch lines and rap lyrics. Hip Hop was always about being better than anyone else, so I figured I would earn back my respect from the kids at school if I started to rap, and eventually I did.

I started this independent production house/label called "Wordsmith Rec. Group (W.R.G)" with a few of my close friends.

Our goal for the future is to develop W.R.G to be this professional recording studio and a production club house some time around 2025, where kids can come and record music and learn about music production and filmmaking for free. The purpose of this is to provide a platform for children and teenagers to explore their talents and have the opportunities, tools and resources to create art without worrying about their financial situation. I also believe that this will keep the kids off the streets so they can avoid drug use and going into a dangerous, dark and unhealthy environment.