Serj Tankian dedicates music video to his son and 13th century poet

Serj Tankian has released a video for the “raw and emotional” (Orange County Register) “Rumi”, a tribute to both Tankian’s six-year-old son of the same name, and the 13th century Sufi poet, Vents Magazine website reports.

In the song, the System of a Down frontman sings about his son, asking him to resist temptation and be the person who he dreams of becoming. The music video is closely linked to the lyrics. It shows Tankian’s son and the celebrity father’s words of advice

“Lyrical specificity in music is generally discouraged because less people internalize them as they have less of a personal connection,” explains Tankian of his out-of-character decision to share the lyrics to the track. “But there are cases where it is vital if the inspiration and muse is specific. In this case, a father talking to his son and reverence to the poet that inspired the son’s name could not be re-written so one can generalize,” Tankian says.

Serj Tankian’s solo album “Elasticity” was released in March 2021 and features five songs. The music video for the main song features actress Aleksandra Bortich.