Achi news desk-
Ikwinder Singh is too young to remember the last time Punjabi music was on the verge of breaking into the mainstream in Canada.
The 23-year-old producer was just a baby when rapper Jay-Z teamed up with British-Indian artist Panjabi MC on 2003’s “Beware the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke).” The track drew attention for its unique blend of bhangra music and a stunning hip-hop bassline, topping the music charts and offering Indian listeners hope that a new sound was emerging globally.
And then pop radio moved on to the next big sound.
“It’s one of those things that nobody was ready for,” says the Toronto-raised music creator, known as Ikky.
He suggests that North American record executives of that era may have been caught off guard by the song’s success and that not enough Punjabi artists were groomed for crossover careers.
Singh doesn’t waste much time wondering what might have been. He is confident that the story is different today.
Over the past few years, a new generation of Punjabi performers has emerged from Canada, taking the world by storm with a unique blend of cross-cultural influences that could only have come from this country.
The Punjabi wave, as some call it, is a fusion of the Indo-Aryan languages with the sounds of hip-hop, R&B and global trap music. In Canada, its popularity is led by a variety of names including AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla, Gurinder Gill and producer Ikky.
These artists, with the help of a close-knit community of music professionals, have scaled the Canadian charts, launched major tours, and left some in the industry wondering if Punjabi music is on the cusp of its breakout moment similar to what “Gangnam Style” and “Despacito” did for Korean and Spanish pop music.
This weekend, two rising stars of the Punjabi-Canadian music scene are heading to Halifax for the Juno Awards, where they will compete for the fan choice award.
Karan Aujla, whose track “Softly” certified the British Columbia-raised singer as a hit maker last year, is competing with rapper Shubh, an artist from Brampton, Ont. known for his streaming hits “One Love” and “Cheques.” Both have been nominated on Sunday’s CBC broadcast alongside some of pop’s biggest stars, including the Weeknd and Tate McRae.
This is a critical moment for the Punjabi genre, which has never been represented in the marquee Junos category trying to capture the zeitgeist. Aujla holds a second Juno nod for breakthrough artist this year.
All this comes as the genre’s profile continues to rise in Canada.
One of the most symbolic moments happened during last year’s Junos in Edmonton, where AP Dhillon made history as the first Punjabi music act on the broadcast.
The Victoria, BC indie rapper’s flashy delivery of his single “Summer High” was designed to usher in a new era for the genre. But he was wooed by an endless protester who crashed his introduction by Avril Lavigne. Despite the unexpected turn of events, Dhillon’s presence was an indication of how quickly the scene was being taken seriously.
Last summer, Warner Music Canada announced a partnership with its Indian division to launch 91 North Records. The Canadian label was designed to nurture a generation of local South Asian artists and better connect the two sides of the world. The label’s debut release “Making Memories,” a collaboration between Aujla and Ikky, debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
And then in February, Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Canada Hot 100 chart nearly two years after his shooting death in India. His single “Drippy” became the latest in a string of Punjabi-Canadian chart hits.
Outside the country, the Punjabi music industry has taken notice. Next month, Indian performer Diljit Dosanjh is launching a five-city arena and stadium tour in Canada, starting in Vancouver and ending in Toronto.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Toronto rapper AR Paisley, who appears on “Drippy.”
“With what’s going on, we’re going to see a lot of young and talented artists coming up.”
Music producer Gagundeep Singh Randhawa said it takes a few decades to understand how Punjabi-Canadian music has reached its current status.
For the longest time, Punjabi artists relied on folk music instruments – such as the tablas and tumbis – for their sound. He said that meant even rap songs like “Beware the Boys” sounded like traditional music, which often relegated them to Indian weddings and other cultural venues.
It took the work of people like Jazzy B, a performer from Surrey, BC who found success in the mid-2000s, to fuse electronic and hip-hop elements in a new way that inspired a generation.
“It brought a different flavor,” says Randhawa, who works under the name Gminxr (pronounced G-minor).
“It moved the scene. But after him he went back to folk alone.”
Almost a decade passed before Punjabi music was revived. He credits the early work of Moose Wala for starting the current wave with its combination of the Punjabi language and trap music.
Moose Wala’s career started around 2017 while he was an international student living in Brampton, Ont. Randhawa credits his music for opening his ears to songs that could break barriers and find wider audiences.
Around the same time, there was an influx of young students moving from India, which the Victoria-based producer said offered him more motivation.
“Coming from this small city, where it’s mostly white, and all of a sudden seeing Indian people everywhere, it was a big change,” he said.
Meanwhile, other changes were taking place in how people consumed music. Around this time, Punjabi music fans were interested in paid subscription services instead of YouTube only, where the genre first flourished.
In response, the streaming platforms began supporting more Punjabi-Canadian artists, placing some of their music in prime real estate. Spotify began placing Dhillon and others on its New Music Friday Canada playlist, exposing their sound to listeners who had never heard Punjabi music.
By the time the COVID-19 restrictions eased, those streaming numbers were proving themselves in concert ticket sales. Dhillon’s Out of This World Tour kicked off in late 2022, drawing crowds to the 19,000-seat Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Live Nation promoter Baldeep Randhawa said he is confident that Punjabi music can attract much bigger numbers in the coming years. To make that happen, people like him work to secure the right artists for the biggest venues, offering them technical support that puts them on par with global stars.
“We give them the same opportunities that someone like Drake (would have),” he said.
“They can play these professional settings (and) do it with a vision that they like and want. When the audience come to these shows they leave in awe of the level of production.”
Promoter Live Nation has already seen the positive impact of these massive concerts on the local Punjabi-Canadian community.
“I watch so many people come into these rooms for the first time,” he said.
“And I remember hearing a child say `I can’t believe someone with a turban is playing this stage.’
What Canada’s Punjabi music wave still needs to thrive is more domestic support from major record labels, say many who watch the scene.
While Warner has thrown themselves into the full force of the mix, Universal Music Canada and Sony Music Canada have yet to announce any significant investment in the genre or its performers.
Paisley is confident it’s only a matter of time.
“Some people in the industry have taken notice, but I think there are some (who) are still trying to turn a blind eye,” he said.
“It’s going to take more of a moment in your face. We’ve had a couple, but maybe it’s going to take a couple more.”
One of those moments may have happened earlier this month at a concert in Mumbai. Pop star Ed Sheeran surprised his fans by bringing out Indian star Diljit Dosanjh – the artist touring Canada this spring.
Together, the pair sang “Lover” by Dosanjh with Sheeran singing in to perform the chorus in Punjabi. It was a moment that earned him positive attention on social media and suggested that Sheeran has his eye on a growing corner of music.
Paisley said collaborations like these will be key to the success of the Punjabi wave crossover. He would like to see more songs between the stars of the genre and big names in Latin music and hip-hop, as long as they feel authentic.
“I think we are stronger together than apart,” he added.
Producer Ikky agrees. He recently released “Ikky’s House,” an EP that plays around with genre conventions and introduces the Punjabi language to the pop world with the help of Punjabi and English artists.
His production aims to combine his perspective while growing up in Canada with positive cultural values established in the world of Punjabi music. It’s a concept he’s still working on, and something he believes will take time for the rest of the world to catch up with.
“We are still in a very early stage of global dominance,” he said.
“First for India, we had to prove that Canada is the home of Punjabi music. Now that we’ve succeeded, we have to prove to Canada that this is Canadian music.”
“After that, we have to tell the world.”
