Surma - Mohammed Saddiq and Ranjit Kaur

This is one of my favorite tracks by this infamous folk duo. Along with the fun lyrics, I really love the tumbi played on this track, enjoy....

Boliyan from Mohan Singh Mela

Another clip from Prof Mohan Singh Mela 92.

So grab a peg, click on play and enjoy....

Jazzy B - Rendo! Rendo!

Due to some personal matters, I haven't been able to post much, but I will continue to post regularly whenever I have time from now on.

Also, at the moment there hasn't been much to talk about, well except for Jazzy B's latest offering "Rambo".



I don't know why, there is not much excitement in the air about this release. Although it was highly anticipated, (3 years since Romeo was released), many fans appears to have been let down. It has been 3 years since Romeo, wow! 3 years! Soorma, Yaari still get massive play from me. For Rambo the reviews are mixed. I can't say that I hate the entire album, I just didn't like the title track "Rambo".

Sometimes I can't get the lyrics "Rambo Rambo" out of my head when I wake up to the time I go to sleep. I was not too impressed with the video either, PR (public relation, not planet record) stunt here was that, Rambo is the most expensive bhangra video ever made. Really? How does one know this? Has every artist disclosed their bills? The most expensive video pre-Rambo may have cost $10,000 but Rambo may have cost $10,000.50. So by defenition it could very well be the most expensive video ever made. Just my 2 paise though.

The actual song starts of great, I really like the sarangi on the hiphop loop, then it switches to desi/hiphop with Jazzy's verse. Then switches back and forth between Kanwar (desi rapper) and Jazzy. In my opinion Kanwar never really did add anything to the track, his voice, his persona did not do Jazzy justice. After looking at his face on the video, the hard lyrics Kanwar kicks do not sound believable. Jazzy needed someone like Bohemia, Kamla Panjabi or Deep on that track, perhaps a remix?

Kanwar's "Rendho Rendho" has become a running joke amongst many Panjabis here in Toronto. I can only imagine him performing live and some drunk dudes yelling "Rendho Rendho" before he even utters one word.

Jazzy is a great artist, however with this release I think he has taken a few steps back instead of elevating from the track Romeo. For instance, if he had released "Kaun Nachdi" with the "Streetology" remix now, it would have done wonders for this album. Streetology remix blends hiphop and desi very nicely and the video ain't bad either. However, the Rambo video has me rolling my eyes a lot at some scenes.

I still don't know why bhangra hasn't been able to fuse desi-hiphop properly and not make it sound awkward.

Overall, aside from this track, the album will grow on you. Some of the skits are hilarious, it shows Jazzy's humorous side and he pulls it off well. Jawani, Jatt are stellar tracks and his flow on Glassy, and especially 'I Love You' is ridiculous. Keep the CD in your car and trust me after a few trips you'll start repeating a few tracks.

Production is usual Shinda, nothing to write home about. The production sounds the same as it did on previous albums but it doesn't distract from Jazzy's vocals, it does the job. But I think its time Jazzy should let others produce for him. Its only makes for interesting music for the fans and he can afford to experiment unlike other artists.

In conclusion, releasing Rambo as the single was not a very good choice, but who knows in India it might do well, they should have stuck with more clubish/girl-friendly song like "I love you" or danceable like "Glassy".

Drew Barrymore in a Bhangra Vid?

This 'model' in this video has an uncanny resemblance to Drew Barrymore, maybe it is her... *cue scary violins*

Nothing more to discuss on this video, just wanted to share my observations, perhaps some of you think the same as well.

KS Makhan

One of my favorite artists in Bhangra has been K.S. Makhan. I kind of miss how powerful his voice sounded pre-"First Play" production days. This does not mean I hate Aman Hayer, infact I love his work, but I just miss the 'old' KS Makhan voice. What I want to do is, first show you how his voice sounded when he first came into the industry, to what people are hearing now.

1. This first track, i'm about to share with you, was featured on a bhangra compilation released in the 90s, "Immortal Bhangra" I think. It is one of my favorite tracks from him, everything about this track is sick. Along with Makhan's voice, I also miss production like this :(
"Mundari Da Naag Sat Rang Da"

2. This second track is actually called Hoopeh (part 1) NOT 'Askhe'. Produced by Sukhshinder Shinda. It was featured on Shinda's album "Dhol Beat Dhol", which was released during the late 90s.


3. And listen to the Original "Mitran Di Motor Teh". For the longest time i thought this was sung by Surinder Shinda.
"Mitran Di Motor Te"

Ever since he hooked up with Aman Hayer, bhangra fans have noticed an 'auto-tuned' (t-painesque) effect on his voice. Which, I think takes a lot away from what Makhan has to offer as an artist, but it is a formula that has worked well for him in recent years. It has made him more popular and judging from his videos, profitable as well. And when you get teenage girls requesting your songs at parties you know you have made it.

Don't get me wrong, I do not hate KS Makhan, nor do I hate Aman Hayer, I think Aman is right up there with some of the best bhangra producers of today. And KS Makhan is a legend in the making. Aman has produced some of the biggest hits in Bhangra, such as, Mitran Di Chatrri, Tardhi Hildi, Dil Nai Lagda, etc....just to name a few.

But ever since Aman hooked up with Makhan to do his entire album, First Play, I do find that, Makhan's albums have had a similar feel to them. From lyrical flow, rythm pattern, and production there is not much difference from album to album. I cannot not tell you what Makhan track from which album. And every once in a while, when I ask my friends, "Have you heard the new makhan track?" They reply with something along these lines of "I've heard it before, it sounds something like [insert another Makhan track here]" or they simply snap their fingers trying to remember the song's name.

However, this does not take away from the fact, that he's had 1 or 2 tracks which have become dance-floor anthems with every release since First Play. Kachiyan Kandan, Hoopeh Part 2, Billo, Dildar are just some of these hits etc..

I'm not really hating on Hayer-Makhan team, they work well together like Jazzy and Shinda. My only concern is that his albums lack 'creativity' from album to album. Although, as I mentioned before, I do enjoy his songs immensely, but I do find the songs repeatative nature in every album, discourage me, as a consumer to 'invest' in this product. Its like they are not even trying, whereas Jazzy and Shinda always deliver something 'new' and fresh with each release.

Makhan and Aman are back again with their latest offering "Yaar Mastane". The 1st single from this album "Sir Kadhve" sounds really promising and the video is pretty good. You can start snapping your fingers, try to remember which track it sounds like once you hit play. But it doesn't take away from how bad-ass the song and the video is... enjoy...

Bhangra Videos Suck! Yeah I said it....

Disclaimer: Before you read any further, you must note, that I am not taking shots at the actual singers or the songs they have sung. This entire entry is regarding bhangra videos, fotos, click click, zoom zoom pitcher, the horrendous plots, mimers, actors and dancers that Bhangra videos convey. Who's to blame for this garbage? the directors? the singers? I don't know but these are just my thoughts...

If there is a bhangra song that you absolutely love, and you want to keep enjoying it for years to come, I suggest that you stay away from its video. But if you want a good laugh, pick up a few Bhangra DVD compilations for your amusement. Unlike hiphop/reggae videos, bhangra videos appear to have a negative effect on its genre altogether. They in no way promote the genre of bhangra further, instead become a running joke within bhangra fans "did you see that gandh?" Why do they suck so much? If you've seen one bhangra video you have seen them all. They have become so redundent that you cannot tell one song apart from another. However, you can cateograzie these bhangra videos into 2 categories, 'Western Bhangra Vids' and 'Eastern Bhangra Vids'. The 'Western Bhangra Vids', as the name suggests are created in the western hemisphere (north america, UK) and the latter, represent videos from the motherland.

Bhangra has to be, one of the only genres of music where the bad videos out-number the good ones. You may say, "well thats a matter of personal opinion Samosa!", I would agree, if the majority of bhangra fans disagreed with my taste. However they don't and thus this blog entry.

So why do they suck so much?

Number 1, Lack of Creativity.
This lack of creativity appears to be inherent to our 'desi-culture' where most people just operate with the 'monkey see, monkey do' mentality.

"Hain? Tu apneh store vich DVD dey naal Meat bechda? meh vi vecha ga".

If you live around Toronto or the Vancouver area, you may have noticed the influx in 'desi-style' pizza shops. This desi-pizza business model proves my point perfectly. It takes the first person to do something different, and if it works for him/her, well then the next monkey says "it should work for me, kyo nahi?". This same model can be applied to Bhangra videos. In the Eastern bhangra videos, if you've seen one 'duet' bhangra video in front of a Chandigarh mall and some of the wackest back-up male dancers in questionable costumes from the disco-era, you've seen them all.

As for the West, you have lip-synced videos by some metrosexual dude miming some of the most hardcore panjabi lyrics, when off camera, he'll greet your mother by saying "Sas Si Kal".
These 'mimers' are usually best friends with the producer of the track or wannabe 5'4" models, whose egos have been inflated since aunty told their mother "your beta looks like Shah Rukh". This leads me to my next point why Bhangra videos suck so much.

Number 2, Mimers aka 'Lip-Sync-ers' aka 'Nah Bitch that ain't Angrez Ali'
I remember back when Dark n' Dangerous dropped, Shazia Manzoor had became the Miss Pooja of UK/North American bhangra scene. Dark n' Dangerous had made a huge impact in the Bhangra scene, rightly so, it is one of the best produced bhangra albums. So the after affects of this release included various fanpages of Shazia Manzoor, by her fans in the western hemisphere. Clearly, these fans had no idea what Shazia looked liked. So the hunt was on, most of her past efforts, prior to Dark n' Dangerous included a model on the cover. And this same model was used in her videos miming her songs. Here is one of 'her' album covers:


So clearly you can imagine the shock on the fans faces when they found out that their 'gori-gori soni soni Shazia' looked something like their favorite aunty: *Side Note, Bhangra album covers are a whole different topic, which i will tackle another day.


This mystery can now be applied to 'Sudesh Kumari', who has a brilliant voice, but has left her fans wondering which hotty is she really?

Is this her?


Or is this her?


Nope! But my friend, THIS IS HER at 0.33 sec mark (one of my favorite songs btw):


Mimers are rampant in the Western bhangra scene, but they have become like this ugly painting in your friend's house. It disgusted you at first sight, now you know where it is hangs, so the next time you arrive, you simply ignore it. And overall, the mimers in uk/north american videos do a terrible job, unlike their desi-counterparts, its very easy to spot the fakers. Not only are they bad mimers, they do these weird hand gestures that could misdirect airplane traffic at Heathrow. That 'hand-shit' works fine in hiphop videos but not in bhangra. In addition artists like Lehmber personally hates having mimers for his songs, he has mentioned this distaste in several interviews.

Here are a few vids from the 'Vest':

Apart from the obvious mimer, these guys are chiling with 2 beers in a tent while there are mad girls outside. What part of the game is this?

An excellent song, but dont agree with the video.



Number Tin, 'You ain't no Gangsta!'
Fine you wrote and recorded a song called "Donali Da Pyar", this does not mean, that you must act out every lyric in your song in some stereotypical gangster fashion. Leather jackets? Collars popped? Sunglasses? and the infamous "Blue Steel" look in all your camera angles? I mean as a director what have you been smoking watching? Happy Days re-runs and James Dean movies? Someone needs to show these directors "Hood 2 Hood" DVDs. The director will dump his entire Happy Days Special Edition collection in the gutter and reevaluate the "gangsterrr" image he had in his mind.

Here are some "Gangsta" bhangra videos: Peep at 2:20 mark, Nikku blinks when he fires a shot.... wait a minute A GUN?...IN A CLUB? on a BMX?


Every cliche i have mentioned, is here in this Balkar Sidhu song, "Gabru" (wicked song, but bad video). James Dean + Fonz + Bullet motorcycles =


forced hand signals + motocycle gang + hiphop gear on 40 year olds = this disaster. I cringe everytime I see this. I can only imagine the reaction of a non-desi channel surfer, on a saturday morning.


I'm done for now.... I'll continue this.

Call me The Panjabi Johnny Cash

Often i've been told I wear too much black. I never noticed this until people started pointing it out to me a few years ago. Recently, I revaluated my closet and sure enough, I have around 5 black sweaters, about 8 black shirts, many other shirts with a combination of black in them and plenty of black t-shirts. And what do I do to add color? White undershirts.

To sum it all up, I suck at using colors, another reason why the walls in my apartment remain "builder-white" and furniture, black. So, it is no surprise that I cannot pick a proper template for my bhangra-blog. I am trying all sorts of combinations/templates, so please be patient with me, as I try to master the art of color coordination that comes naturally to most females and Jazzy B. If it is really different from what you last visited, don't worry, you haven't stumbled onto a different site, it's just me clicking on different color swatches at my disposal. But so far, I think this green might work, who knows by the weekend... it might be something else. But let me know if you like this look and it will stay for a while.

Enough of this though, onto some bhangra....

Speaking of black and white, here are 3 white boys and 1 indian dude bustin' some moves and they sick with it..