Panjabi MC explained

Panjabi MC
Background:solo_singer
Birth Name:Rajinder Singh Rai
Birth Place:Coventry, Warwickshire, England, UK
Birth Date:14 February 1970
Genre:Bhangra, electronic, alternative hip hop, trip hop, Asian Underground
Occupation:Musician
Years Active:1993–present
Label:Superstar Recordings (Germany)
Urban Records
PMC Records (UK)
Universal (India)
Ultra Music
Associated Acts:Jay-Z, Twista, Snap!, Labh Janjua, Warren G

Rajinder Singh Rai (pa|ਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ; born February 14, 1970), better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British-Indian recording artist, rapper, record producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide Bhangra 2002 hit "Mundian To Bach Ke", which sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. Among other songs, he gained acclaim with the 2003 release "Jogi". AllMusic has called him "one of the most prominent names in bhangra".[1]

Biography

Career

Rajinder Singh adopted his stage name from the Punjabi language he uses in the music he plays and raps.[2] "One of [his] main goals is to fuse the two worlds [of [[Bhangra (music)|Bhangra]] and Hip hop music genres]".[3]

Nachural Records signed Panjabi MC following a remix he made of "Ghariah Milan De", a song by Indian Punjabi singer Kuldeep Manak; although the single was taken off the market, Panjabi MC continued making records. The first successful release, however, was "Mundian To Bach Ke" ("Beware of the Boys" in Punjabi): it first appeared on the 1998 album Legalised, and samples the theme music of the television series Knight Rider with Bhangra music. Originally, an underground hit on the internet, it was picked up by the German record label Superstar Recordings, and became a mainstream hit song across Europe, including Germany and UK.

In 2003 was released a version of this single featuring American rapper Jay-Z, whose title was "Beware of the Boys"; in the same year he released Yogi, a song which had not the success of the previous single but also topped the charts. His work, particularly the early singles and the "Mundian To Bach Ke" version with Jay-Z, brought Bhangra to a global audience via the BBC; he later continued to produce and remix music.

In 2004, he recorded a song called "Mirza" and mixed it with "Isyankar", a song by Turkish singer Mustafa Sandal, but they did not release the remixed version.[4] In 2008 was released Panjabi MC's album Indian Timing; the "Snake Charmer" music video was screened at Deejay Ra's music video night in Toronto at the FILMI festival, North America's longest running South Asian film festival.

Remixes and samples made by Panjabi MC in his songs

Panjabi MC used "Planet Rock", a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa, for his release "Pyar Wich (Planet Rock Remix)", before the latter could record "Indian Planet Rock"; this version by British-born Indian Dj's was included on the 1998 album Legalised. On Indian Timing, Panjabi MC used vocal samples from "Im Nin'alu", a 1984 song by Israeli singer Ofra Haza. On "Jatt Ho Giya Sharabee", a song released in 1998, Panjabi MC used the theme music from the television series Magnum, P.I.. In "Mundian To Bach Ke", along with the subsequent remix version featuring Jay-Z "Beware of the Boys", the Dj used the bassline from the television series Knight Rider.[3] Both the last two songs were on the album Legalised, released in 1998.

Media use of Panjabi MC's songs

The 1998 single "Jatt Ho Giya Sharabee", included later on the 2003 album Beware, was featured on the television show Heroes (episode 2, Don't Look Back, aired on October 2, 2006). The 2001 song "Yaaran Kollon Sikh Kuriye" was featured in the television show Wildboyz as a music video. In the same year, Panjabi MC made his Canadian premiere at the Payal Banquet Hall in Mississauga, Ontario. Deejay Ra hosted a TV special covering the event entitled "The Bhangramentary", which aired on the Asian Television Network (ATN). The 1998/2002 single "Mundian To Bach Ke" was featured in an episode of Queer as Folk television series and in the 2002 movie Bend It Like Beckham; it also was featured, in the remix version of "Mundian To Bach Ke" with Jay-Z, on the soundtrack of the 2021 BAFTA-nominated Netflix film The White Tiger.[5] Panjabi MC has also appeared on Top of the Pops, from which the "Mundian To Bach Ke" videoclip began to appear on music channels around the world in heavy rotation.

Together with Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi, Panjabi MC remixed the popular song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the 1998 Bollywood film, Dil Se... This release was used as the background during opening credits for the 2006 Hollywood movie Inside Man. Their song "Land of Five Rivers" (the exact translation of Punjab, Panjabi MC's original land) was used as a theme song for the WWE wrestler The Great Khali, and featured on .[6]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

EPs

Singles

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
US
[7]
US
R&B
[8]
US
Dance

[9]
AUS
[10]
BEL
[11]
CANDEN
[12]
GER
[13]
IRL
[14]
FRA
[15]
ITA
[16]
SWI
[17]
UK
[18]
"Ghariah Milan De"1995Non-album single
"Mundian To Bach Ke"1998Legalised
"Jatt Ho Giya Sharabee"Jatt Ho Gya Sharabi
"Yaaran Kollon Sikh Kuriye"2001The Album
"Mundian To Bach Ke"
(featuring Jay-Z)
20033321312310521415145 Legalised
"Jogi"925512477530825Jogi EP
"Chaiyya Chaiyya (Bollywood Joint)"2006Non-album singles
"Snake Charmer"2007
"Land of Five Rivers"2009
"Moorni (Balle Balle)"2010
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Andy Kellman . Panjabi MC | Biography & History . . 1973-02-14 . 2016-02-28.
  2. http://www.pmcrecords.com/index.php?page=414901
  3. Web site: Mix This Young South Asians' Love-Hate Relationship with Hip-Hop's New Bengali Beats. Village Voice. Villagevoice.com. 2015-05-30. 8 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080608151511/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0327,chadha,45230,1.html. dead.
  4. Web site: Asian Allstars . 28 December 2007 . Verma . Rahul . British Council . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130817205455/http://www.britishcouncil.org/nr6_britishasianmusic.pdf . 17 August 2013 . dmy-all .
  5. Web site: January 27, 2021. The White Tiger - 2021 Netflix Movie Features Panjabi MC & JAY-Z. 2021-06-06. Panjabi MC. en.
  6. Web site: Desi Radio, Videos and MP3s, Bollywood Hindi Songs, Bhangra Music and Podcasts. Desihits.com. 2015-05-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20091105090918/http://www.desihits.com/blog/article/exclusive-interview-panjabi-mc-20081215. 5 November 2009. dead.
  7. Panjabi MC – Chart History: Hot 100 . . October 26, 2019.
  8. Panjabi MC – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs . . October 26, 2019.
  9. Panjabi MC – Chart History: Dance Single Sales . . October 26, 2019.
  10. Peaks in Australia:
    • "Mundian To Bach Ke": Web site: Discography Panjabi MC . australian-charts.com . Hung Medien . October 26, 2019.
    • "Jogi": 212.
  11. Web site: Discography Panjabi MC . Ultratop . October 26, 2019 . 22 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191122115311/https://www.ultratop.be/nl/song/1531/Panjabi-MC-Mundian-to-bach-ke . live .
  12. Web site: Discography Panjabi MC . DanishCharts. October 26, 2019.
  13. Web site: Discography Punjabi MC . OfficialGermanCharts . October 26, 2019 . 2 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151102071930/http://i.imgur.com/My5ZAxf.jpg . live .
    • "Mundian to bach ke": Web site: Mundian to Bach Ke Chart History. OfficialGermanCharts. 26 October 2019. 11 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411192750/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-5425. live.
    • "Jogi": Web site: Jogi Chart History. OfficialGermanCharts. 26 October 2019. 7 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190407223351/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-5623. live.
  14. Web site: Discographie Panjabi MC. Irish Charts. search "Punjabi MC" in Artists search. October 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20110721125210/http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement. 21 July 2011. dead.
  15. Panjabi MC – Chart History: France Singles . Billboard . October 26, 2019.
  16. Web site: Italian Song Chart. October 26, 2019 . italiancharts.com.
  17. Web site: Discographie Panjabi MC. Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien. select "Charts" tab. October 26, 2019. 26 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191026225045/http://www.swisscharts.com/artist/panjabi_mc. live.
  18. Web site: Panjabi MC – Official Charts Company . OfficialCharts . October 26, 2019 . 3 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200103045013/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/261/panjabi-mc/ . live .
  19. News: MTV Europe Music Awards 2003 Winner. News.bbc.co.uk. 7 November 2003. 7 November 2003. 28 November 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221128213200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_3249000/3249431.stm. live.
  20. Web site: MOBO UK Act of the Year 2003 . Rte.ie. 26 September 2003. 2015-05-30.
  21. Web site: BRITISH ASIAN MUSIC AWARDS 2004 LAUNCHED . Redhotcurry.com . 24 August 2010 . 7 October 2004 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100210200827/http://www.redhotcurry.com/entertainment/music/brama_launch.htm . 10 February 2010 .
  22. 2003 World Music Awards Winners. .
  23. News: Brit Asia TV Music Awards 2011 "AND THE WINNERS ARE..." . 3 September 2020 . Punjab2000.com . 3 October 2011.
  24. News: Anusha . Nava . BritAsia TV Music Awards 2018 Winners . 19 August 2020 . www.desiblitz.com . 11 October 2018 . 29 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190629091815/https://www.desiblitz.com/content/britasia-tv-music-awards-2018-winners . live .