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Punjabi rap, with its explicitly violent and crude lyrics, has
invited ringing condemnationfrom established singers. But the kids
cant get enough
Jaspreet Nijher & Ruhi Batra | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA;
October 2, 2011)
The latest Punjabi hit song, Gaddi moudan ge, by Mika, poster
boy of Punjabi cool,celebrates hooliganism, while the explicit
titles of some of the latest chartbusters
Gippy Grewals Gangster and Hathiyaar, KS Makhans Badmashi, Preet
Brars Desi gun
point to a trend that packages violence as a fast moving
consumer good. In a radicaldeparture from a tradition rooted in
folk, Punjabi songs that once extolled golden mustard
fields, pretty girls and brave men, are today littered with
words like bandookan dunali
(guns), daru bootlan (liquor), and gangsta rap phrases such as
signal todah ge (wellbreak all rules) and chak laan ge (well kidnap
the girl).
High on testosterone and low on taste, such songs revel in being
youth anthems and aremeant for those who think its cool to cuss
crudely. Sociologists attribute this to the love
of notoriety and risk-taking that is embedded in the Punjabi
psyche. This region ofNorth India faced the maximum onslaught,
whether of foreign invaders or the Partition,
says Dr Archana Sachdeva, a retired sociology professor. Land
and women became a
prized possession. Hence, just like all music reflects the state
of its people, Punjabi musictoo acquired characters of violence
that eventually came to embody heroism.
Critics are quick to blame the source of this brash new sound of
Punjabi pop: Afro-
American rap. Punjabis were always greatly influenced by the
West, in this case the
influence comes from American rappers, says Satinder Satti (see
pic right), the brown-eyed Punjabi singer. Black rappers were
aggressive because of the repression they
suffered and vented their pain through rap. Since our Punjabi
youth, who are now singers,
grew up with rap and hiphop, theyve imbibed the rapping style
into their own songs.
If America has Busta Rhymes, we have Baba Sehgal. The first-ever
rap star that Indiasaw, Sehgal sees these lyrics as just another
marketing gimmick. Everyone here is trying
to outdo the other since there is so much competition, he says.
And what is the best
way to grab attention? Go abusive. Isnt that what Bollywood is
doing these days withnumbers like Bhaag DK Bose? Sehgal, whose hits
include Thanda Thanda Pani, says
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swearing makes you cool. In Punjab, the only thing that is
considered cool is a Jatt,
unfortunately. Hence, if the Jatt calls himself a rule breaker,
he becomes the trendsetter.
So you have a whole breed of singers who emulate this and
glorify this in an effort to becool. It wasnt long before the song,
Banda Maarnaby Balli Riar featuring Honey
Singh, was blaring out of car stereos on the streets of
Chandigarh and Ludhiana. The
young and charming Riar sees the lyrics as a reflection of
Punjabi society. Any Punjabiwould know that the expression Aaj
banda marne nu jee karda hai (Today I feel like
killing someone). We just picked it up and converted it into a
song. Though Riar agrees
that aggressive lyrics are a money-making trend, the music video
tends to tone downthings. Aggressive lyrics are attracting younger
audiences, says Balli, whose fans
include eight-year-olds. My track has been accepted all over the
world wherever there
are young Punjabis. While most Punjabi songs show alcohol, guns
and violence, our
video only shows a guy fighting for his girlfriend who has been
teased. The underlyingmessage is, the guy says if you tease my
girlfriend, I can even kill you.
However, the dashing Canadian Punjabi singer, Mann, is heavily
critical of this trend.
What kind of lyrics are these? They all portray the Jatt (upper
caste, landed Sikh) in anegative light since all of them are
extolling the vices of this community. Young mindsfeed on these
violent lyrics and are thus corrupted.
Singer Hans Raj Hans rues, Such lyrics talk of a world where
love is fading away, dying
away in life and poetry the light is going, giving way to
darkness. It is the misfortuneof this generation that it has to
listen to such music.
Manu Rishi Chadha, who wrote the dialogue both for Oye Lucky!
Lucky Oye and the
gritty Yeh Saali Zindagi says these lyrics lend unnecessary
toughness to what is a sweet
language. Gaaliyan do par becho mat (Abuse by all means but dont
use the words to sell
yourself). Singer Jasbir Jassi hopes that like any other fad,
this too will fade. Its likeforcing pizzas and burgers down our
throats everyday, he points out. You will grow
tired of the foreign diet after a while.
