I wanted to make a video on this topic, but then I got lazy, and decided to write an article instead. Enjoy!
Recently, I got into the music of a Canadian based Indian music artist, Sidhu Moosewala. I binged through his songs in a couple of days, as well as those where he is featured on. I regret I didn’t get in his fandom earlier. But later is better than never. However, as I went far and deep into his sound, I noticed a pattern in his work, which has a very nostalgic influence.
To be clear, this is not a take-down piece. Also, this is in no way going to focus on his music. It will focus on what makes his identity as a music artist. And not just him, his producer as well as his crew, Brown Boyz. Lets dive deep.
Sidhu Moosewala has a very humble background which makes his hardwork shine even more. According to the brief research I did, he had trouble writing songs in his earlier career. He was let down by multiple writers, and one day after he got hit with yet another setback, he decided never to sing a song written by someone else. His dedication got his song, LICENCE, sung by another Indian artist Ninja. This starts an arc that would take Sidhu to mainstream. His following hit G Wagon gave him more traction, and his fame hit fever pitch after the release of SO HIGH, which was produced by Byg Byrd. This organically led to the creation of Brown Boyz.
If you have not picked up, another group in late ‘80s got their traction and eventual formation of their crew. It was a small group. Maybe you never heard of them. It was NWA. Their first hit was written by Ice Cube, rapped by a non-rapper Eazy-E, and was all about crew. If you don’t know the name of the song, feel free to click off this article.
HMMMMM......?!!!
Now, is this reach? Am I making conclusions out of thin air? Let me prove myself right.
Sidhu is heavily influenced by pop culture. In one song, OLD SKOOL, he managed to reference GTA San Andreas (Sidhu’s logo) and sample Juicy J’s signature (Yea Ho!). I have not heard a lot of people talking about these nods, and I wanted to put them in the limelight. His mashup with traditional bhangra beats with rapid high-hats, claps and deep bass indicates that he takes his style from West Coast’s rap. Want a comparison? Listen to LIFE IS GOOD by Future and notice the hi-hats and bombing bass in the background.
Nope. This is not at all a blatant Rip-Off!
Sidhu is also making his signature stick by giving it a nod in almost all his songs (Dil Da Ni Maada. Trans.: I’M NOT BAD AT HEART). This is similar to Lil Wayne (Lil Tunechi, Tunechi F Baby), 21 Savage (21,21,21….). And I think this is a good method to market yourself. You want the public to know who the songs belong to, even though you are a feature. I call it ‘Kendrick-promoting-his-album-on-Jidenna’s-song phenomenon.
Still waiting for that DAMN shoutout on Drake's track
Sidhu is inspired by 2Pac. His crew moves a certain way. This ends up into trouble for him and people around him. His 11 friends were let go after lack of evidence in an attempted murder charge. In this context, I can compare him to Dababy. Dababy also beat a murder charge on self defence claim. It is not exactly the same, but the environment around both artists is similar enough to draw comparisons. Also, Sidhu, ISSA JATT! Really! You didn’t think we wont notice?!
If only press loved him like Chance loves his Wife
On that note, Sidhu is Punjabi Dababy. He has similar flows, default lyrics which come off a little too try-hard, and both have a go-to producer for success, and shine brightly on the non-regular producer tracks (Dababy on Under the Sun, Sidhu on Dhakka).
Also, his producers should tone down the references or nods of other artists, because I want the song to be original enough to have its own identity, I don’t want to refer one of his songs through a sample.
But you have to understand, he has found a formula that works. Brash, braggadocios, rebellious and confident. Which is miles better than the regular Punjabi artists’ image of ‘Im a gangta who will rob my girl’.
This is a very abridged review on the Sidhu’s discography. He may have a mileage in his career, and I do hope so too. but his repetitiveness on the tracks slogs his tracks. He needs to tone down that part of his artistry. Whereas his confidence oozes and overflows, which is like honey and cream for my ears amongst the singy-songy singers. Songs like LEGEND, SO HIGH and DHAKKA proves the guy has charisma. The man can write a diss track in WARNING SHOTS. And peak Sidhu is EAST SIDE FLOW.
And with that, I look forward to his next project and singles. Fuck off. follow me on twitter @opinionhooman
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