The death of a renowned musician who rose to fame in Brampton, Ontario has shocked Punjabi communities around the world.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known by his stage name Sidhu Moose Wala, was shot dead in Punjab on Sunday, Indian state police confirmed. He was 28 years old.
Moose Wala’s impact on Punjabi music, culture and the wider community, in Brampton and beyond, is an underdog success story, many say.
“Brampton is where he found his success,” said journalist Jaskaran Sandhu.
Sandhu, who co-founded and runs Baaz News, a outlet focused on the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora, says Moose Wala’s story is international. But in Brampton, it’s a story many can relate to.
‘A very unique voice’
Moose Wala came to the city, just northwest of Toronto, in 2016 to study, as have many other Punjabis.
“This is very Brampton. You came here as an international student, you found your voice, your team, and he fulfills a long dream of becoming a popular and famous Punjabi singer,” Sandhu said.
Brampton’s Punjabi music scene is huge and growing, he says, with millions of songs played around the globe. Moose Wala’s uniqueness, says Sandhu, stemmed from his ability to blend classical Punjabi musical traditions with modern rap and hip hop.
But what also set Moose Wala apart from the rest were his lyrics.
“That only happened because of the type of ecosystem that exists locally,” Sandhu said.
It would address various social issues facing the Punjabi community, including a song about the widespread protests by farmers in India.
“It was a unique voice, and the kind of outpouring and love and condolences that you’re seeing is a result of that,” Sandhu said. “I think it represented a lot of internal dialogue and struggles within the community.”
Moose Wala’s background in Brampton helped him connect not only with those born and raised in the city, but also with those who came as immigrants or students.
Sandhu says he has heard stories of people taking a day off from work or school to mourn Moose Wala’s death, something he says is reminiscent of when Tupac Shakur was assassinated in 1996.
Roots in Punjab
But Canadians who have never heard of him may not recognize the significance of his death. Sandhu says that the Punjabi community in Canada is most likely to be Sikh, and it is a transnational community connecting Canada, the US, UK and India, and many more countries where Punjabi Sikhs have settled.
“You cannot disconnect us from what is happening in Punjab and South Asia,” Sandhu said.
That’s part of why Moose Wala’s music resonated with so many.
“We listen to [Punjabi] we listen to music more than we listen to music in English,” he said. “Even if you were born and raised here, even if Punjabi has become your second language, you still listen to it more.”
Moose Wala has “left a huge impact on the community, widespread throughout the world”. says Rupen Bhardwaj, a Brampton-based music video director.
Bhardwaj directed many of Moose Wala’s successful videos, including Legend Y b-city, a song dedicated to Brampton. In all, he and his brother shot six music videos for the acclaimed rapper, some of them in Brampton.
When Bhardwaj learned of Moose Wala’s death, he could only think of one of his lyrics “te parallel chalda aan death de” (Parallel Path to Death).
“Sidhu’s impact on Brampton extends throughout the city,” said Bhardwaj.
“Many people never thought of being an artist, but they see a success story of another college student from India who came here to have a life in Canada and made it this far to such acclaim,” he said.
“It’s the simple case of an underdog story,” he added.
Deepinder Singh, an international student now living in Brampton, said he couldn’t get over the shock of hearing the news.
“It’s just like us,” Singh said. “He came here as an international student, he fought, he composed his music, but now he is not with us.”
“May God bless his soul.”
Reference-www.cbc.ca