Panjabi MC

Panjabi MC is an English musician, rapper, recording artist, producer as well as a DJ. His real name is Rajinder Singh Rai. He is of Punjabi descent. He was born on 14th February in 1973 in Coventry in England in the United Kingdom. He is well known for Mundian To Bach Ke which released in 2002.

He touches upon various genres through his music which includes Hip-hop, Electronica, Asian underground, Bhangra, Turntablism, etc. His name Panjabi MC came to him through his Punjabi music which was widely popular. He aimed at creating a fusion of two completely different genres Punjabi and hip hop. He attempted a remix of Gharian Milan De, after which was approached by Nachural Records.

His release Mudian to Bach Ke was a hit. It was a mix of the theme of Knight Rider, a Tv series, and Bhangra. The song became famous in entire Europe and also had a video made in 2003 which featured Jay-Z, the American rapper. In the year 2004, he did a mix with a Turkish singer but did not release the mixed version of the song. The song was called Mirza. He released an album by the name, Indian Timing in the year 2008.

He used samples from Ofra Haza for it. One of his music videos called Snake Charmer received screening at the music video night of Deejay Ra at the Toronto film festival which is one of the longest-running film festivals in South Asia. He featured on television as well when he made a debut in Canada in Ontario at the Payal Banquet Hall.

The show which aired was called The Bhangrametry and Deejay Ra was the host of the show. It aired on the Asian Television Network. One of his songs Jatt Ho Giya Sharabee featured in one of the episodes of the Tv show called Heroes, in the year 2006.

Mundian To Bach Ke was heard in Queer As Folk and the blockbuster Bend It Like Beckham in the year 2002. The show Wild Boyz featured Panjabi MC’s song Yaaran Kollon Sikh Kuriye in the form of a music video. Panjabi MC made it to the list of Top of the Pops and All music also honored him with the title of One of the most known names in bhangra.

He made compilation albums like Illegal in the year 2006 with Nupur Audio and Sentello 2 in 2004 with Korean Cd. He received the award for best dance act in MTV Europe music awards in 2003, MOBO awards in 2003 and many others.