It time again for me, Rakesh to give all bhangra lovers the low down on the latest happenings in the desi scene.
We kick off this month with news of RDB's new radio show. Following in the footsteps of Panjabi Hit Squad and The Rishi Rich project, RDB have taken their urban asian fusion sound to the air waves. The Bradford boys will be doing their thing on Galaxy FM, on Sunday mornings 3am - 5am every other week, with Manga from the Shaanti collective filling the other weekly slot. The show promises to "provide you the sickest new tracks.. the hypest new white labels and the desi-ist of desi riddams." You can catch the show in the north and midlands but if you're in the south check out www.galaxyfm.co.uk for online listening.
| Sticking with the RDB camp, the new release from the crew, Danger 3 is on its way soon. It features all the usual MCs and rappers with production by the RDB boys. It's also a welcome return for Singh MC and some new faces in the form of Sniper and Ripper. The tracks are as always set to be a dance floor smash in the clubs, watch out for the first track Punjabanay with Lightin MC, it's already receiving good airplay on Club Asia and the video should be with you soon on Zee Music. The album features 12 tracks and is releasing 25th February, so check it out. |
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Panjabi Hit Squad have been busy in the studio again and this time with their biggest track Hai Hai, after the recent Part II remix comes Part III, but unlike the original and the remix this time, there's no Ms Scandalous. The garage beat and 2 step tempo has been changed for a more Hip Hop/Ragge style production and in turn so has the guest MC, taking over from the lovely Ms Scandalous is the dancehall rappers of Suncycle, adding some serious bashment flavour to the track. The boys from Southall are also set to make this one their mark on the mainstream after the video for Part II went commercial on MTV Base, Part III is set to be released under their label Def Jam UK towards the end of March or possible early April. Also PHS have been reported to be linked with label mate Ludacris, after his short skit on the recent Desi Beats mix album, talks are already underway for a collaboration with hot new Desi rapper Maximus to help out luda on the track, so keep your ears peeled for that one.
It must have seemed years ago since we first heard Shake what ya mama gave ya, the Zeus, Bally J and General Levy collaboration back in early 2003. As we reported last year the mainstream release was put on hold as the track needed a more bhangra feel, with more vocals from Bally Jagpal were needed, so back to the production studio it went and now its ready again. The updated desi version will possible also appear on B21s new album, and the single is out March 1st, so make sure you support this one again!
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Raghav's new single, Can't Get Enough is out now, it's a hot track with fantastic vocals from the Canadian born singer, which also features UK rapper Iceberg Slim. I caught up with Raghav on Sunday at a gig in Portsmouth, he said "I been getting a fantastic response to my single up and down the country and I just been busy promoting it with Iceberg". He also chatted to Irfan just over a week ago (click here to view interview). His previous track 'So Confused' has slipped down to number 10 in the UK charts having reached as high as number 6 and it stayed in the Top 10 for 5 whole weeks. This has done well to promote Asian talent in the mainstream, we can expect more from Raghav later in the year. |
Now, switching to the 2point9 camp. The Timbaland & Magoo single 'Cop That Shit' is due out on the 23rd of February. As exclusively revealed by Mentor in his interview with us (click here to view) it features his remix, which includes the now almost mandatory guest vocals of Juggy D. As he says in the interview it was only a possibility that he would be doing the remix, the reasons being is that they gave the tune to a whole host of differant Asian producers and choose what they deemed the best. So congratulations to Mentor for getting his version selected ahead of others. The mix has been getting alot of airplay on the usual radio stations.
Its been a while since I mentioned Jay Sean, but he's recorded a new track called Me Against Myself, the track is a first for a desi artist, as Jay takes a split role on the track. Jay disses himself and brings up rumours and allegations that some people in the public have been saying about him, such as his name being 'Gay Porn' and him being a sell-out to Asian music. However Jay switches and response as himself to the allegations. It's a great track produced by Mentor that has a unique structure and it shows that Jay is not afraid to take the mickey out of the man himself.
That's all the news for this month, be sure to keep it locked on desitunes4u for the biggest exclusives, and see you next month, Rakesh. |
