Member Since: 4/14/2008
Band Website: pmcrecords.com
Sounds Like:P started in the music industry in 93.He began by writing lyrics and rapping at uni gigs.This is when people around him started calling him the Indian MC.P explained to them that there was no such language as Indian and in actual fact, the non English words that he would use in his raps were in Panjabi. The name Panjabi MC was born.P put together a demo tape in 93 and tried to find the best way possible for his name to become known.P invested his money into equipment and began producing his own beats to rap on,from this P advanced further and began re producing old classic desi songs and created something new and vibrant for the fans he was gaining.PMC took inspirations from people such as James Brown, KRS1, Dr Dre and Bob Marley, which were his influences from the western world and from his own cultural background he was influenced by Kuldip Manak, Surinder Shinda and Chamkila who are some of Indians greatest legends.There were very few Asian rappers at that time and it was PMC who took traditional Panjabi music and merged it with hip hop and R&B records.A new sound for bhangra was born and the PMC brand began to spread to countries all over the world.PMC has released 10 albums via independent bhangra labels from the UK.These albums were sold through outlets which were based around the Asian communities.Even thoughthese albums seldom found their way into mainstream shops, they turned out to be bestsellers in his own community.It was in 1999 when PMC began to experience that the western world people other thanthat of Asian or Indian backgrounds were actually listening to his music.Tim Westwood, a hip hop DJ from Radio 1 UK began to play one of PMC’s tracks, Mundian To Bach Ke.From this point onwards more and more mainstream DJ’s and radio stations began to pick up on Panjabi MC’s style of Music.In 2002 mainstream record companies all over the world released Mundian To Bach Ke as a single and followed up with an album which was put together from all of Panjabi MC’s previous work released via the independent bhangra labels.Following on from the release PMC travelled across the globe DJing in clubs, on festival stages and for TV audiences.P’s music was now being listened to by people of all colours, cultures and races all over the world.The sound of bhangra had finally crossed over to the mainstream.Panjabi MC was one of the first Asian artists to take bhangra to the next level, thus gaining him an award at the World Music Festival in Monte Carlo.The success of Mundian To Bach Ke was taken to another level when JayZ one of the biggest rappers from America featured on the record and rapped two verses.This led to a white label craze and artists such as BabySham, Twista and Beanie Man all wanted to be a part of the bhangra sound.In the last two years PMC has picked up numerous awards winning Best Dance Act at MTV Europe, UK Act of the Year at the Mobo’s and Best Dance Track in Germany, Italy and Switzerland.The record charted Top Ten in most countries around the world reaching the number one spot in Italy.Having almost played to audiences in every country in the world PMC is eager to gather all the influences he has picked up along the way and start to produce his next album.
Record Label: PMC Records
Type of Label: Major