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B.C. artists taking centre stage as Punjabi music takes off

Punjabi music taking the world by storm and its new sound is based in Canada
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Music producer Ikky photographed in Toronto, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Ikwinder Singh is too young to remember the last time Punjabi music was on the cusp of breaking into the mainstream in Canada.

The 23-year-old producer was only a baby when rapper Jay-Z joined British-Indian artist Panjabi MC on 2003’s “Beware the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke).” The track drew attention for its distinctive combination of bhangra music and a killer hip-hop bassline, inching up the music charts and offering Indian listeners hope that a new scene was emerging globally.

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