Asian underground is a term associated with various British Asian and South Asian Canadian musicians who blend elements of Western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of their home countries in South Asia. The sound has roots in the South Asian Diaspora, and many notable musicians within the genre are immigrants or children of immigrants. The first well-known mention was the compilation album Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground released in 1997 and masterminded by Talvin Singh and Sweety Kapoor. It is not a strict musical genre per se, since the specific sounds can vary wildly.
Rishpal Singh Rekhi, better known by his stage name Rishi Rich, is a British-Indian music producer based in London. He began his career in the Asian Underground scene and later became internationally known for his bhangra tracks, his Hindi remixes, and as a pioneer of Asian-R&B fusion music.
Bikram Singh is an American bhangra music artist. A graduate of Touro Law School, he also works as an attorney in New York City.
Muhammad Mumith Ahmed, known professionally as Mumzy Stranger or his producing name SP, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He made his mainstream recording debut in the summer of 2009 with his debut single "One More Dance" along with follow-up single, "Showgirl". The following year, he released Fly with Me which is the lead single from his debut album, Journey Begins.
Hartinder Dhami better known as H-Dhami is a British-Indian Bhangra artist.
The UK Asian Music Awards, also known by the abbreviation UK AMA, was an awards show that was held annually in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2012. The awards show has been produced and broadcast by B4U Music since 2008. Awards winners were decided by public voting at a website, from a list of nominees presented by the event organizers, except for the special category awards "Outstanding Achievement" and "Commitment to Scene" which are decided by the organizers. Desimag called the event "The most prestigious Asian music awards ceremony in the UK".
The Cardiff Mela is an annual large-scale outdoor multicultural festival, held in the city's Roald Dahl Plass, in Cardiff Bay. It is a free event and run by a not for profit organisation based in Cardiff. It celebrates many cultural aspects of Asian life, particularly music, dance, fashion and food. The annual event first took place on an outdoor location in 2007 at Coopers Field, Cardiff Castle in the heart of Cardiff City Centre. The 2009 festival featured bhangra, Bollywood and rnb singers including H Dhami, Mumzy Stranger and Navin Kundra amongst others. The 2010 event attracted over 30,000 visitors and featured a performance from Bombay Rockers.
Jaswinder Singh Dhami, better known as Jaz Dhami, is a British-Indian playback singer, music composer, music producer, and performer.
"Ghaint Patola" is a song by the bhangra-rap group Offlicence produced by a new up and coming Asian producer named J-Ice. The single was released on iTunes on April 21, 2011. The song debuted at #2 on the Official Top 40 Asian Download Chart on May 7, 2011.
Arjun Kumaraswamy is a Sri Lankan-British singer and actor. He was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and raised in London. He sings in English, Tamil, Sinhalese, Hindi, Punjabi, and Spanish.
Baljit Singh Padam, better known by his stage name Dr. Zeus, is a Punjabi music composer, singer and music producer. He rose to fame in 2003 with his song "Kangna", which was voted the best song on BBC Asian Network in the same year. His other hits are "Don't Be Shy" and "Jugni Ji", which won the best single award in 2012. He has worked with singer Kanika Kapoor for the song "Jugni Ji" and with musician Jaz Dhami for the song "Zulfa". His song "Aag Ka Dariya" features on the Four Lions film soundtrack. A music video was also produced featuring Czech model Yana Gupta and singers Ravindra & DJ Shortie.
Harmanjit "Mickey" Singh is an Indian-American singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, model and actor. He gained widespread popularity through his first mixtape of Punjabi and English music, Mick's Tape. It was released for free download on July 22, 2013 and included the tracks Bad Girl, In Love and Rani Mehlan Di. His music combines American and Punjabi music, and epitomizes the Urban Desi genre; it has also been influenced by jazz.
Fateh Singh, better known by his stage name Fateh Doe or mononym Fateh, is a Toronto-based Indo-Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. His music career gained traction in 2012 when he began to work with Dr Zeus.
PBN or Punjabi By Nature is a UK-based Indian music producer, singer and songwriter, specialising in bhangra and Asian fusion productions, working with a great number of Desi music artists mainly based in the UK, beginning with the early 2000s. He is signed to Limitless Records and Playback Records. He has also formed TeamPBN as a collaborative project with Bambi, Raj Bains and Serena. Throughout his career, he has become well-known not only in his native UK, but in India, Europe, the Middle East, United States and Canada, Australia and, in general, the Asian music market. His productions are used extensively in night venues, DJ events and on BBC Asian Network and its weekly chart.
Raxstar is a British rapper and singer from Luton. Raxstar came into popularity after the release of "Keep It Undercover" in 2005. Following up with tracks like "Jaaneman", "Ego", "Poison" and "Balwant", he gained more mainstream attention, and has become one of the most popular artists in Desi hip hop.
Neal Chatha, known by his stage name The PropheC, is an Indo-Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, Forever, was released in 2011, and contained one of his first hit single "Sohni". Since then, he has released five more studio albums: Futureproof (2014), The Lifestyle (2016), The Season (2019), Solace (2021), Midnight Paradise(2023) and a mixtape titled The Dream Room (2013). Chatha is the founder of his own record label PropheC Productions.
Amar Sandhu is an American born Punjabi and Hindi singer, songwriter, music composer and producer. He is best known for his unique Punjabi/English fusion sound and his 2015 Album "New Era", featuring hits such as "Rooftop Party", "Double Addi", and "Replaceable".
Bups Saggu is a British Bhangra DJ, music producer and singer based in Wolverhampton, England.
The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010, usually in October. The awards show is produced by Brit Asia TV. Award winners are decided by public voting on a website from a list of nominees presented by the event organizers at a nomination party. Website desiblitz called it "UK's largest celebration of South Asian music" and "the biggest awards in the British Asian Music calendar".
