As much as many young listeners might not even know about this, Punjabi rap and hip-hop is one of the oldest Indian indie stories. This is not something that got popular just a couple years ago. Of course, it’s gone viral a lot more with well-priced mobile data plans, but let’s not forget that there was a time when, for example, Bombay Rockers was a thing. A time of Limewire and television; you’d have to work really hard to find an mp3 file of a great track with your parents’ slow internet. A decade where Snoop Dogg featured in a movie where Akshay Kumar played a character called ‘Happy Singh’ (yes, that’s real). In the last decade, rap of the Punjabi persuasion has lent itself so very well to the stylings of the bling-hop movement of the American 90s. tricksingh brings back this vibe but for the modern era. It’s great.

Tirath Sandhu (aka tricksingh) is only 23 but seems to understand what makes his brand of hip-hop so much fun, and he uses it to great effect on this tune, his second single. The production is what really carries this song. There’s a big ol’ boom-bap beat with a bunch of horns (which, of course, keeps up with the overall theme of things). This comes from Sedivi, and he deserves a shout-out. Tirath himself has a pretty upfront delivery; he stays right at the top of the mix and commands attention, which is very much a sign of the times; in today’s age of short attention spans, his clear and often entertaining delivery does a good job (and there’s a hook with a line that doesn’t deserve to be spoiled). There isn’t anything experimental his lyricism and his attitude because they fall very much into a blueprint that works. But his musical choices deserve a listen, and the numbers this song will do from your Bluetooth speaker will speak for themselves.