Watching the following video (from the Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar), it occurred to me that Hard Kaur is in some ways the British/Desi equivalent of Missy Elliott:
Like Missy, Hard Kaur depends a lot on the producers she’s worked with. In this case, the song wouldn’t be much at all without the ideas and beat from the legendary Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. In Missy’s case, of course, the wizard behind all of her big hits has been Timbaland. Admittedly, neither Missy nor Hard Kaur could be called serious “auteurs” — but then, they’re not trying to be Radiohead, they’re trying to make money.
Like Missy, Hard Kaur has become a success based on her talent and street swagger, not so much her looks. (Though I really don’t want to get into a “hot or not” discussion of looks if it can be avoided; my point is, there are plenty of pretty pop princesses out there whose careers have gone nowhere, while Hard Kaur is crossing over into Bollywood like a bullet.) Just like Missy, there’s something about Hard Kaur’s rapping that has nothing to do with clever production tricks or computer software; there’s a realness and hip hop confidence (i.e., “hardness”) there that can only come from the street. Finally, both Missy and Hard Kaur have a particular fondness for a) “songs that make you dance,” and b) songs about intoxication (alcohol or drugs).
I’m not saying that Hard Kaur is ever going to make as much money as Missy Elliott, but I don’t think she quite gets the props she deserves for her originality. Is it because she’s too ‘beisharam’ (shameless)? Are people threatened by this Punjabi Kuri who writes songs about getting drunk, and her need for “Sexy Boys” (who should be, as she says, “thora sa lafanga/I need a gangster”)?
In effect, what I’m saying is that I, for one, am a fan of Ms. Hard Kaur — though I concede I may be the only one here. (I also still like Missy, though in my view she hasn’t done anything inspired in awhile.)
Get your Sikh on…
Sorry!
Zen, someone should email Hard Kaur that exact song title & suggest a “white label” cover/remix… 😉
Well, you’ve got at least one more. But it is possible that might be it. 😉
An article about the life of Hard Kaur, i.e. Taran Kaur Dhillon – http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?id=336&cat=4
Totally loving the song. =)
Sonia, thanks for the link to the Sikhchic.com article — I had actually been looking for stuff about her upbringing, but couldn’t find much elsewhere on the web. Looks like she and her mother have been through hell, and come out swinging.
The comments on that article are also interesting — maybe all the people (well, men) offended by Hard Kaur need to also look a bit more closely at the lyrics of masculine Bhangra songs…
I was almost willing to go along with this analogy, until I listened to the song. Sure, Missy depends on great production, but please respect Missy’s lyricism, too. There wasn’t much of that in Hard Kaur’s youtube clip linked, alas. Catchy and danceable, but the flow was kinda weak, no?
FYI. Missy has produced for Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, TLC and Da Brat and runs her own music label. I wouldn’t necessary call her as a muse of Timberland, but I don’t think many would deny that their collaborations are her best work. I also think it’s interesting that she didn’t work with him on the Cookbook and stopped working with Hype for some of her videos.
Great woman is Hard Kaur. I have to say, before I talk about Ms Kaur, that I’m not really a fan of her music, and I don’t like rap generally, but generally speaking she is inspirational. She was born in Uttar Pradesh and in November 1984 her family was attacked by a mob of Hindus after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Her father was lynched. She managed to escape along with her mother and brother. One of the earliest tracks she released was called ‘1984 Chnged My Life’. Eventually her mum married a guy from England and they moved there, and faced many hardships, including the aftermath of her step-father being a bastard and her mother getting divorced. She gre up in a tough part of inner-city Birmingham, and she has a spirit of enjoying life in the face of all that it throws at her. She’s tough and doesn’t become down hearted in any way. She’s no M.I.A in terms of her music, but I’m sure she will develop artistically. Most of all, for having gone through all the shit she’s been through in her life, she’s an inspiration.
Right on with the comments about the sikhchic article, Amardeep. Reading those comments made me feel like a teenage girl again, who got ticked off by comments uncles made in gurdawara.
Buster, fair enough — it’s not her best lyrical outing, though it’s probably her best beat. You’re right that Missy is more adventurous, but I like the way Hard Kaur seamlessly blends her Punjabi and English. I’m going to download her new album “Supawoman” from Amazon.com (they have it in MP3 form), and see whether it holds up my theory or not.
And Sona, thanks for reminding me of that. You’re right.
i think the comments on the article don’t stem too much (maybe a little) from masculine insecurity, but more from nervousness that she might be broadcast in mainstream media as a voice of sikh women, especially given her use of the word kaur in her artist name, while her lyrics and videos are very far from sikh thought/practice. she seems to conflate her celebration of punjabi-ness with her use of a strictly sikh identity (kaur) in her artist persona… which is her choice of course, however it does make those who hold the name kaur to a high ideal feel that it is being cheapened and misused.
yes, men who use the name singh also do such things in their equally lewd/lecherous/alcohol-celebrating/whatever lyrics and videos, but they don’t use a sikh name as the primary means to sell their artist persona.
i’m a kaur, and when i first heard of her i was bothered. but i read about her early life and while i still don’t think she should be using the name kaur in her artist profile, as her art reflects absolutely nothing to do with being a kaur, i now think she’s had a hard life… and is confused… and well i wish her success in her work but ultimately it sounds like she’s hurting. wish her a broader happiness than that.
but ya, i’d say she’d pass as a punjabi missy eliott…
Is it me or she looks a lot like Soha Ali Khan from Hindi movies??
watevz
There are loads of Sikh singers and musicians who use the name Singh, and they sing songs about drinking, shagging, fighting, being lafangas, caste-pride, and so on. Why don’t people complain about that?
I have always been a little confused about why there is so little rap/hip-hop in India. In this day and age, it seems that just about every language with a musical tradition behind it has some sort of rap scene…and its usually pretty good. African, Israeli, Chinese, Poland. Everyone. But India seems way behind on this account.
Sure, there are filmi songs that are, or could be, great rap songs, proving that there is interest. Like some of the songs from the Apna Sapna Money Money soundtrack. They had good beats. They even had good choruses (sari poonji paisa). But they are still seriously lacking, and I suspect that in a way its got to do with the hang-up on English. Even the most ambitious rap songs (at least that I have heard/direct me to the good stuff if I am wrong) have at least half of their lyrics in English, and its really holding the songs back. There’s less flow, it feels forced (where’d the contractions go, yo??), and the rhymes and word play are abysmal! I am convinced that if they just accepted that you can rap in the vernacular like the rest of the world has, they’d have great lyrics and flowing to go with the beats. To prove my point, I leave you, a little unfairly, with Shah Rukh Khan’s “rap”:
Listen Up Girl When U Feel This Way Don’t U See The Sunshine Coming Out Today You Got To Feel It Right Just Like Day After Night Dont Let The Sunshine Out Of Your Sight Cause I Can Feel You Can You Feel It When I Say That I Can Feel You Here Can U Feel Me When I Say That I Am Crazy About You
Can’t check this out till I get home. But Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy legendary? Now if you’d said that about Radiohead…
But Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy legendary? Now if you’d said that about Radiohead…
I say ‘legendary’ as a former DJ — the folks responsible for “Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe” and “It’s the Time to Disco” are definitely legendary in my view. Those songs always get people in the mood to dance…
(They have, admittedly, done lots of crap soundtracks too. This is one of the better ones they’ve done in the past couple of years.)
Look, my family’s been Sikh since the beginning of time- we can trace it back to the Raj. I’m not a huge fan of Hard Kaur’s music; I just don’t think she’s that talented. But why the hate? Its not against Sikhi to be sexy! I want everyone who is taking this holier-than-thou attitude about her to quote, chapter and verse, from the Guru Granth Sahib showing how she is betraying your so-called Sikhism. Next thing you know, you’ll be wanting her to wear a chador.
Daniel – rap/hip hop in Hindi film soundtracks has improved a LOT since Kal Ho Na Ho was released over four years ago. There’s still no ‘Timbaland’ of Bollywood, but check out the tracks “Pyar Karke” from Pyar Ke Side Effects and most recently the title track to Bhool Bhulaiyya … you’ll notice a quantum leap – this is music you can actually dance to 🙂
Bringing people like Hard Kaur into the scene will also make this happen I think in a more ‘authentic’ way than the contrived rap in Pretty Woman. It’s good for the established music directors to branch out, but everyone has their ‘sound’..does anyone besides me think this sounds like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom in parts?
In recent years, the industry has seemed pretty open to collaboration, and artists from outside Mumbai have been welcomed in – Trickbaby, Bombay Vikings, Pakistani rock bands, Rishi Rich… even James, a Bangladeshi singer, is now a pretty standard fixture for Bollywood playback singing now. I think the diversity is good for the industry, and keeps it real, so to speak, instead of just having one of five music directors or teams “write us a rap song.”
So Hard Kaur – go get em 🙂
I like a couple of Hard Kaur’s songs – others not so much. But I guess it’s because I’ve never really been a fan of hip hop, especially not when its mixed with Punjabi music/bhangra. And I was surprised to find out she immigrated to America as a child, for some reason I assumed she must have been a 3rd or at least 2nd generation British Indian. Anyways, congrats to Hard Kaur for whats shes accomplished so far.
For anyone whos interested, heres a Hard Kaur interview on the BBC Asian Network’s Hype Show (pretty recent). She talks about starting out in the industry, her mom, and her new album.
Amardeep – fair enough. I was coming from the POV that they are a little new to be legendary along the lines of the greats from the 60s/70s.
Now that is a song I totally dig. I don’t usually have an updated desi music collection – most of mine is oldies – and was pleasantly surprised to hear this between a series of the usual filmi music at a Mumbai club. Been in love with this song since…
while generally not crazy about Hard Kaur’s songs, she’s definitely doing things and doing ’em with personality.
God this is a terrible song, though.
Credit to her for ‘glassy,’ though. I thought it was atrocious when i first heard it… but then it got stuck in my head for pretty much a full year. Rekha putting it on the album did NOT help this fact.
FWIW alot of her earlier success comes from working w/ Harry Sona and the rest of the Sona Family. They’ve now got a new ingenue, Kazz Kumar. Girl can sing! And has way more day-glo green armwarmers than really anyone should but hey– can’t hate on armwarmers.
Like everything else, i think India will take it’s own time in picking up on hip hop. Rock and metal are finally creeping out of campuses and into the semi-mainstream, and they still dominate the Indian underground scene. bands with names like bhayank maut which might frighten some but hey.. those guys are good and original. btw for a nice bhangra hip hop track with a texan twist dl this http://www.zshare.net/audio/910792938ca2/
Andrea and the trickman:
Oh, I definitely agree with you that the state of hip-hop is far beyond Kal Ho Na Ho. That was unfair of me, but the point I wanted to make is that the beats are in a great place, but AFAIK, Hip-hop is just as much about the flows and the lyrics as they are about the music in the background. And on that account, I think that the music scene is really selling itself short. The artists you mention are good, and the lyrics of Pakistani rock bands are generally of a high quality. Perhaps its because bollywood-produced hiphop is obviously a more top-down approach, its not cultivated at the grass roots.
Bhayanak Maut? Sounds awesome. Do you know where I can hear their stuff? Thanks for the link; not too bad.
First, not to be harsh Amardeep, but Missy Elliot is a far more dynamic and interesting lyricist and musician — at this point in time — than Hard Kaur.
That said I like the sista, even if I don’t always like her music. I understand the concerns over representations of Sikh voices, blah blah blah blah, etc. In many ways she’s a trailblazer, first for being a Punjabi female artist in a sea of men, second for being an MC (also a gender angle there), and third for bringing a new and fresh voice into diasporic hip hop / rap. While I’m not always enthused by her lyrics (generally because I don’t find “Ek glassy, do glassy, teen glassy, chaar!” to be particularly interesting), I do like that she presents a very strong and self-empowered/defined vision of herself and of being a woman, more broadly. I find the commentary on the SikhChic article really saddening, but not surprising. I’m sure this isn’t the place, but I do think there’s a LOT of validity in the misogyny arguments.
And while I hate-to-love and love-to-hate the song “Party in Bombay,” (I think by Mentor Kolektiv?) I do love when she starts her section with, “Kiddahn, man!”
I be the 1st to admit that I’m out of the loop when it comes to punjabi culture. But it seems to me that everybody that is punjabi who goes into music in the west is either doing hip-hop or bhangra or a mix of both. Is there anybody doing something different.
Will there ever be a punjabi Thom Yorke, Jack White, or Chris Cornell or female punabi Tori Amos or Fionna Apple?
I don’t know how I feel about her music yet. I think she still has to grow on me. But some of her other tunes are def. catchy. I can see where the parallel to Missy comes from, but I think it’s only because Hard Kaur’s the only one of any fame who could be compared. But I think Missy def. takes it with the flow and with the dance moves. Just because Missy’s not Ciara, don’t sleep on her – Missy can dance something ill.
I do think that a couple of Hard Kaur’s track might enter my “getting ready for the club” playlist, though. 🙂
I think I’m also biased because I have issues with British Punjabis rapping.
i think there was a canuck kuri (__ Ahluwalia) doing traditional folk – I would put her down as a balladeer.
then, I’m still trying to figure this out if the wailin’ jennies has a desi quotient. anyone in the know.
among non punjoos – autorickshaw has done good and i dont quite know how to characterize them
Lal (also from TO) is also of not
there is much going on in TO at least but desiness is an artifact of the parents – so why stick to it.
come to think of it bif naked is Also desi! really 😉 – a certified rocker chica – think rough trade – and she’s got pipes that’d burn paint off the walls.
also look up dya singh from australia.
I wonder if Hard Kaur will ever collaborate with Missy and/or M.I.A?
Just another echo of Sona’s point that an artist who works with a producer is not any less of an artist. Missy was just open about real collaboration she did – which, you could argue, actually requires a stronger artistic vision. All artists work with producers of course, and Missy in particular was/is an incredibly original and thrilling artist. All you have to do is look at how boring and terrible Timbaland’s solo album was to realize how important his collaborating artists’ visions were. This was one of M.I.A. main beefs, too – how so many people attributed (the mutineers being a shining exception) her success to her producer, Diplo. Partly sexism in the industry, partly ignorance of how music is made. gets off soap box
I know Hard Kaur a little and did the offline edit for one of her upcoming videos (not one of the high-budget Bolly ones) 🙂 (cringes in fear at future comments/criticism). I have some other videos of her on YouTube and I’m always really shocked by the comments people try and leave (I have to approve them first). Like, really really horrible disgusting frightening anti-female things, usually left by (seemingly) Sikh guys. Seriously, if people don’t like an artist, why all the extra effort at the hate? I don’t really like her music, but I find her intriguing as a person. Hell, her mom cooked parathas for me — if her mom (who had a really rough life as a single working parent after being widowed and in an abusive 2nd marriage) doesn’t have a problem with what she does, I feel like her community could maybe chill out a bit on the moral judgement and just either like the music or not on its own merit.
editrix the problem is that most punjabi men can’t handle a strong independent punjabi women.
It’s pretty obvious to me that Hard Kaur is a government agent set up to discredit Sikhs, Sikhi, and to lead the youth astray. (/sarcasm)
I think her rhymes are weak like in most commercial hip-pop, but the beats are alright and it’s still cool to see an independent sex-positive desi goddess blowin up. The harmonium in that beat is a nice touch.
That said, I, myself, stopped using the name “Singh” when I stopped believing in Sikhi. I’ve always thought “Hard Kaur” was a dope name, so I can understand why she’d want to keep it, but I understand people’s beef with her name, too. I guess I really bought into all those lectures when elders told me, “You represent all Sikhs when you wear your turban/call yourself Singh.” I didn’t want to represent all Sikhs or bring shame upon them, so I just ditched the accoutrement along with their morality and now I’ve got no guilt. It still irks me to see a man in a turban smoke a cigarette–I’m like, “Be an adult and pick a side, man, you can’t have it both ways.” On the other hand, I don’t really care when I see anybody–male or female–drinking booze while sporting Sikh vestments, so I do acknowledge my inconsistency. I should probably just stop judging anybody, but judging people is like my favorite timepass.
Be yo’self, free yo’self. Happy Halloween, kids.
Oh wow, sepiamutiny features someone besides MIA…!
maybe “Hard Kaur” should hook up with “Flex Singh”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlj1MWvwpDA
Kiran.
I think her MC name rocks, and I like her raspy voice… most Indian female singers I’ve heard hit these syrupy high notes that I can only take so much of. She’s pretty young and has a ways to go, her lyrics may well mature when she has more to say. But looking at the comments left on her youtube videos shows that it is apparently still radical for desi female MCs to make music about something other than everlasting love ( whether it be of a good man or the motherland). Glassy is my party jam!
And yes, nice to see someone besides M.I.A featured on Sepia Mutiny. Thanks for the tip!
had kaurz buff ting, all her songz r goooooooooooooooooooooooood luv her and her music xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
shes iyt
i wana say im trying 2 do hip hop dancing and im following my dream and hard kaur is my idol bless zara
Hard Kaur’s music is the next generation of Indian music. Long live HK
i love hard kuar she is the best best best best PUNJABI singer
A LIL RAP FOR THE RAPPER
SABKO DEKHA PUNJABI KUDIYE HUM BE KISSSE KUM NAHI HAI
HARD KAUR ZINDA BAD HARD KAUR ZINDA BAD HARD KAUR ZINDA BAD HARD KAUR ZINDA BAD HARD KAUR ZINDA BAD
HOOOOO WIV MEE!!!!!!!!!!!
“She seems to conflate her celebration of punjabi-ness with her use of a strictly sikh identity (kaur) in her artist persona… which is her choice of course, however it does make those who hold the name kaur to a high ideal feel that it is being cheapened and misused.”
She was named Taran Kaur Dhillon at birth. She has every right to use the name Kaur in her stage name since it’s her own name, no matter how undevout a Sikh she is.
It’s like the way Madonna was named Madonna Louise Ciccone at birth. She has every right to use the name Madonna as her stage name since it’s her own name, no matter how undevout a Catholic she is.
I would suggest she get rhinoplasty, her nose is too big!