THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

966-Panjabi MC-Mundian To Bach Ke.

1998-It reached Number 5 in the UK, when issued in 2002. In 2003 the song was remixed, with added vocals from Jay-Z, making Number 25.

Best Bit-At 0.36. The song conjures up exotic thoughts of the Punjab, and all of those wonderful things that are tinged in mystery, that you can discover there. It’s not until you find out that the Panjabi MC was born in Coventry, and that he recorded the song in Birmingham, that you come back down to earth with a hefty bump.

The Panjabi MC, was born Rajinder Singh Rai, on February 14th, 1973, in Coventry, England, he adopted his stage name from the Punjabi language. He has found success with his fusing of ‘Bhangra,’ and ‘Hip-Hop’ music, with this song being a prime example. The discography of the Panjabi MC includes 16 studio Albums released between 1993-2019, and 10 singles issued between 1995-2010. In the UK, three of his singles have reached the top 40, apart from the two versions of ‘Mundian To Bach Ke,’ his 2003 song ‘Jogi,’ made Number 25. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, only the Jay-Z (see also best songs 636-477 and 23) remix of ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ has charted, when peaking at Number 33, in 2003.

Bhangra music is a type of non traditional music that originated in the Majah area of Punjab, which is in the Northern part of the Indian subcontinent, in South Asia. The genre of Bhangra has it’s origins in the Folk Music of Punjab, as well as in Western Pop Music of the 1970’s, and 1980’s. One the most famous Bhangra instruments is the ‘dhol,’ which is a double-sided barrel drum that creates the beat to which Bhangra is danced, the person who plays the instrument, the ‘dholi,’ plays various beats to create the different Bhangra segments. In the UK in the 1970’s ‘Bhangra’ became popular with young British Asians who were searching for their own identity, they fused Bhangra with ‘Rock Music’ creating a new genre of Bhangra. By the 1980’s the British Asian band ‘Alaap’ were considered the first and original superstar Bhangra band to be formed in the UK. Channi Singh who was one of the bands co-founders, was awarded the OBE by the Queen in 2012 for his services to Bhangra music, and also for services to charity for the British Asian community.

‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ has four songwriting credits, the Panjabi MC, Labh Janjua, (1957-2015) Glen Larson, (1937-2014) and Stu Philips, with the production being by the Punjabi MC. Labh Janjua who also provided the vocals on the track, would go on to achieve further success singing in ‘Bollywood’ films, he was found dead at his residence in Bangur Nagar, Goregaon, Mumbai, on 22 October 2015. The Panjabi MC sampled the bass-line for ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ from the 1998 UK Number 2 single ”Turn It Up (Remix)/Fire It Up,’ by Busta Rhymes, (see also best songs 675 and 210) which in turn had itself sampled the theme to the 1980’s television series ‘Knight Rider,’ which is acknowledged by that songs writers Stu Philips, and Glen Larson also receiving the song writing credits.

‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ was the only single released from the Panjabi MC’s sixth studio Album ”Legalised/Beware,’ from 1998. The song warns a very attractive young girl to not have her head turned by all the boys who will chase after her, she is reminded that she only has one life, so don’t mess things up. In 2003 after hearing the song, the American Rapper Jay-Z sent a couple of verses he had recorded to the Panjabi MC, who remixed it into the original mix, which was then released to great success worldwide, under the title of ‘Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke.’) With an estimated 10 million copies sold ‘Mundian To Bach Ke’ is at the time of writing the 38th best selling single of all time. In the UK, it was also acknowledged as the very first ‘Bhangra’ song to reach the top 10 singles chart.

‘Nimya tu kuch der pa ke rakh le, pale vitch mukhra luiska ke rai.’