"EVERY DAY IS a winding road," sang American songwriter and singer Sheryl Crow. Her hit number is an anthem of daily struggles. But, in Punjab, this could easily apply for stardom. All roads to celebrity fame in the state these days lead through Canada. And it is paved in Brampton, the Punjabi hub in Ontario. As Sidhu Moose Wala, the poster boy of the fame that comes from Canada, sang in his hit song "B-Town", "...this is Brampton! Where everything & anything can happen!"
Moose Wala arrived in Canada as Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, and in a short career that lasted five years-ending with his murder in 2022went from rapper to politician. He had an engineering degree and had enrolled in a college in Ontario in 2016. By 2017, he burst on to the Punjabi global music-scene with "So High", winning the best lyricist award at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards to become Sidhu Moose Wala. The rapper became an icon after his death. His tragedy mimicked the story of guns and violence that dominated his lyrics.
"There are many factors," says filmmaker Daljit Ami about the popularity of Punjabi artistes in Canada. "There is state support for culture. Canada is a multicultural space. There are grants for culture and language, creating an environment for diverse cultural expressions to find their space on television and radio."
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