Punjabi-language rapper and music producer Sidhu Moose Wala has been shot lifeless in India, in keeping with officers. He was 28.
Moose Wala was born in Moosa, a village within the Mansa district of Punjab, India, in 1993. He moved to Brampton, Ont., after receiving {an electrical} engineering diploma in India, in 2016.
He was well-known worldwide, particularly within the Punjabi diaspora, for his charged rap performances and slick music movies.
Police say Moose Wala had left his residence at about 4:30 p.m. native time on Sunday, driving in a jeep car together with two different folks.
At about 5:30 p.m., police say the occupants of three autos — one behind Moose Wala’s car and two alongside — fired into the car after they had been within the Jawaharke village, inside Mansa district.
I’m Shocked and Deeply saddened by the grotesque homicide of Siddhu Moosewala. No one concerned will likely be spared. My ideas and prayers are along with his household and his followers internationally. I enchantment everybody to remain calm.
Moose Wala suffered accidents and was declared lifeless after he was delivered to hospital, police say, including it was doubtless the slaying was the results of an “inter-gang rivalry.”
The rapper, who additionally had an appearing profession, had joined the Indian Nationwide Congress occasion final yr.
He had contested the Punjab state elections in 2022, dropping to Dr. Vijay Singla of the Aam Aadmi Celebration, which is the ruling occasion within the state of Punjab and in Delhi.
Punjab State Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann tweeted his condolences to Moose Wala, with a press release from the Congress occasion saying that his dying “has come as a horrible shock to the Congress occasion & your entire nation.”
The homicide of Shri Sidhu Moose Wala, Congress candidate from Punjab & a proficient musician, has come as a horrible shock to the Congress occasion & your entire nation.
Our deepest condolences to his household, followers & mates.
We stand united & undeterred, right now of utmost grief. pic.twitter.com/v6BcLCJk4r
Iconic in Punjabi diaspora
Moose Wala discovered a lot success within the Punjabi-language rap scene after transferring to Canada. He has carried out to sold-out crowds in Winnipeg and Toronto, and was additionally an iconic determine in Surrey, B.C. — residence to Canada’s second-largest South Asian inhabitants.
He was set to play Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum on July 23 as a part of his Again 2 Enterprise Tour, an eight-city tour throughout Canada. The live performance fell below the purview of the Pacific Nationwide Exhibition (PNE), an annual summer time truthful in Vancouver.
Laura Ballance, a spokesperson for the PNE, mentioned ticket gross sales for Moose Wala’s live performance had been delayed as organizers verified safety particulars, and discussions had been set to occur with the musician this week concerning security.
“It is unhappy to see any individual who’s clearly a proficient artist, no matter what folks consider his music, who had a big fan base … fall sufferer to any kind of violence,” she mentioned.
Moose Wala’s music touched on themes of violence, bravado, and machismo, notably with respect to Punjabi males, and the state of affairs in his residence state. He was an outspoken supporter of the widespread farmers’ protests in India.
The rapper launched a number of singles in 2017 shortly after transferring to Canada. His first album PBX 1 was launched in 2018, and subsequent albums went on to chart in Canada and overseas.
His music movies continuously garnered tens of millions of views in a brief span of time, and featured slick manufacturing and digicam work. His 2018 track, Its All About You, was the most-watched YouTube video on Valentine’s Day in 2018.
He subsequently went on to have his personal eponymous report label, and starred within the 2021 Punjabi-language film Moosa Jatt. He branched into politics earlier than the Punjab election in December 2021.
Moose Wala had a efficiency cancelled in Surrey in 2019 resulting from safety considerations on the a part of RCMP and the town, after a earlier stabbing at one in every of his Surrey concert events.
