Welcome to Bollywood, Where Flashy Hip-Hop Never Died Posted by Lucas Garrison on 06/27/13 | Filed under Opinion, Snoop Dogg, Bollywood

For whatever reason, the early 2000’s seemed to sprout a strong Bollywood influence on hip-hop mostly for the reservoir of samples from its films, television and music. Whether it was Nas’ “Oochie Wally” or Jay-Z’ “The Bounce” you have undoubtedly heard a Bollywood sample given an American makeover. Even Rakim got in on the craze with “Addictive”. While we often see the unique, quirky culture’s influence on us, we rarely, if ever see how our Western culture influences them. When you take a look at Bollywood culture, specifically the music, it is pretty amazing to see how hip-hop has become such a force and source of inspiration. It is hard to believe a movement from New York has grown into a worldwide force, reaching people as far as India; the cultures are linked in ways that might surprise you.



It looks like the inspiration is a two way street, because just as American emcees draw from Bollywood, there is whole hip-hop scene in India that oddly resembles the hip-hop of the late 90’s-early 2000’s. A lot of their rap-rooted music appears to be attached to films. Take this Anand Raj Anand and Kalpana cut, made for a 2000 movie, Welcome. Of course I have no idea what he is saying, but regardless, the effort has that old, new-school vibe. From the way they dress—especially the scene with all the bikini clad girls by the ocean—to the shiny, grandiose props the video has that lavish feel of a 2000’s video; they even had a weird twerking dance move. I can’t understand the lyrics, but the beat is actually kind of cool. I always enjoy the exotic feel of Bollywood/Punjabi samples so this R&B,pop, hip-hop, and electronic styled beat has that feel times a thousand.



Now you what to see something that will blow your mind? What if I told you of all emcees, Snoop Dogg would be the one to break cultural boundaries teaming up with Bollywood artist, Akshay Kumar, to create one hell of an international track. The pair’s track, “Singh Is Kinng” was a single made for a 2008 movie of the same name (another example of the cinema-music link). While we have often seen American emcees replicate the Indian culture, we have never really seen an American rapper in an authentic Bollywood video. While it might be strange at first, I think the two cultures seem to have a natural mesh. Both seem to be flashy, lavish, energetic and have a high production value; not in terms of the quality,but more in the spectacle of it all. “Singh Is Kinng” is interesting because the beat has a definite west coast bounce to it. The best part comes towards the end when Snoop gives the guy a whole plate of chicken and waffles as he chows down on some Indian food.



We often get so tied up in the region vs. region discussion that we forget there is a whole world outside of the US; that goes not just for music, but for American society as a whole. It is fun to check out what other cultures have to offer and see how American music has influenced international hip-hop scene. Who would have ever thought that Snoop Dogg would become a Bollywood sensation but with hip-hop anything is possible.

PS - If you are curious, you can watch the whole Sing Is Kinng movie here. Snoop Dogg does have a credit on IMDB, so he might make an appearance, but I briefly skipped through and didn’t find him; A million Refined Hype dollars to anyone who does!

Nathan Update: One million RefinedHype dollars are roughly equivalent to .5 pesos.

See Also:  Iggy Azalea Takes A (Slightly Awkward) Trip To Bollywood In Her “Bounce” Video
See Also:  From Flo-Rida to Timbuktua, a Fascinating Look at the Int’l Hip-Hop Charts