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Tru-Skool and Kaos Productions “In Tha House”

During my Grade 9 year in High School, there was one cassette I played more than others. It was “Death Jamm.” Those carefully mixed Safri tunes still get air time in my household to this day. They were more than just a popular Hip Hop song mixed with a Panjabi song.

I used to knock Canadian attempts that tried to mimic the vibe, by slapping together the latest Hip Hop beat with a Panjabi track, and on that front I am thankful the genre moved on.

Tru-Skool & Kaos Productions are releasing an album on February 9th that’s a throwback to that time period. Titled “In Tha House,” the album is going to be classic Panjabi Folk tunes mixed with studio produced Hip Hop beats.

The nine track album will feature vocals from Gurdas Maan, Mohammed Siddiq, Surinder Shinda, Kuldip Manak, A.S. Kang and others.

I usually don’t bother pasting the press release in my posts, because they’re usually filled with fluff by the label heads saying their album is going to be the greatest. But Tru-Skool has kept it real, so I’ll share his sentiments with you.

Yo people! I Just wanna take this minute to reminisce about the old Desi remixes – Panjabi Folk mixed with underground Hip Hop from the early to mid 90′s.

Listening to, and producing Hip Hop music as well as loving Panjabi Folk and UK Bhangra, this shortlived genre was one of the most favourite and memorable periods in Bhangra, both as a fan, and as a producer. With this in mind, fusing Hip Hop with Bhangra/Panjabi Folk music, for me, was inevitable. However before I got my foot in there, artists such as ‘Death Jamm Productions’ and ‘Panjabi MC’ had just beat me to it with their debut releases back in 1993.

Panjabi MC introduced the Folk remixes back in 1995 with his albums ’100% Proof’ and ‘Magic Desi’. I felt this was the peak of UK Bhangra until the mid 90′s, when both Bhangra and U.S Hip Hop had started to dilute its sound and presence.

During that time, I felt that there were two types of Bhangra. The first being, the type that the bands and producers like Shinda and Amarjit Sidhu etc were creating, and the second being the type of people like Bally Sagoo, PMC, Death Jamm etc were creating. Although being a huge fan of both styles, the music in this particular album represents the latter.

Although remixing is regarded a thing of the past and often associated with negativity, this particular project has been reproduced with fresh production in terms of Hip Hop beats n elements and is aimed at those who appreciate this type of music, although we understand this audience may have diminished over the past decade.

We hope there is still an audience for this kind of music who will enjoy listening to this album.

Tru Skool & Kaos Productions.

Gurdas Maan – Jaag Dhe Rehnah

Surinder Shinda – Shinda Track

Mohammed Siddiq – Ghorh Jeoneh Maurh Dhi

In my head I hear Missy Elliott screaming “Reeeeeeeemix.” I’m digging the promos. It’s good for the Spring Chickens to hear some old school tracks in a way that they will be able to appreciate them. They definitely got the Tru-Skool feel to them, and the vocal engineering is fantastic.

What do you think? Is this throwback going to be a keeper? or is it a futile attempt to rehash a fad?