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Old School Sunday – Panjabi MC “Laila”

You guys are in for a treat today, because this is some rare stuff.

Back in the 90′s when I was a young lad with no drivers license, I would jump at the chance when anyone was making a trip to Malton. Back then where I was living, Malton was the closest (and best) place to buy the latest UK Bhangra cassettes.

I have been into PMC’s work since “Souled Out” was released, but became in awe of him when I was in the UK in 1996, and “Grass Roots” had just come out, and we all know how Grass Roots pretty much shaped PMC into what he is today.

Summer of 1996 (visiting Malton,) after I had come back from the UK, I was looking into the glass case where all the cassettes were kept in the store, and the above cover caught my eye. I had no clue who Ambi Bilga was, (he is in fact Jazzy B’s UK Manager) or that Sukshinder Shinda produced the album, or even Sardara S. Gill was featured on one of the songs. I saw PMC and Kuldeep Manak and my eyes lit up. Needless to say, I had never coughed up six dollars so fast.

I Grabbed the keys to the car, ripped off the plastic wrapping, and let my ears enjoy the blissful sounds of side A, track 1 – “Laila.”

Probably one of my favourite PMC tracks of all time. Just the right amount of underlying bass blended with a traditional beat to perfection.

This isn’t the first time Panjabi MC has done a track on someone else’s album. In 1995, he also did a “Megamix” on Santara’s “Take It” album, but it wasn’t at the well-crafted-level as this track.

The song was previewed on “Dhol Crusader,” as it was officially to be on Kuldeep Manak’s “Punjab” album, released later that year. One can only imagine, had this track been on “Grass Roots,” and had more people been able to listen to it, what kind of reaction it would have received.