PUZZL3PEACE: The Photography of Jusdeep Singh Sethi
PUZZL3PEACE is the alias of Los Angeles born Sikh artist Jusdeep Singh Sethi, who passed away last year in a tragic accident at the age of 21. Jusdeep, the younger brother of hip hop artist Mandeep Sethi, used 35mm film photography as his primary means of creative expression. He was known for his...
SIKLIGAR: The Weapon Makers of the Khalsa Army
As a community, we have an incredibly rich history and yet we often know so little about it.  The first time I learned about the Sikligar community was after watching Mandeep Sethi’s documentary at a local film festival, about this community of Sikhs known to be the weapon makers of the Khalsa...
Rumble in London: Dhadi meets Hip Hop
I found this new video that Mandeep Sethi released last month beautiful and inspiring.  Shot in London, the young San Francisco-based hip hop artist links up with a dhadi jatha for a freestyle session unlike any other. I’ve always loved the power, poignancy, and rhythm funkyness of dhadi jathas....
A taste of Lahir via music and poetry (part 2)
As promised, here is my follow-up to Monday’s post about the Inquilab hip hop workshop in New York. This past Saturday night brought together hundreds of Sikhs (and others) for the fourth annual Lahir: Move the Movement.  I always seemed to have a conflict the last several years, but finally made...
A taste of Inquilab via hip hop and poetry (part 1)
As Sundari blogged about a few days ago, we just had an exciting weekend of Sikh youth art and activism in the NY/NJ area.  I was lucky enough to sit in on the Sikh Coalition’s “Inquilab: Raising Our Voices” hip hop workshop for a few hours on Saturday and then ride the bus to New...
Sikh Youth and Expression: Inquilab and Lahir
On December 2nd and 3rd, Sikh youth will have the opportunity to participate in a special workshop that will allow them to learn the power of expression and how it can be used to create change in their life and communities.  Inquilab: Raising our Voices, organized by The Sikh Coalition and Slumgods,...
What Happens When Lions Roar?
Toronto is abuzz.  This weekend the IIFA [International Indian Film Academy] awards are being held in Toronto to many a South Asian’s delight.  We are, however, delighted about Toronto for another reason.  This weekend, The Sikh Activist Network will be hosting When Lions Roar 3 – a night of...
Mandeep Sethi’s Punjabi Gypsy Hip Hop Rebellion
A Review of Mandeep Sethi’s Poor Peoples Planet, released January 2011. With an unmistakably laid-back, West Coast hip hop sound, 22-year old Sikh rapper Mandeep Sethi brings us the dynamic and often incendiary (while maintaining the mellow Bay area vibes) Poor Peoples Planet. Inspired by the...
Turban Groove
I recently got turned on to this band BlackMahal from the San Francisco area, fronted by the legendary dholi Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti. According to the band’s website, “BlackMahal is steeped in Old California, a Punjabi-American experience that started in the 1890s when the first Punjabi-Americans...
Sikh Artists + Hip-Hop
For those of you who will be in or around Northern California [actually, if you’re in or around North America you should come!] be sure to check out this upcoming event featuring Humble the Poet, Mandeep Sethi, Hoodini, Baagi Gunjiv, DJ Rav-E and more. This is the first event of its kind in the...
The Turban and The Crown: Hoodini & KinG!
Here on TLH, we’ve covered a variety of talented musicians including Sikh Knowledge, Mandeep Sethi and Humble the Poet.  We’ve been following these individuals, their music, new collaborations and of course new albums. I am a huge believer that youth (yes, we have a particular interest...
For Many, Being a Sikh Means Being an Activist
While everyone seems to be pretty excited about Kamaljit topping the Billboard charts – it seems that Jay Sean is not the only musician from our community who is gaining a ton of attention lately.  In the October/November 2009 issue of East West magazine, an article by Navdeep Singh Dhillon titled,...
Where Do We Go From Here
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is a group working to present stories that convey the “richness and diversity of Asian American experiences” to the broadcast audience.  They do this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media. ...