How Punjabi Music Went Global
A language that isn’t as widely spoken as Hindi or Urdu is now the default export of the Indian subcontinent.
Tens of thousands packing arenas for Diljit Dosanjh. Coachella fans cheering as AP Dhillon performs and smashes a guitar. The internet buzzing with rumors of a posthumous collaboration between Drake and the late Sidhu Moose Wala. These moments are among many in the last few years that point to a wider phenomenon: Punjabi artists have gone from niche cultural exports to mainstream global sensations.
“I’ve…introduced [my non-Desi friends] to [Punjabi] songs, and they’re like…‘This is such a banger,’” said Garima Khanal, a 29-year-old Nepali physician’s assistant.
It’s a remarkable rise for music in a language that has only about 150 million speakers, far less than Hindi’s 610 million, Bengali’s 273 million, and Urdu’s 232 million. Yet, Punjabi music now seems to be the subcontinent’s dominant genre, infiltrating everything from Bollywood to independent songs to Coke Studio.