Rabbi Shergill (born Gurpreet Singh Shergill on 16 April 1973) is an Indian

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

well known for his debut album ''

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

'' and the chart-topper song of 2005, '' Bullah Ki Jaana '' ("I know not who I am!"). His music has been described variously as

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, Punjabi, with a

bani Bani may refer to: Places Africa *Bani Department, a department in the Séno Province of Burkina Faso *Bani, Bani, Séno, Burkina Faso * Bani, Bourzanga, Bam, Burkina Faso *Bani, Gnagna, Burkina Faso * Bani, The Gambia *Bani River, a tributary ...

style melody, andMeet Rabbi Shergill, Indipop's latest star!
by Sumit Bhattacharya, ''Rediff.com Specials''

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

-style (''sufiana''), and "semi-Sufi semi-folksy kind of music with a lot of Western arrangements."Rhythm Divine
by Swagata Sen, ''The Telegraph'', 21 November 2004. Shergill has been called "

Punjabi music Music of Punjab ( Punjabi: پنجاب دی موسیقی ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਸੰਗੀਤ ) reflects the traditions of the Punjab region of the Subcontinent, with East Punjab in India, and West Punjab in Pakistan. The Punjab has diverse ...

's true urban balladeer".

Career

After college Shergill formed a band named Kaffir. The band played in some competitions and college festivals before parting ways. Shergill initially composed

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s for advertisement agencies such as

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

RX-T motorbikes and Times FM. He had an unsuccessful stint with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

and

Tehelka ''Tehelka'' (Hindi: Sensation) is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. According to the British newspaper ''The Independent'', the ''Tehelka'' was founded by Tarun Tejpal, Aniruddha Bahal and a ...

before finally releasing his debut album ''Rabbi'' in 2004 under Phat Phish Records. Relying on word-of-mouth publicity and a music video, he had a chart topper song "

Bulla Ki Jaana ''Bullah Ki Jaana'' ( pa, بُلّھا کیہ جاݨاں (Shahmukhi), ਬੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਕੀ ਜਾਣਾਂ (Gurmukhi)) is one of the most-known Kafi poems written by the Punjabi Sufi saint Bulleh Shah. In the 1990s Junoon, a rock band f ...

". Most of the songs in the album were composed and written by Shergill himself except for "Bulla ki Jana" based on the Kafi poem written by the Punjabi Sufi saint

Bulleh Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) ...

. "Heer" from "Heer" by

Waris Shah Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' . Background Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Kh ...

and "Ishtihar" by

Shiv Kumar Batalvi Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936 - 6 May 1973) was an Indian poet, writer and playwright of the Punjabi language. He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony, due to that he ...

. Shergill had one song "Dilli" in the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

movie, ''

Delhii Heights ''Delhii Heights'' is a 2007 Hindi-language film written and directed by Anand Kumar and produced by Sivaji Productions. It stars Jimmy Sheirgill and Neha Dhupia, with Om Puri, Rohit Roy, Simone Singh, Vivek Shauq and Kamini Khanna playing suppo ...

''. In October 2008, Shergill released his second album '' Avengi Ja Nahin'' under Yashraj Music. The album contains nine songs and deals with issues like communal violence, social responsibility and the need for "collective morality". He also appeared in

MTV Unplugged (India) MTV Unplugged is an Indian music television program showcasing musical artists, generally playing their works on acoustic instruments. The songs featured on the program are usually those released earlier by the artists. Season 1 This seaso ...

in 2011. He lent his voice to Yash Chopra's 2012 romantic film ''

Jab Tak Hai Jaan ''Jab Tak Hai Jaan'' (), also simply known as ''JTHJ'', is a 2012 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi-Hindi, language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written and produced by his son Aditya Chopra under their banner Yash Ra ...

'' singing the leading number "Challa" composed by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

and the lyrics penned by

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

. In March 2012, he released his third album ''III''.

Musical style

Shergill's principal contribution to music lies in the use of Punjabi — which previously had a reputation similar to that of either Bhangra or traditional folk — to create acoustic rock-based ballads, providing a new musical perspective to this language. And with his poetic, socially relevant lyrics and an adult alternative sound, Shergill instantly connected with an urban crowd who loved him for his genuine and original approach to his songs. His songs are deeply philosophical and blend archaic, almost lost, Punjabi phrases into more recent Indian rock music. Shergill's music has been inspired by

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

as well as Sufi and Punjabi folk music. His favourite musicians include

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

and

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

. He has also worked with award-winning mix engineer Gustavo Celis, who helped him out with some tracks for his album ''III''. "Working with Celis — who has worked with artists including Beyonce,

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

and

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

— was an amazing experience," he says.

Personal life

Shergill's father was a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

preacher and his mother is a college principal and also a Punjabi poet. He has four sisters. He is an alumnus of Guru Harkrishan Public School, India Gate and

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

. After college, he went for further studies at the Fore School of Management but dropped out a year later. His sister Gagan Gill is a well known Hindi poet. Shergill publicly supported

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

led by

Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: �ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national conv ...

attending a rally in support of the party in

2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 December 2013, with the result announced on 8 December resulting in formation of the Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party won a plurality, closely followed by Aam ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2004) * ''Avengi Ja Nahin'' (2008) * ''III'' (2012)

Singles

* ''Raj Singh'' (2019) * ''Sahi Aeh Vi'' (2019) * ''Taläsh'' (2019) * ''Pahiläñ'' (2020)

Film soundtracks

* Waisa Bhi Hota Hai 2, "Laundiya Ke Pallu Mein" (2003) *''

'', "Tere Bin", "Kitni Der" (2007) *'' Dharti,'' "Bandiya Tu" (2011) * ''

'', "Challa" (2012) * ''

Raanjhanaa ''Raanjhanaa'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Aanand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma. The film is produced by Krishika Lulla under the banner of Eros International. It stars Dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Ab ...

'' , "Tu Mon Shudi" (2013) * Chaar Sahibzaade - Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur (2016) * ''

Romeo Akbar Walter ''Romeo Akbar Walter'' (; alluding the Research and Analysis Wing) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Robbie Grewal. It stars John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher. The narrative cent ...

'', "Bulleya" (2019) * ''

Happy Hardy and Heer ''Happy Hardy and Heer'' is a 2020 Bollywood musical romantic drama film directed by Raka, produced by Deepshikha Deshmukh and Sabita Manakchand, and starring Himesh Reshammiya in a double role for the first time and Punjabi actress Sonia Ma ...

'', "Aadat" (2020)

References

External links

Odd One Out RecordsRabbi Shergill's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shergill, Rabbi Punjabi music Punjabi poetry Performers of Sufi music Punjabi people 1973 births Living people Indian Sikhs Bollywood playback singers