This week, Panjabi MC is dropping his American debut, which could set the record straight. His hit “Beware of the Boys” has pumped through Indian kids’ CD players for nearly a half-decade, and is now (with a couple of verses by Jay-Z) racking up 3,200 spins a week in the U.S. So young Indians are hoping they’ll finally get some cultural respect, starting with the word Punjabi.
“Some hip-hop artists don’t give a shit about Indian people,” says Vidya Murthy, a 23-year-old in marketing at an entertainment magazine, reacting to the belly dancing and harems in videos for songs like Truth Hurts’ “Addictive” and Erick Sermon’s “React” that clearly sample Indian music. Sunaina Maira, author of Desis in the House, a study of second-generation Indian Americans growing up in New York, says that for young Indians these images bring back memories of growing up unrecognized and of confronting racism.
And promo visuals aren’t the only way entertainers are carelessly profiting from Indian culture. Sermon baffled those who understood the Hindi hook in “React.” The translation goes, “If someone wants to commit suicide, so what can you do?” To which he responds, “Whatever she said, then I’m that.” “It doesn’t flow,” says Samir Bali, a restaurant consultant from Queens. “If you’re not Indian it sounds fine but I understand, and everyone I know thinks it sounds stupid.”
Full article at Village Voice
