Seemingly out of nowhere, Brampton-based Punjabi singer and rapper Sidhu Moose Wala has released a new EP, No Name.
The artist announced the project on Instagram Sunday night, and took to his stories Monday morning saying the EP is “A ‘Thank-You’ Gift for supporting me through everything.”
The five-track project boasts Moose Wala’s signature synthesis of bilingual bhangra and rap, with several features, including a couple from some acclaimed Punjabi-Canadian rappers. Brampton’s Sunny Malton links up with Moose Wala again for the bouncy, high-octave opener “Never Fold,” while we get a long-awaited collab with Mississauga’s AR Paisley on “Love Sick.” Elsewhere, Pakistani-American rapper Mr. Capone-E hops on the vicious final track, “Bloodlust.”
With the EP, Moose Wala released a visualizer for “Bloodlust” featuring black-and-white scenes of people counting money and loading guns with their faces obscured. Watch it above.
Considered one of the hottest names in Punjabi rap, Moose Wala recently ran for congress in his birthplace of Mansa, Punjab. After losing to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he released a single, “Scapegoat,” in which he calls the party’s supporters “gaddar (traitors).” The lyric has been the subject of much controversy, with APP members demanding an apology from the rapper.
Harjot Singh Bains, Punjab minister of tourism and culture, took to Twitter to lambast Moose Wala, saying the rapper “seems to have lost his mind in arrogance. People of Punjab have voted from their hearts, calling the voice of people Gaddar is shameful.”
Moose Wala has yet to respond to the APP. For now, he seems content letting the music do the talking for him.
Stream the No Name EP below.
