Rabbi Shergill
Encyclopedia
Rabbi Shergill in Jatt Sikh family is an India
n musician
well known for his debut album Rabbi
and the chart-topper song of 2005, "Bulla Ki Jaana". His music has been described variously as rock
, Punjabi
, with a bani
style melody, and Sufiana, and "semi-Sufi semi-folksy kind of music with a lot of Western arrangements." Rabbi has been called "Punjabi music's true urban balladeer".
Rabbi, was committed to music and was clear that he wanted to be a professional musician. He composed jingle
s for a while, some of them were for Yamaha
RX-T motorbikes, and Times FM. Rabbi struggled for many years to get his debut album published. Initially he worked with Sony Music, but Sony backed out. He then approached Minty Tejpal, brother of Tehelka
's editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who liked his music and offered him a contract. Soon after Tehelka ran into financial problems and eventually cancelled the contract. Magnasound also offered him a contract, but the company became bankrupt before the album could materialize. He was finally signed on by Phat Phish Records, on which he released his debut album in 2004.
Most of the songs in the album were composed and written by Rabbi himself except for "Bulla ki Jana" based on the poetry of 18th century Muslim
Sufi mystic Baba Bulleh Shah, "Heer" from Heer by Waris Shah
and "Ishtihar" by Shiv Kumar Batalvi
.
. He has also performed at the World Social Forum
in Brazil
, played at the inauguration of the Tri-Continental Film Festival in New Delhi
and various other Live Shows.
On April 9, 2008, Nokia
India announced that Shergill's album, Avengi Ja Nahin
, would be available exclusively on its Nseries range of multimedia devices for a period of one month prior to its audio cd release. The album contains nine songs and deals with issues like communal violence, social responsibility and the need for “collective morality”.
Rabbi's music has been inspired by Rock
as well as Sufi and Punjabi folk music. His favourite musicians include Bruce Springsteen
, Led Zeppelin
, Aerosmith
and Jimmy Page
.
preacher and his mother is a college principal and also a Punjabi poet. Rabbi has four sisters. He is an alumnus of Guru Harkrishan Public School, India Gate and University of Delhi
's renowned Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. After college, he went for further studies at the Fore School of Management
but dropped out a year later.
and Sir V. S. Naipaul
, who famously commented, "I didn’t understand it (his music); but it was very, very soulful, very deep." Mira Nair
compared him to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
The name Rabbi means God-facing and originates from the Punjabi word Rabb (God). Which originally came from Arabic word "Rabb" which means Lord/Master/Creator/Who sustains and develops.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
well known for his debut album Rabbi
Rabbi (album)
Rabbi is Rabbi Shergill's debut album released in 2004 by Phat Phish Records. The album was an instant hit and grabbed notable airtime on Indian radio...
and the chart-topper song of 2005, "Bulla Ki Jaana". His music has been described variously as rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, with a bani
Bani
Gurbani is the term used by Sikhs to refer to any compositions of the Sikh Gurus. Gurbani is composed of two words: 'Gur' meaning 'the Guru's' and 'bani' meaning 'word'....
style melody, and Sufiana, and "semi-Sufi semi-folksy kind of music with a lot of Western arrangements." Rabbi has been called "Punjabi music's true urban balladeer".
Early years
After leaving college Rabbi formed a band called Kaffir which struggled to get professional performances. The band played in a few college fests but with time the other members of the band decided to move over to the corporate world.Rabbi, was committed to music and was clear that he wanted to be a professional musician. He composed jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s for a while, some of them were for Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
RX-T motorbikes, and Times FM. Rabbi struggled for many years to get his debut album published. Initially he worked with Sony Music, but Sony backed out. He then approached Minty Tejpal, brother of Tehelka
Tehelka
Tehelka is an Indian weekly political magazine under the editorship of Tarun Tejpal known for its undercover exposé style of journalism. Its cover price is Rs 20 per issue. The publication began in 2000 as a news website, Tehelka.com...
's editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who liked his music and offered him a contract. Soon after Tehelka ran into financial problems and eventually cancelled the contract. Magnasound also offered him a contract, but the company became bankrupt before the album could materialize. He was finally signed on by Phat Phish Records, on which he released his debut album in 2004.
Breakthrough
His first album Rabbi was released in 2004. Relying on word-of-mouth publicity and a music video, Rabbi Shergill was an instant success. The song "Bulla Ki Jaana" was the most frequently played non-film song of 2005 in India. The song "Bulla Ki Jaana" was also requested to be included in movies like Waisa bhi hota hai part II and Paap but was rejected by Rabbi. The other songs in the album include songs of joy ("Ajj Nachna"), love ("Tere Bin") and even on contemporary issues ("Jugni").Most of the songs in the album were composed and written by Rabbi himself except for "Bulla ki Jana" based on the poetry of 18th century Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Sufi mystic Baba Bulleh Shah, "Heer" from Heer by Waris Shah
Waris Shah
Waris Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, renowned for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is best-known for his seminal work Heer Ranjha, based on the traditional folk tale of Heer and her lover Ranjha. Heer is considered one of the quintessential works of classical Punjabi literature...
and "Ishtihar" by Shiv Kumar Batalvi
Shiv Kumar Batalvi
Shiv Kumar 'Batalvi was a noted Punjabi language poet, who was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony...
.
Later career
Rabbi has since worked as a music director and lyricist for the Hindi movie, Delhii HeightsDelhii Heights
Delhii Heights is a Hindi film. Sivaji Productions, the production banner founded by Sivaji Ganesan nearly 50 years ago with a Hindi film Amar Deep [1958], followed by Rakhi [1962] and more than 20 Tamil films, is now returning to Hindi films...
. He has also performed at the World Social Forum
World Social Forum
The World Social Forum is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemonic globalization...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, played at the inauguration of the Tri-Continental Film Festival in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and various other Live Shows.
On April 9, 2008, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
India announced that Shergill's album, Avengi Ja Nahin
Avengi Ja Nahin
Avengi Ja Nahin is the second album by Rabbi Shergill. The album was produced in Italy by Mauro Pagani.Though regular Rabbi fans took quick liking to this new album with its varied themes and soulful songs, it did not get the kind of broad based patronage that the previous album got...
, would be available exclusively on its Nseries range of multimedia devices for a period of one month prior to its audio cd release. The album contains nine songs and deals with issues like communal violence, social responsibility and the need for “collective morality”.
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 far more recent Indian rock music with great ease.Rabbi's music has been inspired by Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
as well as Sufi and Punjabi folk music. His favourite musicians include Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
.
Personal life
Rabbi's father was a SikhSikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
preacher and his mother is a college principal and also a Punjabi poet. Rabbi has four sisters. He is an alumnus of Guru Harkrishan Public School, India Gate and University of Delhi
University of Delhi
The University of Delhi is a central university situated in Delhi, India and is funded by Government of India. Established in 1922, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Chancellor of the university...
's renowned Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. After college, he went for further studies at the Fore School of Management
Fore School of Management
The FORE School of Management best known as FORE, is a management institute located in New Delhi, India. FORE stands for 'Foundation for Organizational Research and Education'. Established in 1981, the school is located in heart of South Delhi. It offers Post Graduate education...
but dropped out a year later.
Discography
- RabbiRabbi (album)Rabbi is Rabbi Shergill's debut album released in 2004 by Phat Phish Records. The album was an instant hit and grabbed notable airtime on Indian radio...
(2004) - Avengi Ja NahinAvengi Ja NahinAvengi Ja Nahin is the second album by Rabbi Shergill. The album was produced in Italy by Mauro Pagani.Though regular Rabbi fans took quick liking to this new album with its varied themes and soulful songs, it did not get the kind of broad based patronage that the previous album got...
(2008)
Trivia
His fans include Amitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
and Sir V. S. Naipaul
V. S. Naipaul
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...
, who famously commented, "I didn’t understand it (his music); but it was very, very soulful, very deep." Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
compared him to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
The name Rabbi means God-facing and originates from the Punjabi word Rabb (God). Which originally came from Arabic word "Rabb" which means Lord/Master/Creator/Who sustains and develops.