Punjabi rapper and music producer Sidhu Muz Wala has been shot dead in India, according to officials. He was 28.
Moose Wala was born in Musa, a village in the Mansa district of Punjab, India, in 1993. He moved to Brampton, Ont., After receiving a degree in electrical engineering from India in 2016.
He was world famous, especially in the Punjab diaspora, for his loaded rap performances and sleek music videos.
Police say Moose Walla left home around 4:30 p.m. local time on Sunday in a jeep with two others.
At around 5:30 p.m., police said passengers in three vehicles – one behind Muz Wala’s vehicle and two on the side – fired at the car when they were in the village of Javaharke in the Mansa area.
I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific assassination of Sidhu Musewala. No one involved will be spared. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fans around the world. I call on everyone to remain calm.
– @ BhagwantMann
Los Vala was injured and pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, police said, adding that the killing was likely the result of “rivalry between gangs”.
The rapper, who also had an acting career, joined the Indian National Congress party last year.
He ran in the Punjab elections in 2022, losing to Dr. Vijay Singla of the Aam Aadmi party, which is the ruling party in the state of Punjab and Delhi.
Punjab Chief Secretary Bhagwant Mann tweeted his condolences to Moose Vala, in a statement from a congressional party, saying his death “came as a terrible shock to the congressional party and the nation as a whole.”
The assassination of Shri Sidhu Moose Wala, a Punjab congressional candidate and amp; talented musician, was a terrible shock to the party of Congress & the whole nation.
Our deepest condolences to his family, fans and amp; friends.
We are united & irresistible, in this moment of extreme grief. pic.twitter.com/v6BcLCJk4r
– @ INCIndia
Emblem in the Punjab diaspora
Moose Wala found great success in the Punjabi rap scene after moving to Canada. He has given concerts in front of sold-out crowds in Winnipeg and Toronto, and was also an iconic figure in Surrey, British Columbia, home to Canada’s second-largest population in South Asia.
He was scheduled to play at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver on July 23 as part of his Back 2 Business Tour, a tour of eight cities across Canada. The concert is part of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), an annual summer fair in Vancouver.
Laura Balance, a spokeswoman for PNE, said ticket sales for the Moose Wala concert had been delayed as organizers had checked security details and were scheduled to hold security discussions with the musician this week.
“It’s sad to see someone who is obviously a talented artist, no matter what people think of his music, who has a large fan base … to be a victim of all kinds of violence,” she said.
Moose Wala’s music touches on themes of violence, bravado and machismo, especially for Punjabi men and the state of affairs in his home state. He was a strong supporter of the mass protests of farmers in India.
The rapper released several singles in 2017, shortly after moving to Canada. His first album PBX 1 was released in 2018, and the next albums entered the charts in Canada and abroad.
His music videos often garnered millions of views in a short period of time and included smooth production and camera work. His 2018 song, Its All About You, was the most-watched YouTube video on Valentine’s Day in 2018.
He later had his own record company of the same name and starred in the 2021 film Moosa Jatt in the Punjabi language. He became involved in politics before the December 2021 Punjab elections.
Moose Wala’s performance was canceled in Surrey in 2019 due to security concerns from the RCMP and the city, following a previous stabbing at one of his concerts in Surrey.
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