Monday, May 26, 2014

Yo Yo Funny Singh – First Part

Picture a typical Punjabi wedding scene. Too much glitter, Gucci, Prada – raging clamor for attention – and a lot of booze.  Take these words of wisdom, if you are going to attend such marriage – now or in near future. A few changes here and there, but ultimately the fervor and finish would be same. Same goes with Punjabi Music – No No – I am not overstepping here or going overboard or trying to offend someone – current music scene would appear like a half-churned ‘Lassi da Glass” without Punjabi Music – So spare me and if you can’t then forget it – it’s just a Blog dude.

In 80s and early 90s, there were only a handful of Punjabi singers, who were making the waves in Northern India like Gurdas Maan and a few more (I tried but couldn’t recall the names of others) and then Daler Mehndi brought his own brand of music – From tunak tunak tun to Haiyo Rabba – India got its own form of Shudh Peppy Music – you can always dance on such numbers. It was an early stage of Digital Music, which consequently led to a spontaneous blending of Punjabi Music+ Digital beats – yes they were and are made for each other. Anyone can shake a leg or break a leg on a popular Punjabi Peppy number – even if he doesn’t understand a single word. That’s it! But yes, it was never enough.

And then something happened -  something serious, something incredible – the bourgeoisie and rich class of Punjab, which represents the progress of Punjab with its super and bigger sense of style and substance (not talking about Substance Abuse here, which has become a cause of major concern in Punjab these days)  entered the Music arena like never before.

Amidst all this – Yo Yo Honey Singh was born. A singer who first broke into the music scene with his Daring **** Volume 2 song and gradually the entire nation accepted him – as someone who can talk his heart out and truly represents the problems faced by India’s lovelorn young boys. Some people call him misogynist but now some of his songs don’t propagate any message of hatred towards women, but simply label them as subjects – with words apparently referring to anatomical details of their bodies and how they behave or should behave these days. So, it is not about hatred anymore.

What really came on the forefront with this Yo Yo Music. While Lyrics can be called truly Punjabi, Music Videos or song sequences are bluntly ripped off from the West –with skimpily clad Girls (Goriyan in Punjabi) just heaving and jumping around the singers like puppets – with their jaded expressions and incoherent dance movements - Yes, Funny Singh counts for so much. Yo Yo and his brigade of Famous or hugely famous singers look like step brothers of Gangsta Rappers – so much is common between them – cribs, girls, cars and petty fights to brag about, but we have to accept the fact that Gangsta has more variety, more violence or if I have to sum-up in one word – they have a more Gross-Quotient in them. Not an assumption but a well scrutinized fact that very soon – Yo Yo Brigade will also delve deep into to augment their Gross-Quotient.

I noticed a pattern in Funny Singh’s songs. Earlier he was a Messiah of those who always wanted it but never had it – a sex starved group of people, who had to rely a lot on their imagination to vent out their frustration, but now they have Honey Singh or for them Horney Singh, who not only talks about this socially oppressed and ignored class, but also suggest ways for them to get what they want – instantly.

These days he is a national craze and a massive asset of this country. So, it is a laborious task to analyze too much in trends in his songs because Honey Singh is not much different from most of other Punjabi singers (or Wannabe Punjabi Singers), but yes he is more popular. Most of the time they talk about – girls, big cars, money, and above all – Jaat Power. But seriously, I tried to pick out a few interesting lines from his songs. Apparently, this guy wants to say too much – wants to do too much – and too much is never enough in Punjab.

Some songs – watch Videos to understand.



Party yun hi chalegi song – there is one quirky line in this song (Gaon main Tau kaware hain – means there are so many bachelors in the village) here he inadvertently talks about the problem of female foeticide in Punjab and Haryana, which has forced the youth to bring (buy) girls from other states of India. Those who can afford Can and those who Can’t – well, they can watch Honey Singh’s videos.



The way he sings this song especially Bomb lagdi mainu – Here he touches the emotions of a boy, who is knee deep in desperation, gradually moving upwards and he is squeaking  like someone who had Kayam Churan in the night but still feeling the agony of severe constipation.  Desperation couldn’t have been expressed in a better way. Feel aa gayi na – by God!



Char botal Vodka kaam mera roz ka – well there is one dreamy line in this song – kisi ki bandi ko bhi har lo (Which vaguely means…Hey, just go to the pub and pick up any girl you like) – this song sends a wrong message to all those who believe that they will find so many girls in Gurgaon pubs – at least one easy-going girl, who would behold you as if you are the famous Chawla version of Punjabi Butter Chicken and after 4 pegs of Vodka, this babe will pounce upon you like a tigress – and devour you. Yes, it happens – never mind to try it out, but first get drunk.
 
It would take at least a month to compile all those interesting lines from Honey Singh’s songs, which send across some strong messages. May be some other time – I do have some lyrics suggestions for this singer. May be in my next posts, I will try to look into the mercurial rise of Honey –Funny-Horny Singh and continue with some analysis of his lyrics. Only if I will have that much patience.

1 comment:

Gokul Pillai said...

YO YO.......It doesn't just rain but it also pours, it doesn't just hail it also snows n Paajies dont just sleep; they also snore...!!!!!!!!