Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu (11 June 1993 – 29 May 2022), known professionally as Sidhu Moose Wala, was an Indian rapper and singer.
He worked predominantly in Punjabi-language music and cinema.
Moose Wala is generally regarded to have been one of the greatest Punjabi artists of his generation and to many, amongst the greatest and most controversial Punjabi artists of all time.
Moreover, he was considered a key figure in opening the door to mainstream music for Punjabi artists.
2016
Born in Moosa, Punjab, Moose Wala began his career in 2016 as a songwriter for the song "License" by Ninja, and as lead artist in 2017 with Gurlez Akhtar for a duet song, "G Wagon".
Following his debut, he collaborated with Brown Boyz for various tracks.
Moose Wala's tracks peaked on the UK Asian Music chart.
His song "Bambiha Bole" was among the top five on the Global YouTube music chart.
In 2021, he released Moosetape, tracks from which charted globally including on the Billboard Global 200, Billboard Global Excl. US, Canadian Hot 100, UK Asian, and New Zealand Hot charts.
He has the most number-one singles on the Billboard India Songs chart.
It became the first Indian album to have more than 1 billion streams on Spotify.
In 2021, Moose Wala joined the Indian National Congress (INC) political party and unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election for Mansa.
He was shot dead by unidentified assailants on 29 May 2022; a Canada-based gangster, active in Punjab, claimed responsibility for the killing, which the police said was the culmination of an inter-gang rivalry.
On 23 June 2022, his first posthumous single, "SYL", was released.
Moose Wala's lyrics and themes were often seen as controversial in India, and he was accused of promoting gun culture and his Jatt background, and hurting religious sentiments – as was the case related to Mai Bhago, a revered figure in Sikhism.
He had faced legal challenges for his support of gun culture and his inflammatory lyrics.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu was born in the village of Moosa in the Mansa district of Punjab, India to a Jat Sikh family.
His father was Balkaur Singh and his mother was Charan Kaur.
Moose Wala studied at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 2016.
He admired and was influenced by rapper Tupac Shakur.
He started listening to hip-hop music as a student in sixth grade, and was trained in music by Harvinder Bittu in Ludhiana.
According to statements he made while campaigning, he chose Sidhu Moose Wala (ਸਿੱਧੂ ਮੂਸੇ ਵਾਲਾ) for his stage name as a tribute to his home village of Moosa.
After graduation, Moose Wala moved to Brampton, Ontario, Canada, as an international student.
While living there he studied at Humber College.
2017
Moose Wala released his first song "G Wagon" in 2017 while living in Brampton.
Later that year, he had his breakthrough with the song "So High", a gangster rap with music producer Byg Byrd.
The song won him the 2017 Best Lyricist award at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards.
Following this, he joined Brown Boys Records along with Sunny Malton and Byg Byrd.
2018
In 2018, he released his debut album PBX 1, which peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
His singles "47" and "Mera Na" were ranked on the UK Singles Chart.
He began to perform live shows in India in 2018, and performed numerous shows in Canada.
He continued his success with singles like "Issa Jatt", "It's All About You", and "Just Listen".
In May 2018, he released the single "Tochan", followed by "Famous" which entered the UK Asian Top 40 Chart.
At the 2018 PTC Punjabi Music Awards, he was nominated for the Best New Age Sensation award for "Issa Jatt".
In August 2018, he released his first film soundtrack song, "Dollar", for the film Dakuaan Da Munda.
Following various successful songs with music publisher Humble Music, he began releasing songs independently in 2018, starting with "Warning Shots", a diss track targeting Karan Aujla's track "Lafaafe".
In October 2018, he released his debut album PBX 1 under T-Series, in the pop music genre with hip-hop influences.
2020
In 2020, Moose Wala was named by The Guardian among 50 up and coming artists.
He also became the first Punjabi and Indian singer to perform at Wireless Festival and won four awards at the Brit Asia TV Music Awards.
Moose Wala rose to mainstream popularity with his track "So High".
