ISHQ BECTOR
| INDIE
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Ishq Bector - India's Black Sheep
Ok, we've seen various styles of Hip Hop, but I'm sure none of you have been exposed to the style of Ishq Bector. This creative soul has been causing a buzz in India, for better or worse, you decide!
by Pauleen Arneja
Love, Pyar, Prem...Ishq. From his pierced tongue to his "Fardeen Diss" there isn't anything you can't love about this guy! Fresh from Canada, this new Universal artist has just started Bollywood on fire with his new album "Ishq De." Mommies, Aunties, and Nanis, its in your best interest to keep your daughters away from this sexy "Hinglish" hip hop artist because his enchanting tunes will make them go wild! I had a lot of fun interviewing Ishq because he's the real thing, there is no BS with him. Without further ado, I present to you... ISHQ!
Pauleen Arneja: Ishq is such a "lovely" name! How did you come up with that? What's your real name?
Ishq: My full name is Amitabh Sunil IshQ Bector, that's what my passport says.
PA: So dude, you were born and raised in Canada but you're making your career in Bollywood. That's a pretty gutsy move. What's the reason for this? Did you ever want to pursue your career on this side?
Ishq: Yeah, I am part of a hip-hop group called the Frek Sho (pronounced: Freak Show). We have 6 albums, 3 vinyls & 2 videos under our belt. We have toured all of Canada and some of the states. I am the only Indian in our group so I thought I would try something stupider than stupidest and see if I could get a deal out here in Bollywood!!
PA: I don't know about stupidest, but yeah, stupider sounds about right. How much of a struggle was it to try to get your foot into Bollywood rather than Hollywood? What steps did you have to take in order to get to where you are?
Ishq: Well, surviving in bombiggie is no joke. When I came I knew no-one... my parents gifted me enrollment into acting school out here with all these filmi chuts and after making some hookups, cleaning up my diction, and freaking out my Indian classmates... I auditioned and competed in the MTV VJ hunt. They promoted me like mad but in the end said that I wasn't "Indian" enough for their viewers! But a producer that I worked with at MTV, (Razy) wanted to shoot my video, thus came Ishq De... step by step.
"...I just wrote "Dreams Of Bangin' A Bollywood Chick"..."
PA: You've taken a Hinglish approach to your music. Many artists these days incorporate Eastern and Western music but you've actually mixed the opposite. I have to say the effect is pretty entertaining, it's really fun to listen to your songs. Why did you choose this approach?
Ishq: The Hinglish thing. I wanted to make a hip-hop product that Hindi listeners could call their own. Plus, it's quite challenging to write a song in Hindi, try it some time!
PA: It seems to me from your songs that you grew up on Bollywood films. What other stuff did you like listening to growing up?
Ishq: Sure thing, before I could choose my own music, my FOB parents fired up the VHS to Planet Bollywood! Then it was radio top ten, but after RUN-DMC/Raising Hell, it was all rap, the Beastie Boys, Wu-Tang, Cypress Hill, NWA, and abstract hip-hop like Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and all that.
PA: Tell us more about the making of that sexy music video you've got for Ishq De. I was hella impressed by it.
Ishq: Ishq De the video, we wanted a sexy, dreamy type thing. By profession, I'm a doctor of acupuncture and a massage therapist so that's how the whole exotic massage thing came into play. The cast, the main chick is my ex-girlfriend Andy, a beautiful pain in the ass! That dancer girl with the legs is Nisha, my stage partner is the singer in Dhuaan - Track 7 on the album, the gori belly dancer is Agnis, a cool stunt coordinator for films in Bollywood.
PA: Do you plan on making anymore music videos for your other songs?
Ishq: Another video... I was pushing for my drugged out Punjabi number, "Mennu Ki?!" (T6) so let's see how much support my label (Universal India) gives me. I might just do a new song for a new album. I got a killer concept. All I can say is that it will have a shit load of action in it!
PA: Has anyone ever taken offense to your lyrics?
Ishq: Lyrical trouble, well I did some crazy Bollywood disses. Like on Fardeen Khan. Fardeen Khan was sporting, but afterwards he gave me the "serious talk" about how hard it is to keep PR proper... and that songs like "Whateva" don't help the squeaky-clean image that actors here have to keep. But my next shit has this song that I just wrote called "Dreams Of Bangin' A Bollywood Chick." I performed it at a media covered event the day I finished it. Accapella, straight out of my book and people were holding their stomachs from the laugh riot. 18 of the most popular heroines get dicked down in it! Funny shit like "you are now feelin sleepy, close your eyes and get freaky, in my dreams is where you meet me, to fulfill our fantasies. Cause I'm bad like Janasheen with Celina Jaitley, fogging up the windows with that nympho in the backseat! Rockin, Rollin, Rollin, Rockin. Let me see that choli droppin'. Camera poppin' pictures of you, Chandani bar stripping Tabu. Out that sari, cum party, up in the jaccuzi. With those Boom girls lezzin' out, and Yana yellin' out Babu-Ji!" Strange thing is that some big time producers are feelin' it so I hope this song gets done right. I'm sure that not everyone will be able to digest but let's just see how far we can push it. Remember, it ain't nothing but music.
PA: So what do you have planned for the future?
Ishq: Next is to do lots of shows, make more music and videos. Then find a like minded partner to start the baby factory!!
PA: What do you think of all the heavy stuff in songs that you hear now days with tons of messages and philosophies? Is that the ultimate aim for your music, maybe you have a hidden message or something. In other words why do you make the music you do?
Ishq: Personally, I don't feel all that pyaar-vyaar, or baby-baby soft stuff. I like having tons of fun in my songs. But I think I will also release some of my conscious stuff soon. There are a lot of issues that can be exposed and enlightened by music. Cause music is life... forgetaboutit.
PA: How tough is it to deal with competition in the industry? Have you been a victim of bias as a Canadian in Bollywood?
Ishq: The only bias that I get other than being a baby-boy rather than a hot bitch is that I am not masses enough! They say that I have an English accent when I kick it in Hindi. I don't know when your last trip out here was, but I don't think that I can completely gel with the middle class Indian masses. Major culture gap, and without them on my side I'm still underground. But I don't really give a f*ck cause I make music for me and if you like it, that's cool.
Look out for Ishq, he's buzzing like a bee all over India right now. Check out his album review here.
Do you have any thoughts on this? Feel free to send Pauleen an e-mail @ Pauleen Arneja.
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Production Credits and Vocal Appearances
Frek Sho-Mocean
Frek Sho-Patience 12"
Frek Sho-Kingpin 12"- 2 Tracks
Frek Sho-People In Your Neighborhood
Frek Sho-Tournament Edition
Frek Sho-Papercuts-2 Tracks
Frek Sho-Micill Shazzam Write-5 Tracks
Ishq Bector-Ishq De
In 2000 Frek Sho's Sunil(Ishq Bector) went back to his homeland of India to mark on a journey that would change his life. With a gameplan and a strategy to succeed in an untapped market and movement waiting for something different, Ishq, brought the storm.
Threw countless appearances on MTV India, and the Bollywood circuit, Ishq eventually landed his project to be released on Universal India. He brought his own brand of hip-hop mixed with various Indian languages to the forefront of his career. A video for the track "Ishq De" received major rotation on MTV in India, and also landed him production credits for numerous Asian artists and scores for films.
Now at 2004 Ishq Bector returns to Canada to do the same for his Indian community here. With the album "ISHQ DE" ready to be released this fall with a national promotional campaign and two videos behind the project, Ishq is looking to open Canada to a unique sound of his own.
From being behind the production ranks of Frek Sho's first and main producer to branching out to discover a different country and musical sound, Ishq Bector has always raised the bar.