by Raghu - SawitriSouth Asian arts in Canada
Over the last couple of years, Canadians like Drake, the Weeknd and Justin Bieber topping the Billboard charts have made headlines around the world. But in 2004, two years before Drake even released his debut mixtape, Calgary singer-songwriter Raghav and Montreal band JoSH had each already sold millions of copies of their albums.
The late 2000s then saw the biggest names in bhangra emerge from Vancouver: namely Jazzy B and the band Signia, followed by Delhi 2 Dublin.
Come 2014, Oakville, Ontario’s Anjulie would have spent the past few years bringing multi-platinum plaques back to the South Asian–Canadian community for her own music, while also writing for artists like Nicki Minaj. And Mississauga’s Alysha Brilla picked up a Juno nomination for her debut album that same year, going head-to-head with Celine Dion in the adult contemporary album of the year category.
It should be no surprise, then, that in 2017, Canadian artists of South-Asian heritage are currently some of the most successful independent artists in the country, representing a wide variety of genres reminiscent of America’s “Latin explosion” in the late 1990s.
In celebration of Canada’s South Asian Heritage Month this May, and CBC Music’s new South Asian Mix and Bhangra Plus streams, we look at 10 South Asian–Canadian artists you need to hear right now.