Maninder Singh Kalyan, professionally known as Byg Byrd is an Indo-Canadian record producer and record executive. He is also associated with Punjabi music. He produced for variety of artists notably French Montana, Chinx Drugz, Lil Kim, Lil Durk and Jim Jones, along with Punjabi artists including Sidhu Moose Wala, Tarsem Jassar, Sunny Malton, Jazzy B and Prem Dhillon.[1]
Byg Byrd | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Maninder Singh Kalyan |
| Also known as | byG Byrd |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2008-present |
| Labels | Brown Boy Records |
| Member of | Brown Boys |
| Members | Big Boi Deep Tarna Blamo |
| Past members | Sidhu Moose Wala Sunny Malton |
He rose to mainstream with his track 'So High'[2][3] and 'Issa Jatt' with Sidhu Moose Wala.[4] He is also the co-founder of Brown Boys,[5] which he founded with rapper Sunny Malton (left in 2021).
Early life
editByrd is from Toronto, Canada[6] and was born into a Canadian Punjabi Sikh family and he attended Mississauga Secondary School[7] Byrd's family is originally from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab, India.[8]
In May 2022, Byrd launched his own Vodka line called Brown Boys Vodka.[9]
Career
editEarly career
editByg Byrd started making music within the hiphop scene which eventually led him to work on the song "100"[10] in 2012, which featured French Montana, Cheeze, and Chinx Drugz in the Coke Boys 3 album. He also worked on the song "Soulful" which featured French Montana and Lil Durk in Coke Boys 4.[11][12]
Rise to fame
editIn August 2017, Byrd and Moosewala released "So High" which became their most successful track. He can also been seen throughout the music video along with Sunny Malton, which was shot in Toronto.
In 2017, Byrd produced "Just Listen" by Sidhu Moosewala. The song managed to reach 12th in the UK Asian Charts.[11] Other significant Byrd collaborations and features include "East Side Flow" (2019), "Sidhu's Anthem" (2019), Forget About it (2019) "Chosen" (2019), "B-Town (2019)", "Hauli Hauli" (2019) and Homicide (2019) and "Never Fold" (2022).
Byrd also produced 3 songs on Moosewala's album, PBX 1 which debuted 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart.[13] The album also reached the top spot on iTunes and became the top Indian Pop album.[14]
In 2020, Byrd has also collaborated with Punjabi legend, Jazzy B on the song ‘Putt Sardara De’[15]
In 2022, Byrd collaborated with Happy Singh on the song "Ko Ni Tera Yaar".[16]
Feud with Sidhu Moosewala & Sunny Malton
editThe initial Brown Boys feud started between Moosewala[17] and Sunny Malton, Byg Byrd and BigBoiDeep after their release of the album Brown Boys Forever.[18][19] On Instagram, Byrd and Malton said Sidhu Moosewala was not paying them and was "leaking" their songs. Moosewala responded with "I am ready to swear on anything religious. Putting my hand on my heart I am ready to say that if I have ever leaked any song of mine, I want my tongue to be held and I will stop singing."[20][21]
In December 2020 and January 2021, Byg Byrd and Malton got into a serious internet feud over ownership of Brown Boys Records. Despite being equal partners, Malton claimed his personal relationship was suffering for the last 4–5 months and that BygByrd signed artist, Tarna without his permission under alias of Brown Boys.[22]
Reaction to Moosewala's death
editByrd lauded the influence of Sidhu and the initial trio on the broader Punjabi music scene, while also expressing his condolences to Sidhu and his family. He revealed that he refrained from speaking earlier because he believed it was neither appropriate timing nor his position to do so.[23]
Musical style
editByg Byrd is known for his unique style of music, which blends Punjabi folk music with Hip-Hop.[24] He often incorporates traditional Punjabi instruments such as the tumbi, flutes and dhol into his tracks.[25]
Album discography
editStudio album
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Brown Boys Forever |
|
Singles discography
editAs lead artist
edit| Track | Year | Peak chart position | Label | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Asian[26] | UK Punjabi | ||||
| Dollar (with Sidhu Moose Wala) |
2018 | 9 | — | White Hill Music | Dakuan Da Munda soundtrack |
| "Thang on Me" (with AR Paisley) | 2019 | — | — | Brown Boys Records | Brown Boys Forever |
| "Hauli Hauli" (with Sidhu Moose Wala) | — | — | |||
| "The Bad Guy" | — | — | |||
| Patt Sutteya (with Big Boi Deep) | — | — | |||
| Hanji Hanji (with Big Boi Deep & Deepak Dhillon) |
— | — | |||
| "Think About Me" (with Big Boi Deep & AR Paisley) | — | — | |||
| "Imma Imma Brown Boy" (with Big Boi Deep) | — | — | |||
| "Sanu Koi Ni Fikar" | — | — | |||
| Schema (with Big Boi Deep) |
2021 | 40 | — | ||
| Ill Minds (with Big Boi Deep featuring Tarna) |
— | ||||
| Limits (with Big Boi Deep) |
— | ||||
| Unbreakable (with Tarna and Big Boi Deep) |
— | ||||
| All Winners (with Ali Kulture, Big Boi Deep and Juicy J) |
— | ||||
| Bentley (with Tarna) |
2022 | — | |||
| 94 Flow (with Big Boi Deep) |
— | ||||
| Hail (with Tarna) |
2023 | — | Nothing To Prove | ||
References
edit- ^ "Putt Sardara De | Jazzy B | Byg Byrd". Toronto Red FM.
- ^ Baddhan, Lakh (October 8, 2018). "BritAsia TV Music Awards 2018: Winners List". BizAsiaLive.Com.
- ^ Molenar, Coleman (May 29, 2022). "Brampton-Based Punjabi Rapper Sidhu Moose Wala Killed in Gunfire". Complex.
- ^ "Sidhu Moose Wala's five songs that launched him to superstardom: So High, Just Listen and more". Hindustan Times.
- ^ "Sunny Malton and Rajvir Gakhal Announce Their New Record Label TPM Recordz". March 29, 2021.
- ^ "Byg Byrd with DJ Limelight". BBC.
- ^ ""Sikhs united we stand. Stay strong. #sikhshooting #wisconsin"". Twitter.
- ^ ""Me and @TheHoneySingh1 from the same district back in #Punjab #Hoshiarpur"". Twitter.
- ^ "Byg Byrd Launches His Own Liquor Brand – 'Brown Boys Vodka'!". Ghaint Punjab.
- ^ "100 by French Montana ft Chinx Drugz, Cheeze". Genius.
- ^ "New Mixtape: French Montana 'Coke Boys 4'". Vibe.com.
- ^ "French Montana - Soulful". Genius.
- ^ "Sidhu Moosewala". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ "'CON.FI.DEN.TIAL' and 'PBX1' reaches top spot on iTunes". www.radioandmusic.com. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ "Jazzy B's latest song 'Putt Sardara De' is an ode to the martyrs of 1984". Times of India.
- ^ "Happy Singh & Byg Byrd Drop In!". BBC Asian Network.
- ^ "Sidhu Moose Wala face to face with Sunny Malton: Sidhu Moose Wala fight with Sunny Malton, Byg Byrd". Punjab 2000.
- ^ "BBC Asian Network - AJD, Sunny Malton". BBC.
- ^ Kaur, Harleen. "Nasty! Sidhu Moosewala's Fallout With Byg Byrd & Sunny Malton Goes Public!". Ghaint Punjab.
- ^ Sembhi, Jas (May 6, 2020). "Sidhu Moosewala fight with Byg Byrd & Sunny Malton".
- ^ "Sidhu Moose Wala: A rapper of fascinating contradictions who aimed to uplift Punjab". TheGuardian.com. May 31, 2022.
- ^ Pollywood, The (March 21, 2021). "Sunny Malton Compares His Former Partners Sidhu Moosewala & Byg Byrd!".
- ^ "Byg Byrd Speaks On Sidhu Moosewala". Brit Asia TV.
- ^ Anand, Simer. "As a turban-wearing Sikh, I faced racism growing up. Sidhu Moose Wala made me — and so many like me — proud to be Punjabi". Toronto Star.
- ^ Singh, Tanveer (May 31, 2022). "Sidhu Moose Wala: a rapper of fascinating contradictions who aimed to uplift Punjab". The Guardian.
- ^ Byg Byrd/Big Boi Deep:https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/58659/byg-byrd-big-boi-deep/ Dollar:https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/sidhu-moose-wala-dollar/
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