Punjabi singer turned politician, Sidhu Moose Wala, whose songs racked up more than 4 billion views on YouTube in less than four years, was shot and killed on Sunday while driving near his home in Mansa in Punjab. He was 28.
The musician was gunned down by assailants while driving through the Mansa district of Punjab, in India, with gory videos and photos taken at the scene and posted to social media showing his body slumped in the driver seat of a black SUV, covered in blood, as a bystander attempts to take his pulse.
Footage of the aftermath of the attack reviewed by SinghStation shows a Mahindra Thar, a kind of Indian jeep, riddled with around 14 bullet holes. At least 30 rounds were fired by the gunmen, according to Punjab’s chief of police VK Bhawra.
He added that the bullets had come from at least three different weapons, pinning the blame on a rivalry between Moose Wala’s manager and a Canadian organized crime group.
The rapper, whose real name was Shubhdeep Singh, was hit by eight rounds, the Hindustan Times said, quoting a police officer. One of the other people in the car with him at the time of the attack has since died of his injuries, the newspaper reported.
Moose Wala, who released his first song in 2017, quickly burst out of India to become one of the country’s most forceful musical exports in a generation, cementing his place as an Asian rapper whose spotlight rivaled his most popular contemporaries in the U.S.
Over thundering trap and drill beats often laced with samples of Punjabi music, Moose Wala rapped with a rich, soaring voice about gun violence, gangs, and his rags-to-riches story.
He was named as one of the best new artists of 2020 by The Guardian, and in the same year seemed to catch the attention of fellow rapper Drake, who followed him on Instagram. (Drake subsequently shouted out the slain rapper on his Instagram stories on Sunday afternoon.)
Charting on multiple occasions in Canada and the UK, where he spent much of his career and achieved immense popularity with the Sikh diaspora, Moose Wala frequently collaborated with British artists including Stefflon Don, MIST, and Steel Banglez.
Most recently, Moose Wala had garnered 36,000 votes in Indian state elections in February (coming in second in that race), and was beginning to dabble in Bollywood cinema, confirming his status as one of the country’s most notable entertainers.
His killing sparked a war of words between rival political groups in India, who blamed the ruling party in Punjab for allowing the murder to take place.
On Saturday, the state government in Punjab announced that it had watered down its police protection for a number of famous individuals in an effort to redirect its security forces elsewhere. The names of those who had lost their security details were later leaked, with critics saying the move had made those individuals vulnerable to attack.
The incident happened a day after Punjab Police ordered the withdrawal of security of more than 420 people, including former legislators, Jathedars of two Takhts, heads of deras and police officers. Two of his four gunmen were withdrawn with the new government order. Moosewala was without security when the crime happened.
Also he was travelling in a vehicle that was not bullet proof. Normally, he used his bullet-proof Toyota Fortuner for commuting, police said.
Crowds gathered at the Mansa hospital where Moose Wala had been taken following the shooting, with protests against the state government breaking out.
Moose Wala, who joined Indian Congress party in December of 2021, said that his desire to enter politics came from a belief he could change the system from within.
“I am not entering politics for status or to earn praise,” he said on the day he joined the party. “I want to become a part of the system to transform it. I am joining the Congress to raise the voice of the people.”