Wazir Patar

Wazir Patar’s music combines the earthy machismo of Punjabi rap with the grime and grit of East Coast gangsta rap and G-funk. The rapper and producer from Amritsar has been grinding in the Punjabi music scene since 2017, both as a music producer and as a solo artist, and dropped his ’90s boom-bap-influenced debut album Sanu Dekhda Zamana in 2020. His work caught the eye of late Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, who brought him on as producer for three tracks—“Goat”, “Malwa Block” and “The Last Ride”—all of which went on to be massive anthems. Wazir has continued to innovate on his retro-leaning sound, rapping about life, heartbreak and Punjabi politics over increasingly assured and experimental beats on a string of EPs throughout 2022 and 2023. His second LP, 2023’s Street Knowledge, features guests including Raja Kumari, J.Hind and Sikander Kahlon rapping over woozy, hypnotic grooves and gleaming G-funk synths.