Being a rebel has been an oft-repeated theme in Punjabi folk music. From the war ballads of the Sikh era to the Sufi resistance against orthodoxy to the movement against the three farm laws, its DNA is saturated with songs of rebellion.
When hip-hop washed ashore, Punjabi singers found it had a familiar energy. Many chose rap as their language of expression, talking about identity, migration, class, politics, and personal struggle. Yet, in this fierce, the quieter, soul-stirring threads of Punjab got buried with social media trends steering it to catchy hooks, wedding staples, and party anthems.
However, ironically, the very same Internet, dominated by pop, is now becoming a breeding ground for a powerful counter-movement: a folk and Sufi redux.
Rashmeet Kaur is gaining popularity for giving a new pep to folk verses and melodies like the classic ‘Bajre Da Sitta’ without sacrificing the originals. Kaur, who began her singing training with Gurbani, has caught the internet’s eye, winning plaudits from a diverse audience, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who hailed her craft on Instagram.
“Bajre da Sitta was my turning point. Before that, I have participated in a lot of reality shows, but Bajre da Sitta was popping on TikTok at that time, not in India, but in Canada first. So that happened, and then it came back to India, and people started making videos for short-form content, and everybody started calling me Bajre da Sitta girl. I think since it’s already a folk song and I’ve been singing folk songs for a very long time, I love Punjabi folk music. My interpretation reached people more; it connected with them more,” Kaur said in an interview with SCREEN.
Kaur rose to prominence after winning reality show, The Remix, an Amazon Prime original music competition judged by Sunidhi Chauhan, Amit Trivedi, and Nucleya. She went on to collaborate with Major Lazer, Diplo, and Nucleya for their album “Music Is the Weapon,” which garnered a Grammy nomination for the song “Jadi Buti.”
First inspired by her maternal grandmother, Kaur’s interest in singing was born from Punjabi weddings. “Punjabi folk music was very common to sing in these weddings and these occasions, so I think that really helped me because my ears were getting trained, so now it’s like in my blood. Now, it’s a part of me. It’s become my swag factor,” she noted.
Story continues below this ad
Kaur made her single debut in 2018 with Maati Ki Guddiya, raising awareness about child marriages in India. Most of her work, including her live sessions, Musafir and Kaura, has been influenced by the poetry of Shah Hussain and Bulleh Shah. For Kaur, Punjabi folk and poetry are timeless, and often the renditions of these legendary works have struck a chord with the younger generation.
“I think it is influencing all the youngsters in a very positive way because they are getting educated more about music and about folk. These interpretations are fused with hip-hop beats and proper boom bap beats,” she said, adding that, “Punjabi folk is timeless, the poetry is timeless, so I think I want people to feel that I’m the medium who is reaching them with these timeless things and connecting them with these poetries whether it’s poetry or music or elements, people keep coming back to it.”
Kaur draws inspiration from a vast and varied list of people, including athletes, gymnasts, and yoga practitioners, alongside countless artists. She named rapper Russ, Tom Misch, and India’s own Arijit Singh, all of whom she considers pioneers of their craft.
She strongly believes that the talent for music and singing is simply “in the blood” of Punjabis, passed down through generations. She is confident that Punjabi folk music will “never die” because it is the original “root” of all their music. She highlights how Western influences are shaping young artists, particularly the “amazing” way they can fuse Punjabi folk melodies and flows with modern hip-hop and rap beats.
When asked about how she brings Punjabi poetry into her music, Kaur said today’s young musicians are becoming smarter and using platforms like Instagram as tools for artistic expression. She shared how her journey with Kaura Live Sessions began after releasing her album Kaura in January 2024, saying, “My inspiration was NPR Tiny Desk, since I’m a live singer, this is my forte, and I should definitely do it.” Through these sessions, she felt people finally understood the deeper meaning in her songs. For Rashmeet, poetry is at the heart of her sound. “It’s all poetry, Faqeeran is written by Yogi, my friend, and we write a lot of music together.”
Story continues below this ad
Kaur further talks about her international inspirations like Doechii, Beyoncé, and others. The singer believes that what makes these artists captivating is not just their music but their authenticity. “Their art makes them hot,” she explained. “They’re God-level people. They are so connected with their art that they don’t care about the world. They’re just so true to their art that it shows, in their body language, in everything they say,” she said, referring to FK Twigs, Doja Cat, John Mayer, and Beyoncé.
Alongside her music, Kaur, in 2023, participated in the TV reality show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 13, hosted by Rohit Shetty.
Alongside her music, Rashmeet Kaur, in 2023, participated in the TV reality show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 13, hosted by Rohit Shetty (Image source: @rashmeetkaur/Instagram)