The Important Role Of Yo Yo Honey Singh In Desi Hip Hop

Yo Yo Honey Singh is a household name today in middle class, Bollywood-consuming India. Although his career has been tainted with controversies, he has unknowingly affected the geography and culture of Hip Hop in India. His  innocent contribution towards the popularization and awareness of the common people of India, towards Hip Hop, has been a secret success story.

In 2009, a friend sent me a song on titled, “Choot” which Honey Singh allegedly made (no disrespect to Badshah). The virality “Choot” generated was astonishing, especially because it happened at a time when YouTube was not the primary medium for music listeners.

Honey Singh has been popular with the critics and courts for his notorious lyrics on one end and for pop hits like “Lungi Dance, Char Bottle Vodka, etc” that he has delivered to the Indian audience on the other. Reminds me of a young Eminem who putting out, “Kill You“, which caused similar controversies in USA. No matter what Honey Singh wrote, his controversies drove his popularity and questioned India’s pillars of freedom of speech. How can a country like ours see Honey Singh’s misogyny brimming lyrics, as different from that of Eminem’s (No disrespect to Badshah).



Honey Singh remains one of the few rappers that actually penetrated the Bollywood Industry. To form an unbiased opinion, it becomes very important for us to distinguish between Commercial (read: Bollywood) music and non-commercial music. Although affected by bipolar disorder, Honey Singh was able to deliver the concept of Hip Hop to everyone who saw Chennai Express. This means that most kids in all corners of this country HAVE heard Honey Singh.

This does not mean that Honey Singh is a great rapper. He has achieved with his juvenile lyrics, what many highly talented rappers/producers in India only dream of achieving. However Honey Singh has a great team (his B’s) that he built himself (no disrespect to Raftaar). And the team is more important than the star itself, as I have come to learn. I’ve also learnt that the bait is as important as the fish fry. Soon the same listeners will explore other artists, like Naezy, Divine and Prabh Deepand before you know it, you have a Hip Hop scene. Not even Honey Singh knows he did that.



I dream that one day, Indian Hip Hop will brings consciousness to the world that establishes unity and peace. Be it the brilliant people behind Honey Singh or the heart felt lyrics of my comrades, Hip Hop takes its own course.

“Without the B’s, how can you make the Honey Singh“. – Smokey the Ghost.

Yo Yo Honey Singh, Badshah''s songs on Armaan Malik''s mind

Singer Armaan Malik, who has created waves by recreating 1990’s melodies like Tujhe Apna Banane Ki and peppy numbers like Buddhu Sa Mann, says that rap and electronic dance music (EDM) is a new and fresh approach to dance numbers.

Asked if he thinks rap and EDM are taking over Bollywood melodies, Malik said: “I don’t think so...I would call it a fresh approach to dance songs…”

Malik, who has crooned foot-tapping numbers like Rom rom romantic and Chaar shanivaar, says he likes songs by rappers like Yo Yo Honey Singh and Badshah as their songs are catchy and connect with the youth. 

“I like Honey singh. I love the music that he does. I like Badshah’s songs as they are very cool, catchy and very young. I think that’s very important...It’s connecting with the youth, he added. 

The 20-year-old singer shared that since he is a part of the youth he finds these genres a “good change”.

“But it’s more like a phase, that’s what I consider it,” he added.

Ashok Masti: I have been praying for Yo Yo Honey Singh’s comeback

Punjabi singer Ashok Masti is riding high on the success of his new song, 'Nakhra nawabi,' which has crossed the 1.5 million mark on YouTube. It is the singer's first ever collaboration with rapper Badshah, who also appears in the video of the song. Ashok was recently in TOI's Noida office for an interaction with us.

We asked the singer if he thought that Badshah has replaced Yo Yo Honey Singh to be the new rap king and he said, "Nahi main ye nahi manta, everyone has their own style, Badshah has his own. Of course, he is in the limelight these days because of the success of his songs but that does not mean it is because of Honey Singh's absence from the music scene. And also, it doesn't mean that when Honey will return, people would stop listening to Badshah."

The jolly natured singer said that Yo Yo Honey Singh is feeling better now and will soon return to the music scene. "I have heard that Honey is feeling better and will soon be back. I have been praying for him. India is a big country and it can accommodate thousands of artists. Every artist gets their due depending on how much effort you put in. I wish both, Badshah and Honey, continue to do good music while staying away from vulgarity," he signed off with a tinge of smile on his face.

Most popular Bollywood songs of 2015 which reigned YouTube [VIDEOS]

                   

The year 2015 has been pretty much musical as far as Bollywood is concerned. There have been many popular Bollywood songs that had record-breaking views on YouTube. While Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor-starrer "Dheere Dheere Se" undoubtedly stands on top of the chart, there are some other song videos that became extremely popular on YouTube.

Some of the best Hindi songs which got a huge number of views on YouTube are from movies, while some others are singles and others from albums. Some were released only recently, but have managed to rack up the views.

Check out the most popular Bollywood song videos of 2015 that claimed maximum views on YouTube

Dheere Dheere Se: This song is bound to be on top of the list. Sung and reimagined by Honey Singh from the 1990 hit, "Dheere Dheere Se" featured Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor in the video. Produced by T-Series, this single has till date claimed as many as 96,195,178 views.

Main Hoon Hero Tera: Another popular Hindi song of 2015 was "Main Hoon Hero Tera" from the movie "Hero" starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty. The song has been sung by Salman Khan, who was the producer of the film as well. It fetched 40,268,297 views.

Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan: Starring Jacqueline Fernandez, this is song video from the movie "Roy". Sung by Kanika Kapoor, the track became widely popular and still is, having received 61,874,467 views.

Samjhawan unplugged: From the movie "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, the unplugged version of "Samjhawan" was sung by Alia Bhatt, and the soulful track instantly became everyone's favourite. It is one of the most beautiful romantic songs of 2015 and no wonder it got 49,515,476 views.

DJ Waley Babu: This is one of the most popular party songs of 2015. Sung by rapper Badshah and Aastha Gill, "DJ Waley Babu" has 43,114,632 hits.

Selfie Le Le Re: Another chartbuster song featuring Salman Khan is "Selfie Le Le Re" from "Bajrangi Bhaijaan". Sung by Vishal Dadlani, Nakash Aziz and Pritam, this song has 12,758,084 views.

Afghan Jalebi: This track from the movie "Phantom" featured Katrina Kaif and was sung by Asrar. It is a fast number and claimed views at a fast pace too, totalling 42,157,666 hits.

Sun Sathiya: This song is from "ABCD 2" stars Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor. It is a slow soulful track, coupled with some beautiful dance steps by the actors. "Sun Sathiya" received 28,386,436 views.

Gerua: Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, this song recreated the magical chemistry between the pair. "Gerua" was the first song from the movie "Dilwale" and has got 33,755,616 views.

Tumhe Apna Banane Ka: This was the first song released from the movie "Hate Story 3". Featuring Sharman Joshi and Zareen Khan, this song video became quite popular, both for the beautiful music and lyrics as well as for the love-making scenes. It has earned 21,722,520 views till date.

Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon: Starring Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta, this is again a single produced by T-Series. Sung by Armaan Malik, the recently released song became quite popular and claimed 19,182,985 views.