A day after he was fatally shot, Indian authorities are investigating the death of a prominent Punjabi rapper.
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, also known by his stage as Sidhu Moose Wala, was slain while driving his car in Mansa, Punjab state, northern India, on Sunday evening. Moose Wala, 28, was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead.
VK Bhawra, Punjab’s senior police official, said the first inquiry found that the killing was the consequence of an inter-gang feud.
According to local media sources, Punjab’s government had withdrawn security cover for more than 400 people, including Moose Wala, a day before the attack in an effort to crackdown on VIP culture.
Moose Wala, who fused hip-hop, rap, and folk music, began his career as a songwriter before launching his singing career in 2017 with a popular song that made him well-known among the Indian and Punjabi diaspora in nations such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
The majority of his hits have English titles, despite the fact that the songs were mostly sung in Punjabi. His glitzy music videos frequently featured macho culture. His debut album, released in 2018, is charted on the Billboard albums chart in Canada.
Because of his lyrical approach, Moose Wala was a contentious character. Police charged him in 2020 with violating India’s Arms Act by reportedly encouraging a gun culture in one of his songs.
His most recent single, The Last Ride, was released earlier this month.
The rapper became a member of India’s Congress party.
The murder outraged and horrified Punjab’s chief minister, Bhagwant Mann, who added that “no perpetrator will be spared.”
Rahul Gandhi, a senior Congressman, expressed his condolences on Twitter. He remarked, “Deeply horrified and saddened by the assassination of a promising legislative leader and creative artist.”