Kapur grew up in Handsworth, a racially mixed area with large Black and Asian communities, home of reggae bands such as Steel Pulse, and by the early 1980s he was working with local sound systems and wearing dreadlocks.[1] By the mid-1980s he had trimmed his hair and began to make a name for himself as a dancehall deejay, and he recorded his first single in 1990, "Movie Over India", initially a white-label pressing, until it was picked up by the reggae distributor Jet Star.[1] The single mixed ragga and bhangra and was hugely popular among audiences of both genres.[1] Two further singles followed in a similar vein, "Chok There" and "Don Raja", bringing him to the attention of the major labels, and in 1992 he signed a recording contract with Island Records.[1]
With the collaboration of his cousins Simon & Diamond now referred to as Dj Swami, he introduced the new hybrid sound of bhangra raggamuffin - also known as bhangramuffin - to the world with his first album No Reservations, recorded in Jamaica and produced by Simon & Diamond, Phil Chill, Robert Livingston, Bobby Digital and Sly Dunbar) in 1993.[1] It was followed by Make Way for the Indian, (produced by Sly & Robbie, The Press, Mafia & Fluxy, Pandit Dinesh and Chris Lane), which featured rapper Tim Dog and spawned the hit, "Boom Shack-A-Lak". By 1997 he had been dropped by Island and his next album,[2] Real People / Wild East (produced by Harjinder Boparai) proved to be his most experimental album, and also...
