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Hard Kaur |
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Hard Kaur’s
voice carries
an edgy sort
of liveliness
and it flows with the
power and cadence of
a true MC. Her svelte
good looks epitomize
a classical Indian
loveliness. Born in
India to a Punjabi
family, Taran Kaur
Dhillon was still a
child when she lost her
father in the 1984 riots.
But her grit and robust
Punjabi optimism
helped her carve a
new destiny for herself.
In 1991 her family
immigrated to England,
and in another few
years Taran Kaur had
transmogrified herself
into Hard Kaur, the
celebrated female rap
artist. Her unusual
performances in music
videos have suddenly
turned her into hot
property. She is on
the fast track towards
everlasting and
enduring stardom and
deservedly so.
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Tell us about your new album
SupaWoman.
Don’t you just hate it when can only
listen to about 2 songs on the album
because the rest are just crap filler tracks.
I wanted to create an album, which you
can listen to from start to finish without
getting bored, and SupaWoman does just
that. If you yearn for new beats, sounds,
vocals & lyrics, you will definitely like
SupaWoman!
What were your major Influences
when you wrote your album?
I wrote the album for people who kind
of relish the Hard Kaur vibe & sound.
My album encompasses threads from
hardcore Hip-Hop, Ghazals, Drum & Bass
to Bollywood and R&B. Mostly the album
is like a breath of fresh air. It gets inspired
by the creative force of producers and
artists who are brimful of fresh energy. |
You got schooled in England, right?
Yeah, that’s true. When I moved to
England in 1991, I hardly knew how to
speak English. I was bullied at school
for being a “Freshie” (an insult used by
British Asians for people who come from
India). My original passion & talent was
in dancing. The black girls in my school
respected the fact that I could dance
well. As I started hanging out with them
the bullying stopped. Whilst hanging
out with them, I got introduced to music
such as jungle, Ragga and of course my
favorite Hip-Hop.
How did you become involved in the
music industry?
I started quite early. I was a good singer
even when I was in school, and as soon
as I left school, I became the first Asian
female rap artist. I started writing and
mastering myself as an MC. Soon I was
releasing my own tracks and here I am
14 years later, feeling so good that my
SupaWoman album has been released! |
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Your track ‘Move Your Body’ from
Johnny Gaddar is being played all over
India. Are you getting the recognition
and respect you deserve here?
Yes, definitely. It is my pleasure to
be involved in the sound track for a
wonderful film like Johnny Gaddar. I’m
privileged to work with talented people
like Shanker, Ehsaan and Loy. People are
giving me so much love and respect, all
this means so much to me. I’m here to
show that I’m not just a one hit wonder.
I’m versatile and original.
What did you spend your first ever
royalty cheque on?
My first royalty cheque went to my mum.
I owe her everything in life. She has
always been supportive of my dreams
and my music. She gave me strength in
time of need.
What’s the most
embarrassing
thing to happen
to you on stage?
Nothing
embarrasses
me. I’m what
they call Shame
Proof (Laughing).
Well once, my
performance
began on a
staircase to the
stage and as soon as I said “Ladies and
gentleman” I fell so hard on my ass! But I
recovered quickly; I got up straight away
like nothing had happened. The crowd
found my antics really funny and they all
started clapping. This incident could be
added to my personal hall of shame. But
seriously it was really funny. |
What was the most difficult album to
produce?
A track called 1984 Changed My Life. I
wrote about my experiences as a child,
growing up in Uttar Pradesh and about
the 1984 riots, and moving to England
only to get heaped by racial abuse by
people from my own land. It was quite
difficult to put it all together without
harming anyone’s feeling and giving it
the right reflection of the story.
What do you see yourself doing in 5
years?
Well, I see a clothing label, a few films,
record and production house. A home on
a Goan beach. Babies maybe. Surgery/
botox, the usual stuff, I guess.
Who do you look up to? Both
professionally and personally?
Professionally I look up to all the greats
like Nas, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Gangstarr,
Asha Bosle, James Brown, R.D. Burman,
Michael Jackson, Kishore Kumar, Bappi
Lehri, Beyonce, Paul Weller to Unkle…
The list of my favorites is a never-ending
one, so I’ll stop here.
In my personal life, it is my Mum that
I look up to. She inspires me with her
great charisma and her even greater
work ethic.
While conceiving your music what
type of audience do you have in mind?
Teenagers? Middle aged people?
It’s everybody. I have a following from the
age of 2 right up to 72. My biggest fans
in UK are the Pakistani girls, whereas in
India it’s totally everyone from Punjab
to Bollywood stars. But in New York,
my audience consists of the Hip-Hop
aficionados. |
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Any desire to move back to India?
Everyday....But then I’m fickle in
nature. These days I am living my
life on the fast track, where I’m in UK
for one week and then in Mumbai
for another. I have the best of both
worlds.
What’s it like to hear your own
tracks at a club?
It’s a bit weird but it definitely feels
good. I feel proud of my work. All my
friends, especially Reju, get really
charmed & excited when they hear
my tracks in a club. They even try to
dance like me and rap my lyrics! It is
all so funny and exciting.
Anybody in your love life?
What love life? I wish I had time for
a love life! I’m just enjoying my work
right now and haven’t met the right
guy yet.
Is there any artist you are dying to
work with?
Yeah so many - Busta Rymes, Amy
Winehouse, Sajid and Wajid.
You shaved your head so people
would view you as an artist and
not a sex symbol. Did it work?
Well most of time, yes. It was funny
because people actually started
getting scared of me. Some people
did find it quite sexy too. Oh well,
you can never have everything your
way.
What advice would you give to people
who want to follow their dreams but
are scared to?
Be scared; be very scared because it
isn’t easy at all. If you know that your
talent is worth it and you stay strong,
you can make it. You must have
knowledge of what you’re doing and
you must understand what you need
to do to achieve your goal. The most
important thing is not to give up. You’ll
have good and bad times, but that’s
life. So most importantly, live and learn
from those mistakes.
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What do you like to do when you’re
not working?
Eat-Eat-Eat... I love going out to
different restaurants, where I try
different flavors of food. At times, I get
all my friends together and we go out
to watch films and eat popcorn.
Is there anything you would change
about your past?
Apart from dating a few losers…no,
not really.
Any wild concert stories?
Well there is one. Once a male artist
got rude with me backstage because
the crowd enjoyed my performance
better then his. It was a typical case of
a male ego problem. He swore at me,
I punched him so hard, that he would
never ever insult a woman again,
but as usual I got the blame. That’s a
woman’s life, that’s Hard Kaur’s life.
Anything else you would like to
add?
Buy my new album SupaWoman. It
will change your life. Kisses and best
of luck.
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