The Vancouver-based rap artist is also lining up collaborations with Indian artists later this year
Anurag Tagat
Apr 06, 2021
Vancouver-based hip-hop artist BAINS. Photo: Courtesy of Owake
Influenced by hip-hop artists such as Kid Cudi and Don Toliver, Vancouver-based Pritpaul Bains (who goes by last name) says he started rapping at the age of 14. “At the time, it felt like there weren’t a lot of brown artists to look up to and model myself after,” he says.
In Canada alone, there’s now been a great deal of Indian diaspora in hip-hop; from stars like NAV to Cartel Madras and more. Bains says, “All that’s changing and it’s beautiful to see. We really out here!” The rapper – who has roots in pind Sarhalakhurd in Punjab, from where his grandfather moved to Canada in 1970 – has been making his own mark, building followership after featuring on hip-hop artist bbno$’s 2018 song “bad girl,” in which Bains leads with the lines, “I ain’t Hindu/I’ll beef witchu.” Most recently, however, Bains offers a breezy, confident track “Da’Shade.”
Released via Vancouver label Owake along with a music video directed by Brock Newman, we see Bains at his finest, while also caught in pensive poses to match the lyrics about how life has got better than before, even though there’s still work to be done. “Da’Shade” is Bains’ third single out in 2021, following songs like “Played” (featuring Indo-Canadian artist REVÈ) and “SorryBae.” He says, “It was a long process for our team getting the right pieces lined up, but I’m glad we were patient.”
Up next, there’s more singles dropping through the course of the year. “I’ve got some really exciting collabs coming up with some Indian artists I can’t wait to share. It’s incredible to see the boom of diaspora artists happening right now.”
Watch the video for “Da’Shade” below.
