A fan of late singer Sidhu Moose Wala and among a growing crop of young Punjabi singers based in Canada like AP Dhillon, rapper Shubh has courted controvery over his alleged support for Khalistan that saw his 'Still Rollin' tour getting cancelled.
Shubh, whose full name is Shubhneet Singh, was supposed to perform in around 12 cities across India over the next two months. The Punjab-born 26-year-old rapper has one million followers on Instagram and 13 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
The development coincides at a time when relations between India and Canada have soured due to Canada's alleged soft stance towards Khalistani sympathasiers.
Earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed there was evidence suggesting a possible link between the Indian government and the killing of Khalistani sympathiser Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year. The Indian government called the accusations "absurd and motivated".
READ | Canada-Based Singer Shubh Faces Backlash Ahead Of India Tour, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul Unfollow Him
What Is The Controversy All About?
The controversy, however, is not new and not related to the recent diplomatic row between India and Canada.
In March this year, when Punjab police and intelligence agencies were on the hunt for Khalistan leader and radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the rapper shared a distorted map of India on Instagram with a message reading "Pray for Punjab".
The map shared by Shubh was without the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Northeast. Even though he deleted the map later, he faced backlash from outfits in India, especially from Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), for his purported support to the Khalistan movement.
The BJYM, which is the youth wing of Mumbai Police, lodged a complaint with Mumbai Police, requesting an FIR against the Canadian singer over the distorted map. The BJYM said Shubh's intention was to show that Punjab was not a part of India and further the Khalistani agenda.
The BJYM also sought cancellation of Shubh's shows and his posters were blackened and torn down in Mumbai.
What Has Been The Fallout Of The Controversy?
Shubh's 'Still Rollin India Tour' was announced on August 4. It was suposed to take place in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Jaipur, IANS reported.
Even before the tour was cancelled, consumer electronics company boAt withdrew sponsorship from the event.
"At boAt, while our commitment to the incredible music community runs deep, we are first and foremost a true Indian brand. Therefore, when we became aware of the remarks made by artist Shubh earlier this year, we chose to withdraw our sponsorship of the tour," the firm said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
On Wednesday, the hashtag UninstallBookMyShow started trending on X and the ticket booking application faced backlash on social media for hosting Shubh's event in India.
Hours later, the multi-city tour was cancelled. "Still Rollin Tour for India stands cancelled. To that end, BookMyShow has initiated a complete refund of the ticket amount for all consumers who had purchased tickets for the show," BookMyShow posted on X.
The incident also hit Shubh's global fanbase. Several personalities and cricketers reportedly unfollowed the Canadian rapper on social media.
Virat Kohli, who has praised the singer in the past, unfollowed him. A video of Kohli dancing to one of the songs of the rapper had gone viral earlier. Cricketers KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya have also unfollowed Shubh.
How Shubh Rose To Fame?
Shubh's track 'We Rollin', released in 2021, was a runaway hit and saw the budding rapper gain prominence among the Punjabi diaspora across Canada. It presently has over 201 million views on YouTube. There was no looking back after this as he released several hit singles such as 'No Love', 'Elevated', 'OG' and 'Dior'. His single 'Baller' featured in the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.