If you are a headphone-wearing music addict, who kept a keen note of everything happening on the radio in the late 2000s or early 2010s, chances are you have at least heard one or two soundtracks or even an album by Jay Sean. Even now, the most kicking clubs sound empty without the track 'Ride It' playing at least once. The singer was recently in India to perform at concerts in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Just minutes before his Mumbai concert last week, WION got the opportunity to speak to Jay Sean via Zoom call. Here's an excerpt of the conversation:

WION: Jay Sean, hello and welcome to WION. How have you been?

Jay Sean: Thank you for having me you guys, I have been incredible. I have had the most wonderful&nbsp;tour of India. Especially bearing in mind, that during the pandemic, we were unable to tour as artists, that was so difficult for us. I usually come to India at least once a year, so it was really nice for me to be back. &nbsp;&nbsp;

WION: You had shows in New Delhi, Bengaluru and now you have one in Mumbai. How has the response been so far?

Jay Sean:&nbsp;I mean honestly, absolutely electrifying. We have very different shows depending on what part of the world I am performing in. In Delhi,&nbsp;it's a very heavy Punjabi roots demographic so it allows me to be able to draw certain songs that will really act well in that audience, that I don’t necessarily get to perform in other parts of the world. So that was super fun. Then in Bengaluru, we almost got rained out. We had an outdoor venue. It was like an amphitheatre, and I didn’t expect this time it would rain. But the show went on and it was absolutely wonderful. I'm pretty sure that tonight is going to be amazing, all our tickets are sold out. So it would be great. &nbsp;

WION: When did you decide that you&nbsp;just want to sing?

Jay Sean:&nbsp;You know it was always more than just singing for me. I&nbsp;enjoy the process of singing.&nbsp;I enjoy writing songs, and I enjoy performing them but what I wanted to do was&nbsp;to change the way South Asian people such as myself were portrayed in society. When I was a kid, and I listened to Hip Hop, there wasn’t anybody who looked like me on TV.&nbsp;There was no brown boy doing mainstream music and I thought to myself, well that needs to change, doesn't it? Look how many of us are there are in this world. We are the second largest demographic on planet Earth, and you can't name me one&nbsp;Indian popstar...are you serious! So I was like this needs to change. And that to this day is something that I have always advocated for.&nbsp;I have always wanted more of us in mainstream representation.&nbsp;I've always tried to break down the barriers and that to me is my calling. &nbsp;

WION: What should we expect from Jay Sean? Give an exclusive on your upcoming albums or songs?

Jay Sean: Music is always going to be there for me and I will keep doing it as long as people want to keep hearing music from me, but I have a bigger picture, a bigger vision. I am creating a hub&nbsp;to bring out South Asian artists and be that portal to the mainstream. Everything I have been through in my career, you have to go through that process, you can't necessarily bring that whole scene forward if you yourself are not established. So now I'm in that position, where I'm in the spotlight so I want to bring the next generation artists to the spotlight, whether they are singers, songwriters, performers, dancers, authors, actors.&nbsp;This is my main goal now, so that's something I have been working on. &nbsp;

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If you are a headphone-wearing music addict, who kept a keen note of everything happening on the radio in the late 2000s or early 2010s, chances are you have at least heard one or two soundtracks or even an album by Jay Sean.

If you are a headphone-wearing music addict, who kept a keen note of everything happening on the radio in the late 2000s or early 2010s, chances are you have at least heard one or two soundtracks or even an album by Jay Sean. Even now, the most kicking clubs sound empty without the track 'Ride It' playing at least once. The singer was recently in India to perform at concerts in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Just minutes before his Mumbai concert last week, WION got the opportunity to speak to Jay Sean via Zoom call. Here's an excerpt of the conversation: WION: Jay Sean, hello and welcome to WION. How have you been? Jay Sean: Thank you for having me you guys, I have been incredible. I have had the most wonderful tour of India. Especially bearing in mind, that during the pandemic, we were unable to tour as artists, that was so difficult for us. I usually come to India at least once a year, so it was really nice for me to be back. WION: You had shows in New Delhi, Bengaluru and now you have one in Mumbai. How has the response been so far? Jay Sean: I mean honestly, absolutely electrifying. We have very different shows depending on what part of the world I am performing in. In Delhi, it's a very heavy Punjabi roots demographic so it allows me to be able to draw certain songs that will really act well in that audience, that I don’t necessarily get to perform in other parts of the world. So that was super fun. Then in Bengaluru, we almost got rained out. We had an outdoor venue. It was like an amphitheatre, and I didn’t expect this time it would rain. But the show went on and it was absolutely wonderful. I'm pretty sure that tonight is going to be amazing, all our tickets are sold out. So it would be great. WION: When did you decide that you just want to sing? Jay Sean: You know it was always more than just singing for me. I enjoy the process of singing. I enjoy writing songs, and I enjoy performing them but what I wanted to do was to change the way South Asian people such as myself were portrayed in society. When I was a kid, and I listened to Hip Hop, there wasn’t anybody who looked like me on TV. There was no brown boy doing mainstream music and I thought to myself, well that needs to change, doesn't it? Look how many of us are there are in this world. We are the second largest demographic on planet Earth, and you can't name me one Indian popstar...are you serious! So I was like this needs to change. And that to this day is something that I have always advocated for. I have always wanted more of us in mainstream representation. I've always tried to break down the barriers and that to me is my calling. WION: What should we expect from Jay Sean? Give an exclusive on your upcoming albums or songs? Jay Sean: Music is always going to be there for me and I will keep doing it as long as people want to keep hearing music from me, but I have a bigger picture, a bigger vision. I am creating a hub to bring out South Asian artists and be that portal to the mainstream. Everything I have been through in my career, you have to go through that process, you can't necessarily bring that whole scene forward if you yourself are not established. So now I'm in that position, where I'm in the spotlight so I want to bring the next generation artists to the spotlight, whether they are singers, songwriters, performers, dancers, authors, actors. This is my main goal now, so that's something I have been working on.

Exclusive! Jay Sean: Want to bring more South Asian talents to the spotlight

If you were a headphone-wearing a music addict, who kept a keen note of everything happening on the radio in the early 2000s and early 2010s, chances are you found yourself dancing to the tracks of Jay Sean. The British-Asian star toured India recently, just minutes before his Mumbai concert WION had an exclusive chat with him, the hit-maker spoke about his love for India and more.

Indian-origin artist Jay Sean exclusive on his love for India, music and more | WION Exclusive

If the saying ‘Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani’ were a person, British R&B artiste Rishi Rich would be it. With one foot in London and another in Mumbai, this ‘Gully Boy’ collaborator is still navigating the enigma that is India.

If the saying ‘Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani’ were a person, British R&B artiste Rishi Rich would be it. With one foot in London and another in Mumbai, this ‘Gully Boy’ collaborator is still navigating the enigma that is India. One rhythm, one blues at a time. “I have always wanted to infuse my different cultures, something I have done with ‘Gully boy’ and ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’,” he says from his apartment home in the city of dreams. He assures us that as the founding member of The Rishi Rich Project—that had introduced the idea of desi fusion to many—he may have lost touch with the others who had constituted the crew, but not Jay Sean. In an exclusive chat with WION, the celebrated musician talks about his association with Netflix’s in-house baddie ‘Bad Boy Billionaires: India’, his penchant for (musical) perfection, and of course, his camaraderie with ‘brother’ Jay Sean. Excerpts from the conversation: WION: To put it simply, ‘Zakham’ is Bollywood-meets-Brooklyn. What prompted this British boy to seek inspiration from the streets of Brooklyn? What’s the story? RR: I’ve always been inspired by hip hop and R&B and obviously, Hindi music. And when I heard the original song from Zakham I just had to sample it. I have a great working relationship with Ishtar Music and they love how I sample music. So it was a no brainer. With Zakham, once the sample was placed and the foundation of the beat made… I just knew that an Indian American Rapper would be the only kind of artist to do it justice and that’s why I called up Rush Toor. Though it took me a little while to get the feel and vibe right, I’m pleased how it’s all come together! WION: You have created the background music (BGM) for Netflix’s mammoth success ‘Bad Boy Billionaires: India’. In what ways was that experience different from making extended plays (EPs) and even full-length albums? RR: I think when working on score and title music there is a different approach to working on the music. You have to capture those fleeting moments of emotion, passion, fear… the music has to bring what’s happening on screen to life. It’s a big responsibility! Whereas working on singles and albums is more based around what the artist wants or how I want to sound, so the execution and vision is different I would say. But, Scoring film and BGM is something which is always something I’ve loved doing and I’m working on some exciting new projects for the same. WION: For someone who has lived in India for a few seconds, you seem to be making (and getting nominated for!) a lot of music here in Bollywood. How do you imbibe your Indian roots into your western way of life and upbringing? RR: Being in India for the last five years has been such a wonderful creative experience. I’ve always wanted to live here and make music infusing my different cultures which is something I have done with films like Gully boy and Pal Pal Dil ke pass to name a few. Even prior to living in India, I have always tried to pour my culture, my roots into all my music. Even if you hear my doing a hip-hop song, you would still be able to feel the trails of my Indian culture and roots too. It’s a fusion. WION: In one of my earlier interviews with Jay Sean, I vividly remember him calling you a ‘brother for life’. What are your thoughts on him? RR: Ahh! We have an amazing relationship. We are brothers and have been through so much together. Our bond goes so much beyond music. So much so that now whenever we talk, we’re always talking about our future plans and what we want to do next. Working on Nakhre with him was so much fun and Jay as an artist never fails to impress me. He’s just a star! View this post on Instagram A post shared by RISHI RICH (@rishirich) × WION: India is experiencing a wave of change in its music scene: underground artists going main stream being a major one. Do you think showbiz changes the musician in a person? RR: Well I can only talk from personal experience and for me nothing should change you. It’s always about the music. And for me, it will always come down to that. Longevity is the key and remaining true to yourself and who you are, is what will keep you around in the long run! View this post on Instagram A post shared by RISHI RICH (@rishirich) ×

WION exclusive- British R&B artist Rishi Rich: Jay Sean and I have a relationship that goes beyond music

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Exclusive! Jay Sean: Want to bring more South Asian talents to the spotlight

Indian-origin artist Jay Sean exclusive on his love for India, music and more | WION Exclusive

WION exclusive- British R&B artist Rishi Rich: Jay Sean and I have a relationship that goes beyond music