Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967), known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song " Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ten during August 1993.

Biography and career

Born into a family of Indian origins, Kapur was raised in Handsworth, Birmingham, UK, 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 In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

and grew dreadlocks. By the mid-1980s he had trimmed his hair and began to make a name for himself as a

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

deejay. Apache 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. The single mixed ragga and bhangra sounds and was hugely popular among audiences of both genres. 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 Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. With the collaboration of his cousins Simon & Diamond, he introduced the new hybrid sound of bhangra

raggamuffin Ragamuffin or Raggamuffin may refer to: Film * ''The Ragamuffin'', a 1916 American silent film by William C. deMille * ''Ragamuffin'', a 2014 film directed by David Schultz about Rich Mullins Music * Raggamuffin music, or ragga, a reggae and dan ...

– 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 Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. Biography Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called ...

in 1993. It was followed by '' Make Way for the Indian'' (produced by Sly & Robbie, The Press, Mafia & Fluxy, Pandit Dineysh and Chris Lane), which featured rapper Tim Dog and spawned the hit " Boom Shack-A-Lak". By 1997 he parted ways with Island and his next album, "Real People" (produced by Harjinder Boparai) was signed and released by Warner Bros. Sweden and proved to be his most experimental album, and also featured more Indian elements than the other albums. By 2000, Apache had parted ways with Warner; he later signed to US management company Sunset Entertainment Group, which would lead later on in 2013 for Apache to collaborate on an album with hit producers Jim Beanz & Charlie Hype (both also signed to Sunset Entertainment Group). Lyrically, Apache Indian usually sings in Jamaican Patois. He has written songs about serious topics, such as "Arranged Marriage", "Aids Warning", and "Election Crisis". as well as lighter songs such as "Boom Shack-A-Lak", "Jump Up", "Girls Dem Fiyah", and "Celebrate". Apache Indian has recorded with Wreckx 'n' Effect, the United States

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topper

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

, Maxi Priest, General Levy, Brian and Tony Gold, Frankie Paul, Shaggy, Yami Bolo, Boy George, A. R. Rahman, Sameera Singh, Asha Bhosle and Pras of the Fugees, Malkit Singh, and with Jazzy B on the album ''Dil Luteya'', StereoNation, Sasi the Don, Bally Sagoo, Raghav, and Jim Beanz. "Boom Shack-A-Lak" is featured in several Hollywood movies, including '' Dumb and Dumber'' and ''

Dumb and Dumber To ''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise and a sequel to the 1994 film ''Dumb and Dumber''. The film stars Ji ...

''. It is also featured on the soundtrack for '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'', along with artists such as

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is an English musician, DJ, and record producer who helped to popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Cook was the bassist f ...

, The B-52's,

2 Unlimited 2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...

and

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and the movie ''Threesome''. In 2018, he co-hosted the

Brit Asia TV Music Awards The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that is held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010 (except in 2016), usually in October. The awards show is produced by ...

with Preeya Kalidas. His single "Om Namaha Shivaya" is on the

Putumayo World Music Putumayo World Music is a New Orleans-based record label that specializes in compilations of world music, jazz and blues. History Dan Storper founded Putumayo in 1975 as a retail store in New York City featuring handicrafts from around the wo ...

compilation album, ''World Reggae'' which is a collection of reggae tracks performed by artists from around the world. Apache Indian was nominated for a

Ivor Novello Ivor Novello (born David Ivor Davies; 15 January 1893 – 6 March 1951) was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. He was born into a musical ...

award for best contemporary song for "Arranged Marriage", and nominated for a Mercury Music Prize for his debut album ''No Reservations'' in 1993. Apache Indian was also nominated for the

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and Arts Asian Jewel Award in 2004. Apache was presented an award at the Asian Media Awards in Manchester UK for his talk show ''Real Talk'' (featured on

Brit Asia TV Brit Asia TV is a British television channel that is aimed at the British Asian audience. It launched in 2008 and is known for the Brit Asia TV Music Awards. The channel is available on satellite and publishes videos on Dailymotion and YouTube. Be ...

) in 2013 and in 2014 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award also at the Asian Media Awards. In late 2014, Apache received a lifetime achievement award from Brit Asia TV. Apache Indian did a limited release of his album "It Is What It Is" (IiWiI) in the fall of 2013 on Universal India. The album's first single "Celebrate" was a collaboration with Canadian pop singer Raghav and producer Jim Beanz. The album was written and recorded in Philadelphia at the Sunset Entertainment Group headquarters, featuring production from Jim Beanz, Charlie Hype, TroyBoi and J.Nick. He was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

(BEM) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to music and young people. and performed at the closing ceremony for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in his hometown of Birmingham.

Apache Indian Music Academy

In November 2013, Apache Indian opened the Apache Indian Music Academy at South and City College, in his hometown of Handsworth.

Awards

*Best Newcomer British Reggae Industry Awards 1990 * UK Asian Music Awards – Best International Success 2003 * UK Asian Music Awards – Outstanding Achievement 2005 * UK Asian Music Awards – Lifetime Achievement Award 2011 *

Biography and career

Apache Indian Music Academy

Awards

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

References

External links