Pak-Man and Guru Lahori teamed up to receive “Proper Credit” that is due to them. Needless to say both the artists are highly skilled and when put together on a track the outcome was sure to cause mayhem. The original version of the track was released exclusively via DesiHipHop.com only some time ago. Post which we had dropped hints about Pak-Man roping in Guru Lahori for the track. And now the official remix video is finally out!
Order “Proper Credit (Remix)” Pak-Man ft. Guru Lahori NOW!
While the original track had our heads bobbing, the remix is just as captivating. Guru Lahori brought his unique Punjabi flavour to the beat produced by Dystinkt Beats. Music video for the remix has been directed by GTF Films and Hook K-Major. We got in touch with Pak-Man to know one on one details about the track, and what else is in the pipeline for him.
“I see a lot of talent in the current Desi Hip-Hop scene and just encourage them to keep grinding. Don’t compare your chapter 1 with someone else’s chapter 20, do you and focus on your own.” – Pak-Man
1) How did your interest in Hip Hop spark? How has the musical journey been so far?
It was around 1993 or 1994 and I was about 7 or 8 years old. At that time my mom was a single parent so my Grandparents & Uncles were helping raise my 2 siblings and I in order for my mom to work full time and get on her feet. So we lived with my Uncles & Grandparents throughout the weekdays for school purposes and only saw our mom on the weekends. I guess she knew how difficult it was for us to be away from her for so long. So when she would pick us up on Friday nights, she would “Reward” us by taking us to “K-Mart” and allow us to pick out one thing that we wanted. I think we had a $5 or $10 limit that we couldn’t exceed or she’d tell us to PUT IT BACK! (laughs).
Although she didn’t have much money, this kind of became our “Friday Tradition” when she would pick us up. So, I’m walking up and down the aisles and trying to figure out what exactly do I want that won’t exceed her budget. I walked down all the toy aisles and didn’t see anything I wanted, then I moved on to the “Electronics” section. I was a big “Video Game LOVER” so of course I drifted towards that section and I could ALWAYS find one that I wanted. Of course the games were too expensive but I would try anyways and ask my mom, but she would reply, “Next time Kashi, mummie doesn’t have the money for that right now, so pick something else.”
(Pak-Man’s “Rap The Beat” cassette)
So I put the game back and started looking through the Movie and Music section on the other side of the video games. So I’m browsing and browsing and end up picking up this Cassette. It was a “Rap/Hip-Hop” Cassette and I still remember the name to this day, it was called, “Rap The Beat”! I had a “walk man” and I remember when I popped it in and put my headphones on, I WAS HOOKED!
Although my Grandparents & Uncles didn’t like that I was listening to “Rap”, I stayed listening to it all day everyday. The dope thing about that cassette was that it was a “Compilation” so it had Various Artists and Songs on one Cassette (kind of like a mix-tape). L,L Cool J- I can’t live with my radio, M|A|R|R|S- Pump up the volume, RUN DMC- Tricky, Eazy-E- Radio, Eric B & Rakim + more. So that’s how the Hip-Hop BUG bit me.
2) Who are you taking shots at in “Proper Credit”?
I wasn’t necessarily taking a shot at any “One” person in particular but more so trying to convey my experiences growing up as a “Desi Artist”. From the people that said, “Desi’s Can’t Rap”, to people who didn’t believe, to all the “naysayers” in general. I wrote this song to motivate anybody that has ever felt like they didn’t belong, to the person that busts their ass at their job but never gets any credit for it, or to any Artist that have wanted to pursue music but are put down by people saying, “They can’t do it”. In this song I’m basically saying, when people can’t do something THEMSELVES, they’re going to try and black you out by saying that YOU can’t do it…so don’t believe them.
3) How did the idea of roping Guru Lahori in for a remix occur?
Guru and I first got wind of each other about 2-3 years ago. A “Desi” Record Label reached out to me after hearing my track “La La La” Ft I-Khan. They offered a Record Deal and asked for a collab from me with a few of their artists. Although they had some pretty well known Artists on their roster like Bilal Saeed and some other big names, I felt like signing a “Record Deal” equates to a “Marriage”, and I wasn’t ready for that BIG of a commitment. They were located in UK and I’m here in the US so I just felt we should “Date First” and by that I mean, do a few collabs and see where it goes from there…If that makes sense?
So I did 2 songs with their Artist U’zair “Aithbaar & Rang Bazi” and 1 with Adeel Sadiq “Wichora”. They would pay for the verses and Video Time if needed, and I would deliver. Anyways at that time, I believe they had reached out to Guru as well for some collabs and that’s how him and I got in contact with each other. We kept contact via Facebook and spoke of a collab a while ago but weren’t able to make it happen until NOW!
4) Tell us more about your rapport with Guru, any special memory you can recollect during this collaboration?
Guru heard the track and was feeling it because he could relate to it, so he agreed to jump on. After we recorded the song the initial plan was for him to shoot the video for his verse in Canada and I would shoot my part in ATL, and we would just mix it together with the editing. So I scheduled a date to shoot my part in ATL and then my videographer was just going to wait for his videographer to send over his part. Guru’s Videographer ended up moving to another city or something so this video almost DIDN’T happen!
Literally last minute, because I had already scheduled a shoot with my Videographer, I suggested to Guru that he come to ATL from Canada and shoot the video with me in person. Busy schedule and all, Guru made it work so I flew him down to ATL the next week. Now Guru and I have always communicated on the phone and Internet prior to this video, so this was our FIRST time meeting in person. Although it was only a “Few Days” visit, we instantly connected and shared the same values. My family and friends clicked with him as well, so I definitely consider him like a little brother.
5) Your views on the current Desi Hip Hop scene. Any message for our readers?
I see a lot of talent in the current Desi Hip-Hop scene and just encourage them to keep grinding. Don’t compare your chapter 1 with someone else’s chapter 20, do you and focus on your own. Stay tuned for some more NEW music coming from me soon!