"Mundian To Bach Ke", also titled "Beware of the Boys " or "Beware", is a bhangra song produced by Panjabi MC, with vocals and lyrics by Punjabi artist Labh Janjua. The song was originally released in 1997, produced by Panjabi MC in Birmingham, United Kingdom for the albumLegalised. Following its re-release as a single in 2002 with Jay-Z, it achieved considerable worldwide success, topping the singles charts in Italy and Belgium, and charting highly in many other countries. The song sold 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Lyrics and music
In addition to features of bhangra music, "Mundian To Bach Ke" also uses the bass line and part of the beat from "Fire It Up" by Busta Rhymes, which in turn is based around a sample from the television theme song for Knight Rider, written by Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips, as an underlying element and lyrics originally written by Channi Singh. The lyrics of the song are in Punjabi. The video to this song was shot in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Chart performances
The song was originally released in the United Kingdom on Panjabi MC's 1998 album Legalised. Partially fueled by Internet downloads, it charted again in 2003. In Germany, it sold over 100,000 in the first two days alone, and debuted at #2 in the Germany charts and reached #1 in the Italy charts. The week of its official release in the UK on Dharma Records, it debuted at #5 on the top 40 charts; it was also the first bhangra song to reach the UK top 10. The remix, featuring American rapper Jay-Z, also hit #33 on the Billboard charts in the United States and #10 in Canada. The Washington Post estimated that there may have been 10 million units sold worldwide. However, given that many of these copies may have been bootlegged, an exact number is not known, though sales are at least in the millions.
"Mundian To Bach Ke" is used frequently in western media when Indian characters are introduced or are on screen. It was used on an episode of ER, when Gallant and Neela danced to a version of the song, which Gallant called a "Sikh rap".
"Mundian To Bach Ke" was also used in America's Best Dance Crew Season 2 on week 9 of the Around The World challenge as part of the Indian dance section. It also appeared in an episode of the Americantelevision showQueer as Folk during a scene at the clubBabylon. A version of this song was used in the Ginebra San Miguel "Bilog Ang Mundo" ad campaigns in 2003. The song was featured in an episode of Entourage. It was used twice in the pilot of the NBC comedy Outsourced.
"Mundian To Bach Ke" was featured in the 2003 film Bulletproof Monk.
"Mundian To Bach Ke" was also the song used by Derek Hough and Shawn Johnson in their Knight Rider bhangra-themed dance in the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars.
The remix of "Mundian To Bach Ke", which featured American rapper Jay-Z, also on Dharma Records, was featured in the trailer for the 2012 American filmThe Dictator, as the film's main theme song.
Sports-comedy Stick It featured the beginning of "Mundian To Bach Ke" in a scene where a group of teens escapes from the arriving police.
"Mundian To Bach Ke" was used in the dance games Dance Central 3 and Just Dance 4.
"Mundian To Bach Ke" was used on the June 2019 Edexcel GCSE Music Paper. It featured on the Section B essay along with the track Release by Afro Celt Sound System.
