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Responsible for launching the career of transatlantic R&B star Jay Sean, British Punjabi songwriter and producer Rishi Rich is perhaps the most influential figure on the U.K. Asian pop scene. Born Rishpal Singh Rekhi in Croydon, London, he began playing various classical Indian instruments from a young age, landed a job as a runner in a recording studio at 11, and signed a record deal with his friend just two years later under the guise of 2Kool, who released several albums before disbanding in 1997. After forming the duo VR1 with soul singer Veronica, he signed a solo deal with Bally Sagoo's Ishq Records label and released his debut LP, Simply Rich in 2002, which earned rave reviews for its unique fusion of contemporary R&B and bhangra. He continued to develop his innovative sound on Hindi remixes of various pop singles, and after penning hits for Mis-Teeq and Craig David, he discovered former doctor Jay Sean, who sent him a demo of one of his early tracks. In 2003, he teamed up with the singer and Juggy D under the name of the Rishi Rish Project to score his first U.K. Top 40 single, "Dance with You," and a year later produced the former's debut album, Me Against Myself. In 2006 he released his collaborative sophomore outing, The Project, and soon after developed his own production company with entertainment entrepreneur Waleed Jahangir, which went onto develop artists like H-Dhami, Mumzy Stranger, and Veronica Mehta, while in 2009 he was given a special "Commitment to the Scene" accolade at the Asian Music Awards.
Wikipedia:
Rishpal Singh Rekhi better known by his stage name Rishi Rich is a British Indian music producer born in Croydon, England and based in London. He began his career in the Asian Underground scene and later became internationally known for his Bhangra tracks, his Hindi remixes, and as a pioneer of Indian-R&B fusion music.
Through the Rishi Rich Project, he was responsible for launching British Asian talents who would later gain mainstream success, such as Jay Sean (internationally) and Juggy D.
He has also released his own solo albums, Simply Rich in 2002 with Ishq Records and The Project in 2006 with 2point9 Records and his produced songs have appeared in a number of Bollywood films. He now runs Rishi Rich Productions with contracts with a number of South Asian British artists including H-Dhami, Mumzy Stranger, Veronica Mehta, Tasha Tah and Abbas Hasan.
The Rishi Rich Project
Rishi rich worked in the UK with a number of Asian artists co-produced a number of Asian music albums. In January 2003, he signed management contract with 2Point9 Records. Soon after, he formed the Rishi Rich Project, the objective of which was to showcase up-and-coming talent. The Rishi Rich releases quickly became famous in the Asian Underground scene, being pioneers of contemporary R&B-Bhangra fusion. They subsequently found success in India and helped popularize Indian-R&B fusion sounds in both the Asian underground scene and in Indian pop music.
"Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)", released on 8 September 2003, was the debut single by the Rishi Rich Project produced by Richi Rich and featuring Jay Sean (singing in English) and Juggy D (in Punjabi). It was an Asian Underground song with the music video set at a block party in a London neighbourhood. The song peaked at #12 on the UK Singles Charts and #2 on the Dutch Top 40. It also won "Best Single R&B" at the 2003 UK Asian Music Awards. It is considered Jay Sean's first successful single and was later included in his debut album, Me Against Myself (2004) produced by Rishi Rich himself, as well in Rich's album, Rishi Rich Project. The song was also included in the soundtrack for the 2003 Bollywood film Boom.
On 27 April 2007, Rishi announced that he was parting with his record company 2Point9 Records, marking the end of the Rishi Rich Project. After their departures from the project, Jay Sean subsequently went on to become one of the most successful groundbreaking international Asian artists (prestigiously topping the US Hot 100 in 2009), while Juggy D became one of the most successful British artists in the mainstream Indian market.
Solo career
Rishi Rich released his first solo album Simply Rich fuses urban music and bhangra. The album was a big success in the Asian pop charts that resulted in a number of singles like "Nahin Jeena" featuring Don D and Juggy D and "Nahin Tere Jeha Hor Disda" with the music video featuring cameo appearances by Bally Sagoo, Juggy D, Jay Sean and Veronica Mehta.
His second solo release, The Project in 2006 included the single "Push It Up (Aaja Kuriye)" featuring Juggy D and Jay Sean peaking at No 1 on the BBC Asian Network Chart.
Rishi Rich Productions
In 2007 Rishi Rich started Rishi Rich Productions (RRP), a joint partnership between himself and entertainment entrepreneur, Waleed Jahangir. The artists signed to the company are Rishi Rich himself, H-Dhami, Mumzy, Veronica Mehta (aka Veronica), Tasha Tah, Juggy D, and Abbas Hasan.
Rishi Rich won "Best Producer" at the UK Asian Music Awards in 2003 and also in 2009 for producing H-Dhami's debut album Sadke Java. At the 2009 event he also won a special "Commitment to the Scene" award.
Filmography
Rishi Rich expanded also into Indian film and many of his produced songs appeared in various Bollywood films:
Hum Tum: Rishi produced a track for the first ever release from the Yash Raj music label, which featured in the 2004 film Hum Tum.Kyaa Kool Hai Hum: The track One Night, produced by Rishi and sung by Jay Sean, was taken from Jay Sean's album Me Against Myself and was included in the 2005 film Kyaa Kool Hai Hum. However, the version on this soundtrack was entitled Dil Mera (One Night) and included vocals by Veronica as well as Jay Sean.Boom: The track "Eyes On You" which was performed by Jay Sean was featured in Bollywood film Boom. The song hit the UK Top 10 in 2004 and was featured on Jay Sean's debut album 'Me Against Myself'.
