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Apache Indian

Apache Indian is the stage name of the reggae dee jay/toaster, Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967, Handsworth, Birmingham).

Career

With the collaboration of his cousins Simon & Diamond, he introduced the new hybrid sound of bhangra raggamuffin - also known as bhangramuffin - to the world with his first album No Reservations (produced by Simon & Diamond, Phil Chill, Robert Livingston, Bobby Digital and Sly Dunbar) in 1993. It was followed by Make Way for the Indian, (produced by Sly & Robbie, The Press, Mafia & Fluxy, Pandit Dinesh and Chris Lane), which featured rapper Tim Dog and spawned the hit, "Boom Shack-A-Lak". Real People / Wild East (produced by Harjinder Boparai)You Know You Owe Him Money. proved to be his most experimental album, and also featured more Indian elements than the other albums. In his heyday, he also made an appearance in the Tamil film, Love Birds, dancing alongside Prabhu Deva.

Karma, his fourth album, was a return to more traditional forms of reggae. It featured Luciano, Boy George as well as Mafia & Fluxy.

Apache Indian merged raggamuffin with Indian music as well as influences from mainstream pop and hip hop, and started a trend that has found a large following.

Stylistically, Apache Indian moved from mixing Indian music with raggamuffin and (on his second album) hip hop to more traditional forms of reggae on his most recent album, Karma.

Lyrically, Apache Indian usually sings in Jamaican patois, and is known for his sharp social criticism - ("Arranged Marriage" featuring Natacha Atlas; "Mention") as well as his party tracks ("Boom Shack-A-Lak", "Jump Up").

Apache Indian has recorded with Boyz II Men, Blackstreet, Wreckx 'n' Effect, UB40, the U.S. chart topper Sean Paul, Maxi Priest, General Levy, Brian and Tony Gold, Shaggy, Yami Bolo, Boy George, A. R. Rahman, Sameera Singh, Asha Bhosle and Pras of the Fugees, Malkit Singh, Dalvinder Singh, Kaptain Laadi plus more recently with Jazzy B (self proclaimed as the Crown Prince of Bhangra) on the album Dil Luteya and Aman Hayer on the album Groundshaker II.

Reggae singer Sean Paul, who has been on the top of Billboard charts with his single with Beyoncé Knowles, toured the U.S. with Apache Indian.

For his first album No Reservation, he had signed a recording contract worth £250,000 with Island Records - one of the largest sums paid for a debut album by a non-white artist.

"Boomshackalack" was featured in five different Hollywood movies, including Dumb And Dumber. More significantly, the song has featured in a record 52 commercials across the globe, featuring various brands. It is also featured on the soundtrack for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, along with artists such as Fatboy Slim, The B-52's, 2 Unlimited and New Radicals.

His single "Om Numah Shivaya" features on the Putumayo World Music compilation album, World Reggae which is a collection of reggae tracks performed by artists from around the world.

Apache Indian was also nominated for the Central Britain Media and Arts Asian Jewel Award in 2004.

Apache Indian is fluent in Punjabi, which makes his collaborations with Bhangra artists a regular endeavour.