Tributes poured in for murdered Punjabi rap star Sidhu Moosewala, who was gunned down near his village Sunday evening in Punjab. Toronto-based Canadian rapper-singer Drake led the parade of tributes for his hometown homie by sharing Moosewala and his mother’s photo following the murder of the world renowned artist. Drake put up a story on Instagram on Sunday night to remember Moosewala. “RIP MOOSE @sidhu_moosewala,” he captioned a picture of the ‘So High’ hit maker with his mother. Indian film stars such as Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Diljit Dosanjh, Sanjay Dutt and composer Salim Merchant were among a legion of entertainment royalty who paid homage to the singer.

By R. Paul Dhillon – Editor DESIBUZZCanada 

With News Files

TORONTO – Tributes poured in for murdered Punjabi rap star Sidhu Moosewala, who was gunned down near his village Sunday evening in Punjab.

Toronto-based Canadian rapper-singer Drake led the parade of tributes for his hometown homie by sharing Moosewala and his mother’s photo following the murder of the world renowned artist.

The 28-year-old rapper-singer and great lyricist was allegedly killed by a group of nefarious criminals to avenge the murder of a political figure last year who was associated with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar and Bishnoi gang out of India. Moosewala, whose real name was Shubhdeep Singh, was hit by eight rounds. 

Drake put up a story on Instagram on Sunday night to remember Moosewala.

“RIP MOOSE @sidhu_moosewala,” he captioned a picture of the ‘So High’ hit maker with his mother.

In 2020, Drake made headlines when he started following Moosewala on Instagram. 

Moosewala, who counted Drake as one of his music influences and followed him on social media, was a regular performer at live shows in Canada.

Indian film stars such as Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Diljit Dosanjh, Sanjay Dutt and composer Salim Merchant also paid homage to the singer.

Singh and Kaushal took to Instagram and quoted the refrain from the late singer’s song ‘Dil Da Ni Mada’.

Singh shared Moosewala’s picture on Instagram story captioning it: “IMMORTAL”.

Calling Moosewala a talented artiste, Dosanjh said he was heartbroken by the singer’s death.

“Heartbreaking news…He was a talented boy. I never met him but his hard work spoke a lot. No doubt. It’s very hard for parents…A bad day for the music industry,” the actor-singer wrote in Romanised Punjabi.

Merchant, whose song with Moosewala is up for release, said he was “shocked” by the singer’s untimely death.

“I’m shocked & saddened by the news…Sidhu was a gem…our song was going to release very soon… this is unbelievable,” the musician wrote on Twitter.

Popular singer Richa Chadha took to Twitter and wrote: “Numb, shocked at the murder of #SiddhuMoosewala Too sad. No words will be enough. Thinking of his mother… worst kind of pain in the world to lose a child. Jatt da muqabla dass mainu kitthe hai?”

Top comedian and talk show host Kapil Sharma also expressed shock over the singer’s death. He wrote on Twitter: “Satnam shri waheguru very shocking n very sad, a great artist n a wonderful human being, may god give the strengths to his family #sidhumoosewala.”

Moosewala’s popularity had been through the roof with his songs racking up more than 4 billion views on YouTube in less than four years. 

Moose Wala, who released his first song in 2017, quickly burst out of India to become one of the country’s most forceful musical exports in a generation, cementing his place as an Asian rapper whose spotlight rivaled his most popular contemporaries in the U.S, wrote top American music magazine Rolling Stone.

“India has very few authentic modern artists. He was right on top of that list,” tweeted fellow Indian musician Vishal Dadlani. “He’s a legend, his voice, his courage & his words will never be forgotten.”

Over thundering trap and drill beats often laced with samples of Punjabi music, Moose Wala rapped with a rich, soaring voice about gun violence, gangs, and his rags-to-riches story. 

He was named as one of the best new artists of 2020 by The Guardian, and in the same year seemed to catch the attention of fellow rapper Drake, who followed him on Instagram. 

Charting on multiple occasions in Canada and the UK, where he spent much of his career and achieved immense popularity with the Sikh diaspora, Moosewala frequently collaborated with British artists including Stefflon Don, MIST, and Steel Banglez. 

Moosewala funeral visitation began at 8.30 am, while the cremation took place at 12 pm in Moosa village on Monday amid tight security as fans queued up in large numbers outside the young rapper’s house since morning to pay their last respects.

In a daylight killing, Moosewala was shot dead by unknown men–not too far away from his house–in Mansa on Sunday. His death is being mourned in India and Canada where he had lived as a student in Ontario.