Biographic - Sunday December 27, 2009 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

There aren't too many British rappers of Punjabi decent who will top the U.S. charts. But that's precisely what Jay Sean did when his debut American single knocked the Black Eyed Peas from the top spot on the Billboard Hit 100. Born Kamaljit Singh Jhooti in Hounslow, London, on March 26, 1981, the son of Punjabi Sikh immigrants from India. He formed a hip-hop duo before he had even entered his teens. He later abandoned his plans to become a doctor, dropping out of medical school in London when his music career began to take off. His stage name combines the common Indian name "Jay" with "Sean" a derivation of "Shaan" which means "Shining Star" in Punjabi. By 2004, he was a star in Britain and India, selling millions of records and even making a cameo in Bollywood movie. But his profile gradually faded as his relationship with his record label sourced. Freed from contractual obligations, he formed his own record label and found even chart success, racking up hits as far afield as Eastern Europe and Japan. In late 2008, he signed to U.S. hip-hop label cash money records and drafted label mate Lil Wayne for his 2009 debut American single "Down" the track soared to the top of the U.S charts, a milestone for a solo artist of Asian origin.

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