"Mundian To Bach Ke" (IPA:[mʊɳɖɪãːtõːbətːʃkeː]), also titled "Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke)" or "Beware", is a
bhangra music song produced by British musician
Panjabi MC, with vocals and lyrics by
Punjabi artist
Labh Janjua. The song was produced by Panjabi MC in
Birmingham, England, for his 1998 album Legalised.
Following its release as a single in November 2002, "Mundian To Bach Ke" achieved worldwide success, topping the singles charts in Italy and
Wallonia and charting highly in many other countries. A remix of the song, released in 2003 and featuring American rapper
Jay-Z, also charted highly in North America and Australia. The song sold an estimated 10 million copies worldwide, making it one of the
best-selling singles of all time.[1]
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" (1997) by
Busta Rhymes,[2] which in turn is based around a sample from the television theme song for Knight Rider,[3] 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 music video of this song was shot in the streets of
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Chart performance
"Mundian To Bach Ke" was released as a single in Germany on 25 November 2002.[4] It sold over 100,000 in the first two days alone and debuted at number two on the
German Singles Chart.[5][4] On the
Italian Singles Chart, the song reached number one for three weeks.[6] In the UK, it was issued through
Instant Karma and debuted at its peak of number five on the
UK Singles Chart; it was the first bhangra song to reach the UK top 10.[7][8] The remix, featuring American rapper
Jay-Z, also reached number 33 on the US BillboardHot 100, number 10 in Canada, and number 12 in Australia.[9][10][11]
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.[1]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
"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 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 American television show Queer as Folk during a scene at the club Babylon. A version of this song was used as a background music 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.
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 film The Dictator, as the film's main theme song.[69]
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 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.
"Mundian To Bach Ke", featuring Jay-Z, appears on the soundtrack of the 2021 Netflix movie
The White Tiger.[72]
"Mundian To Bach Ke" in the 21st century was a part of some
internet memes, with a video uploaded on YouTube of the song in the extremely loud version titled "loud indian music". The video became popular and featured characters either singing the song or yelling the song. The song was also used in a music video of a cat wearing a habibi, earning 14,000,000 views to date.[73]
”Mundian To Bach Ke” is commonly used by internet superstar
Vikkstar123, as it was often played in his and other
Sidemen members early vlogs, and has stuck as his “
theme song” ever since. He would later use the song as the backing track for his
diss track against fellow YouTuber Deji.
^Mundian To Bach Ke (German CD single liner notes).
Panjabi MC. Superstar Recordings,
Urban Records. 2002. 0195152.{{
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^Mundian To Bach Ke (French CD single liner notes). Panjabi MC.
Scorpio Music. 2002. SHT S0140-1.{{
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^Mundian To Bach Ke (UK CD single liner notes). Panjabi MC.
Instant Karma. 2003. karma28cd.{{
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^Mundian To Bach Ke (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Panjabi MC. Instant Karma. 2003. Karma28t.{{
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^Mundian To Bach Ke (UK cassette single sleeve). Panjabi MC. Instant Karma. 2003. Karma28mc.{{
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^Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke) (US CD single liner notes). Panjabi MC. Sequence Records. 2003. SEQ 8012-2.{{
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^Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke) (US 12-inch single sleeve). Panjabi MC. Sequence Records. 2003. SEQ 8012-6.{{
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^Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke) (US 12-inch single sleeve). Panjabi MC. Sequence Records. 2003. SEQ 8011-6.{{
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^Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke) (US 12-inch single sleeve). Panjabi MC. Sequence Records. 2003. SEQ 8014-6.{{
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^Mundian To Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys) (Australian CD single disc notes). Panjabi MC.
Ministry of Sound. 2003. MOSCD5031.{{
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