AP Dhillon, a leading figure in the Punjabi music scene, is back with a new EP called The Brownprint. Out now via Republic Records in alliance with Universal Music Canada, the nine-song set features collaborations with Gunna, Arya Starr, Syra, Shinda Kahlon, and Jazzy B.
The Brownprint is Dhillon’s first release for Republic. It was preceded by lead single “Old Money,” which found the Vancouver-based emcee performing in Punjabi over a head-bobbing hip-hop beat. The rest of the tracklist shows off the Indian-Canadian performer’s diverse skill set, as he sings and raps over music from a range of genres, with collaborators from all over the world.
On “Losing Myself,” Dhillon and Atlanta trap hit-maker Gunna team up on a smooth guitar-led groove, while “Bora Bora,” a duet with Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Arya Starr, rides a breezy island rhythm. The EP’s palette further expands from there, with Dhillon lending his unmistakable vocals to a low-key house beat on the Syra collab “Sweet Flower,” rock guitars on “After Midnight,” and emotive piano balladry on closing track “To Be Continued…” Taken together, this collection of songs serves as a stellar introduction to Dhillon’s skill set at the dawn of his career’s next era.
Dhillon was born and raised in India and relocated to Vancouver Island for college in 2015. He began building his music career in DIY fashion, learning to produce using YouTube tutorials and building up a grassroots global audience for his fresh take on Punjabi music, starting with his 2019 breakthrough hit “Brown Munde.” He has toured across India, the UK, Dubai, and North America and in 2023 became the first Punjabi-language artist to perform at Canada’s Juno Awards. That same year, the documentary AP Dhillon: First Of A Kind premiered on Prime Video.
Listen to AP Dhillon’s The Brownprint now.
