Steel Banglez, whose real name is Pahuldip Singh Sandhu, got his nickname from a Jamaican friend who referred to the "karas" (steel bracelets) he wears as a Sikh, such was the household he was raised in. And then at 17, Steel Banglez found himself in prison. It was there, behind bars, that the British-Indian producer began forming connections that would eventually reshape UK music. After his release, those prison connections led him to Krept and Konan, then to Cashtastic, and eventually into London's grime and rap scene. While his Punjabi parents questioned his musical pursuits, Banglez was mapping the crossroads where South Asian melodies could meet UK grime, Afrobeats, soul and hip-hop.
After producing breakout hits for J Hus, Mist, and Dave, and crafting his own 2017 anthem "Fashion Week" with AJ Tracey, Banglez has grown beyond the UK-centric sound that made his name. Perhaps his most significant collaboration though is also one of the most tragic: Sidhu Moose Wala, who would become one of the most influential Punjabi artists of a generation before his tragic death in 2022, was someone Banglez describes as a ‘best friend’. Their partnership on tracks like "47", “Dilemma” and “Attach” not only bridged UK and Punjabi music scenes, but laid the groundwork for Banglez's current cross-cultural approach. His latest album, One Day It'll All Make Sense, reaches far beyond musical borders, connecting Punjabi vocals with Nigerian singers and beats, UK grime with Indian classical influences, and bringing the genre-defining Nas into collaboration with soulful English and Tamil vocals by Sid Sriram.
The producer knows what it means to stay true to an artistic vision, and he’s at the place in his career where he’s not trying to please anyone. Right now he’s making what he wants to make, and in the process, may end up crafting the future of music.
KESHIA HANNAM
Your album brings together artists from completely different scenes – Punjabi singers with amapiano beats, Stefflon Don with Indian vocals. Was that diversity intentional from the start?
STEEL BANGLEZ
It started after collaborating with the late great Sidhu Moose Wala while I was doing a lot of work with rappers in England. The UK scene at the time was heavily influenced by Afro swing or Afrobeats, and I noticed that many of the artists coming through from India and Pakistan had similar sounds to me. When I made the Burna [Boy] and Sidhu record Mera Na as a tribute, the idea began stemming from there to fuse these cultures together.
They work harmoniously, musically. The influence from Nigeria and India can work melodically. I saw it as an art form project – just expressing my vision and bringing it to life with Black and brown people in music today.
KESHIA HANNAM
As an inbetween person myself, I feel like this album is a breakthrough for people who are multi-ethnic or are from/have ancestry in multiple places – each track can't be contained to just one genre.
STEEL BANGLEZ
Each track has its own story. I made "Only One" with Fred again.. a few years ago with Stefflon Don on it, but then I wanted to add AP Dhillon, who's one of the biggest rappers in India. The AP Dhillon and Omah Lay track [Never Let You Go] went through a lot of transitions with different artists; that record originally had Davido on it, which didn't kind of cement. Then I met Omah and worked with him on his project, and it made sense for him.
The Idris Elba feature happened during the project. TIMES came through my joint venture with Mass Appeal Records with NAS and Peter Bittenbender. I wanted to make a record Nas would like, and that worked. With Sid Sriram, I saw him in a live environment and loved his voice. I felt he could bring a 90s soul vibe to that record. I'm showcasing that I can do anything as a musician. You get bored making one genre or one style. As a real artist, you always want to push yourself and create new pieces of art, whether they make sense or not.
That's why I called it One Day It'll All Make Sense. When people look back at my story and music in the future, they'll understand what I was doing, because we don't know where the world is heading with the integration of AI, tech, cultures, people, language, and music itself.
KESHIA HANNAM
The emotional core of the album really comes through for me on "Times" with Nas and Sid Sriram; it’s as though you're speaking to all of us whose journeys haven't been linear.
STEEL BANGLEZ
That song is about how you interpret your hard time at any moment in life – whether you're a parent, a teacher, whatever. It's an honest song. The current times are hard. We came out of COVID, the music industry changed, businesses changed for everyone. TikTok blew up.
For me personally, I lost something significant. I released "Fashion Week" in 2019 with Mo Stack and Aj Tracey and it peaked on UK charts. But then I lost the moment in 2020 that should have been the biggest year of my career due to the pandemic. That really affected me. I was battling inside and thinking, "How many times am I going to keep going through ups and downs?" I was close to greatness, close to releasing this album, which got delayed because of COVID.
As a producer, you're not really respected as an artist like those who are verbally performing. And it wasn't the first time this happened – I was supposed to release the Cashtastic album, and that was three years of work gone. [Cashtastic was deported to Jamaica as part of the Hostile Environment policy in 2014]
KESHIA HANNAM
Can we talk about the album artwork? I understand there was a lot of intention behind it.
STEEL BANGLEZ
The artist Navinder [Nangla] is amazing. I've seen his work with Converse, and Nikita [Chauhan, Manager] introduced me to him. I wanted to go in a different direction, give people something different. I wanted to express the album with an upcoming talent, someone who deserves their flowers. So I wanted to use him on that artwork.
KESHIA HANNAM
You've been courageously open about your mental health, including your bipolar diagnosis and bouts of depression. That's still rare, particularly for men in the music industry. How did you develop that vulnerability?
STEEL BANGLEZ
It's just the truth. I'm not going to pretend or hide how I feel alongside the music. I think people connect more when you speak the truth, and that helps you progress in your life. I'm not holding any demons in – I have nothing to hide. This is me, this is the music.
I've been through so much. I went to prison when I was 17, and when I came out, I met many rappers who led me to meet Krept and Konan and Kash Tastic. I've been through times where, coming from an Indian household, my music wasn't really doing anything, and I seemed like a bum, but I was the only one believing in everything while everyone around me was struggling financially. I was juggling that pressure to support my household.
Then I got my break in the industry, began working with labels, and started establishing myself. But then I lost artists – whether through what Cash went through, or after dominating in England, going to India and discovering Sidhu, one of the biggest artists from India of all time, only to have him killed. All these stages are preparation for something, but I can't hold it in. When I hold it in, I suffer.
KESHIA HANNAM
Coming from multicultural London, your sound feels so nuanced compared to what can sometimes happen in America, where the diaspora often seems more stereotyped.
STEEL BANGLEZ
I wanted to do an introduction to America on my terms without having to conform. Many musicians from England, unless you're a rock band or Sam Smith or Craig David or Ed Sheeran, have had to change themselves. That's been the problem with UK rap – America is so big they don't understand us. We're like a quarter the size of Texas. For me, I was always trying to chase what's cool in America, but that's being an imitator, not being me. There's a battle between business and art. I chose art.
So for people at Mass Appeal to set up in India, then come back to England and meet me, and for me to have a record with Nas on our terms – that's authentic. I didn't have to do anything specifically for America. I'm just doing what I'm doing, and it's given me a lot of attention from there [the US]. And it’s Nas, for God's sake – one of the greatest MCs of all time.
KESHIA HANNAM
You've had an uncanny ability to identify breakout talent – J Hus, Mist, Dave early on, and of course Sidhu Moose Wala. Are there any emerging artists you're excited about?
STEEL BANGLEZ
I have a great ear and can see things through my years of studying the music industry. I play an A&R role, but for the underground. When I heard J Hus, Mist, even Dave in his early days, I made hits with all of them based on gut instinct. Their music stood out compared to hundreds of other artists I was looking at in the UK.
I'm blessed not just with production skills but with identifying raw talent very early and being part of that journey. I haven't been wrong – even with Sidhu, I met him early, and he became one of the biggest Punjabi artists of this generation.
Now I'm in that space again where I'm looking for another artist. The UK is shifting – Central Cee is blowing up, Skepta is doing his thing. I still need to prove myself in the pop world with an Ed Sheeran or Adele or Sam Smith type – someone with global impact. That's on my list of things I haven't done yet. My primary focus now is developing the next big artist, pushing my boundaries rather than just doing what the music industry needs.
KESHIA HANNAM
What's next for you?
STEEL BANGLEZ
I have an EP coming straight away with Fredo, who's really big in England. So my fans from the UK rap side will get something too. I'm like a singer who one day is singing with Indian people, the next with trappers, and then with a band. People are confused, but at this point, I don't care – I'm just making it.