California-based media king Mandeep Sadhra aka Mannie is the proud owner of Kalikwest Media Group. He’s worked closely with entertainment giants like Diljit Dosanjh, Jazzy B, Neeru Bajwa, Kapil Sharma, Sukshinder Shinda, Akon, E-40 and Pitbull, just to name a few. Kalikwest Media Group handles various aspects of these music titans’ promotion, social media management, web design and merchandise marketing.He shares his life journey in an exclusive interview with Hardeep Singh Chandpuri.
I grew up in Birmingham, England and in 1988, my parents made the big life-changing move to America. We lived in Yuba City for a while and then we moved to a town called Clearlake, California where there were only two Indian families (One was ours and the other one was a Gujarati family) in a ‘white’ dominated town. For me, it was a huge challenge to assimilate in the new environment. But, I took it in my stride and blended into a life with new people and opportunities. It was quite an experience overall.
Excerpts
Q. How did you come up with the unique name Kalikwest?
A. Actually, when we had moved to California, I realised I was going on a new journey or a quest. So for me, Cali Quest (the original name) was a journey/quest to the ‘promised’ land, I would soon call home. In 1997, I founded the company, and we changed the spelling to Kalikwest. In 1998, I connected with JB Brown & Big Omeezy, they helped me team up with the famous American rapper E-40, which helped in the foundation for the future success of Kalikwest.
Q. How difficult was it to adjust in a new country?
A. During the initial years, we faced a lot of difficulty while settling in Clearlake, California, as it was predominantly occupied by a large number of ‘white’ families. My father used to own a liquor store and on the very first day of setting-up our new business, our store was vandalised. Those were the days of the Gulf War and the locals mistook us for Iraqis. For about six to eight months, we had to stay quite vigilant and we couldn’t roam around freely. Then eventually, mom and dad made some good decisions and we decided to move to Sacramento which had a mixed occupancy of Black, White, Latinos, Asian and Indians people. Since everyone had their nicknames, even I changed my name from Mandeep to Mannie.
Q. How fondly do you remember your school days?
A. I studied in Sacramento, California and my school was situated in an area called Valley High which was dominated by Afro-Americans, Latinos and Asians. After a few months of initial upheavals, I slowly blended in with the crowd and they welcomed me.
Q. Since you were mostly surrounded by African- American friends, what was your family’s take on that?
A. My family always trusted me a lot. They had faith in me and knew that I made the right choices. I never drank liquor in my life or consumed any form of drugs. But there was a time when I was working with E-40, and they were a bit concerned because some rappers used to carry weapons to protect themselves as there were some professional rivalries going on.
Q. Tell us about your initial success?
A. I have worked with big labels like Jive Records, Virgin Records, Warner Brothers, Universal as we did promotion work for them. I had created teams that would do promotions of newly released songs on the streets, nightclubs, radio etc. in the Sacramento area and surroundings.
Q. High points on your road to being the ‘King of Media’.
A. We did CD covers and customised Twitter page cover designs for the likes of Akon, E40, 50 Cent, Pitbull etc. and we created MySpace pages for top UFC fighters, fitness experts and also worked with Snoop Dogg’s team. In 2003, when Punjabi MC and Jay Z, released their song ‘Beware of the Boys’ we launched a Mixtape that blended top Punjabi songs with hip-hop, mixed by the BPR Crew and was a unique collaboration of hip-hop and Bhangra. This gave a heads-up to the Mixtape trend which became very popular. My uncle Sukhi Dosanjh, a pioneer DJ of North America and CEO of the BPR Crew owned a music shop called Desi Rhythm and had strong links in the world of Punjabi music. He promoted concerts especially with bands from the Punjabi industry in 2003. The first person who helped me work in it was Sukshinder Shinda bhaji. We did multiple songs together like Romeo, Balle, Punjabi Clap, Shoulder Surf, One in a Million. I also worked with Jazzy B and a host of other artistes. I used to manage the social media profiles of various Punjabi singers, actors, mainstream talent and it’s then that I got the nickname of ‘King of Media’.
Q. You have a great equation with the ‘shining star’ Diljit Dosanjh. Please elaborate?
A. My mother is from the village Dosanjh Kalan, so we are somewhat connected, but I officially met Diljit bhaji backstage when I went along with Shinda bhaji to the PTC awards. Since then, he’s like a brother to me. We also closely worked together on his hit album G.O.A.T. from recording in the studio to the music videos. It was a great opportunity to be alongside this whole project. I manage all his projects and music videos shot in USA and I was a part of them all.
Q. Who is your favourite Punjabi and American singer?
A. I am a big fan of Punjabi folk music and love listening to Dilshad Akhtar, Ustad Kuldeep Manak and Gurdas Maan’s songs. I also admired a couple of British bands like Apna Sangeet, Achanak, Azaad and Alaap etc., but my all-time favourite American artiste is Tupac.
Q. What were some of the challenges you had to face during your journey?
A. I lost a lot of money throughout my journey. This is one of the biggest challenges, I have faced. I never used to charge even a single penny from the artistes for account verifications. It was done for my love and respect for the music industry. Apart from this, I also distributed loads of my merchandise for free and promotional purposes.
Q. Which person has influenced your life the most?
A. I consider my dad to be the biggest influence in my life. He is a very hard working person who used to work approximately 18 hours a day. The way he ‘hustled’ every day is something that inspires me the most.
Q. How do you wish to contribute more towards the Punjabi industry?
A. We are currently pushing our label Kalikwest Worldwide. In addition, we have launched a talent agency Kalikwest Agency, which will provide the world with a plethora of new skilled talent. Since we have made good connections worldwide, we’ll be able to help people in every aspect, ranging from providing new talent, shooting locations or any arrangements required in America. Mohit Sharma, my business partner in India has himself created graphic designs and websites for the entertainment industry. He has already done digital art designs for renowned celebrities like Kapil Sharma, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Leone etc
Q. How have you seen the Punjabi music industry evolve in last ten years?
A.I think the industry has evolved in numerous ways, but primarily in terms of the talent being showcased by the singers. The supremely talented singers like Amrinder Gill, Diljit Dosanjh, Ammy Virk, Gurnam Bhullar are doing exceptionally well on screen as well. Their skills are divinely bestowed.
Q. What motivates you the most?
A. When I wake up every day and pray and do Paath in the morning. I am a goal-driven person and quite passionate about my profession. I start my day with a positive note, always. The attitude and work ethics of people, I am surrounded with, also play a major role in my life. Like Diljit Bhaji’s nature of working extremely hard motivates me, to never give up.
Q. Tell us about your merchandise which has become very popular?
A. Our aim is to create products that are in-tune with the thoughts and tastes of our clients and buyers. We make as per the changing trends and our range includes Tees, Hoodies, Joggers etc. With God’s grace our products have been very popular across all sections.
Q. What’s on your playlist?
A. It might sound quite bizarre, but I enjoy surfing and watching random videos on YouTube.
Q. Do you think the Punjabi industry is also going the American East-West Coast rap rivalry way?
A. No, I think it’s just for the sake of entertainment and everyone should take it that way only. It’s only music, so don’t take it too seriously and as long as it can be taken in a light-hearted manner. But youngsters these days, get hyper quite easily and might take this personally. So if at any given point of time, if something wrong is taking place, we as an industry should collectively come forward and prevent it.
Q. What is your take on the liquor, violence and weapons being promoted in some of the Punjabi songs?
A. I grew up in the States, so I don’t think it’s a big deal here. I personally see it happening all day long and one can find liquor store everywhere and I have a Shooting Range not far from my house. So I think, everyone’s mature enough to make a wise decision for themselves. I am not against it, but at the same time, I would say use basic commonsense. Remember its just entertainment in the end.
Q. Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
A. Honestly, I think considering the present scenario, we should live day-by-day because we don’t know what is going to happen the very next moment. We should be thankful for our lives each day. Everyone should keep working hard and enjoy every little moment of life. But if all goes well, I see us doing pretty well in the industry by launching lots of new talent and faces.
Q. Do you prefer continental or Indian cuisine and which is your favourite holiday destination?
A. I love having simple Indian meals like dal, roti, sabzi and butter chicken. I really want to visit Maldives. It’s on my bucket list.
Q. You love fancy cars, which is your favourite?
A. I am very fond of all American cars, especially SUV’s. The brand new Cadillac Escalade is my current favourite. It has some amazing features and it’s very comfortable as well.
Q. What are some words of advice that you would give to youth or new singers aspiring to enter this industry?
A. If you dream it, just go for it. Don’t give up! Don’t think you can’t achieve it because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. So it’s always better to stay positive from within and spread positivity. You should always stay focused towards your end goal and avoid all kinds of distractions like drugs and alcohol. Keep working hard because all your hard work will pay you eventually.
Q. Tell us more about the talent that your label has launched?
A. Kalikwest Worldwide has launched Aman Yaar, Tris Dhaliwal, Harnoor, Bob Randhawa, Sheroz, Maddawg & Yamie, G Funk, Laddi Dhaliwal, Happy Johal, Puneet Bajwa and many more talents in the times to come.
Hardeep Singh Chandpuri is a Radio personality, prolific writer and publisher.
