Sidhu Moose Wala Debuts at No. 9 on Billboard Canadian Hot 100 With Posthumous Single "Drippy"
The influential artist, who helped raise the profile of Punjabi music in Canada, lands in the top ten this week with a track featuring AR Paisley and MXRCI. Ontario country singer Owen Riegling also makes his Canadian Hot 100 debut.
Sidhu Moose Wala
On this week's Canadian Hot 100, the late Punjabi music sensation Sidhu Moose Wala debuts in the top ten, with posthumous single "Drippy." The hard-hitting track finds Moose Wala and Canadian rapper AR Paisley trading verses — the former in Punjabi, the latter in English — over an ominous trap beat from producer MXRCI. "Stop playing these games / cause out in these streets shit could get pricey," raps Paisley, "could cost you your life / so don't take that lightly."
The song arrives nearly two years after Moose Wala's 2022 murder. The artist moved to Brampton in 2016 and quickly rose to prominence in the Punjabi rap scene, eventually starting his own label and moving back to India, where he became involved in politics. His shocking death came right before a planned eight-date Canadian tour, during which he was booked to play Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum.
Moose Wala has previously had 13 charting songs on the Canadian Hot 100, with several charting after his death, but has never cracked the top ten before. As Punjabi music becomes a major force in Canada, he leaves behind a significant legacy, evident in the strong support for singles like "Drippy." His influence also shows in artists like Paisley, who's signed to 91 North, the joint label between Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India to promote South Asian music worldwide.
Elsewhere on the chart, Canadian country singer Owen Riegling makes his Hot 100 debut, with his 2023 ode to rural Ontario "Old Dirt Roads" charting for the first time at No. 83. The milestone comes as Riegling receives multiple votes of confidence from the industry, named a 2024 artist to watch by both Amazon and Spotify. He also recently performed at the NHL All-Star festivities in Toronto. The 2022 winner of Boots and Hearts' Emerging Artist Showcase, Riegling is performing at the upcoming first edition of Vancouver's Coast City Country festival this April. Expect more chart appearances to come.
Benson Boone's "Beautiful Things" notches its second week at No. 1, while Tate McRae's "greedy" moves back up to No. 2. And Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" re-enters the Canadian chart at No. 37, thirty-five years after the song's release, following Chapman's moving Grammy Awards duet with Luke Combs.
Check out the full chart here.
