Sonic ontology of diasporicity: The case of Punjabi gangster music in Canada and Punjab.

Bhangra is a musical genre that indexes the traditional sonic identity of Punjab. The dhol and tumbi evoke an agrarian lifestyle that is the pride of the Punjabi Jatt, the traditional landlord caste. Since 2019, however, Punjabi gangster music has emerged to reflect a new conception of Punjabi diasporic subjectivity that has shifted the Punjabi sonic imagination of home from Punjabi fields to the Western city. This article contextualizes the rise of Punjabi gangster music within crises in agriculture and substance abuse among Punjabi youth, alongside an accelerating exodus from Punjab of young Punjabis seeking education and work in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]