RajStar (a/k/a Raj Makhija) is a freelance music producer, composer, sound engineer, songwriter and musician based out of New York and Mumbai. He has been called the “next big movement” from America, with a fresh sound described as Timbaland meets AR Rahman.

RajStar was always involved with music growing up in New Jersey around a musical family as his mother sang in a traditional Indian style and his father played Tabla, an Indian percussion instrument. In addition to this, playing bass guitar and guitar in and out of school bands (i.e. marching band, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble, out of school jazz programs, etc.) gave him a unique blend of musical sensibilities. He became interested in recording and composing music in the 7th grade when he bought himself a 4-track cassette recorder and began making songs.

When we think of the word “sexy” obviously the first thing that comes to mind are good, good, good, and more good looks!

Turns out the Desi scene is filled with a lot of sexy men, both inside and out!

With endless hours of dedication to finding the sexiest men out there…
Today we present to you the SEXIEST MEN OF 2008!!

We thought long and hard of who deserves the title in 11 different categories and finally came out with the best of the best.

These men are both sexy with their talents and sexy with their brains…
…and now how to keep a woman’s attention!

So take a look and ladies…hold your breath!

But who am I kidding…I know almost all these boys so I think I should consider myself the lucky one

I walk up the stairs of a Manhattan apartment, looking for someone’s residence and then I hear the sounds of Hip-Hop infiltrating through the hallway and I find myself outside the apartment of Raj Makhija – a New York-based sound engineer and record producer. Along with his brother, Ravi, together they founded Soul Tap Records, the label responsible for discovering talents such as Nivla, P. Oberoi, Feroze and Karishma. Raj is also one half of production heavyweight, RVM Sounds. The tracks which Raj produces cover an array of sounds from raw underground Hip-Hop to slow melodic film scores to upbeat pop club bangers.

By: Tirusha Dave

It’s very rare that we come across artists from our community who are talented enough to land a deal with a mainstream American record label. Nonetheless, two artists – Nivla and Parag Oberoi – stood proud, and against the odds, showcasing their fusion of Hip-Hop and Punjabi lyrics – captivating not just the Desi listener, but even the American ears!

Many were surprised when they turned on the Fox 5 morning news one day in January and saw Soul Tap Records recording artist Nivla rapping, “My Gujaratis, Punjabis, and all my Sindhis turn it out right…fellow Malayalees reppin’ hard for the South side… parties, we rockin’ ‘em, me and Parag and ‘em, Soul Tap run sh-t ain’t no stoppin’ ‘em“, followed by P. Oberoi’s sultry Punjabi vocals, “Ho ni mein jhoot boleya, koi na, ni mein kuffer toleya, koi na kaadi vi dil todeya, koi na, bai koi na.”

Question: Who are Nivla and P. Oberoi and what’s the hype behind these two boys?