Tesher’s latest single, “Jalebi Baby,” has taken the world (and Tik Tok) by storm, and it’s making history along the way. The multicultural song is a hit in every way imaginable. With combined global streams surpassing 100 million in just the first day of release, and with over 21 thousand Tik Tok creations using the song totaling 95M+ views, “Jalebi Baby” seems to be the start of an impending musical revolution. Fresh from signing a deal with Capitol Records in conjunction with Universal Music India, Tesher is poised to break cultural barriers with the success of “Jalebi Baby.”
It’s July 6th, 2021, the day before Tesher’s television debut on the TODAY Show. We sit face-to-face on Zoom—the pandemic standard for conference calls and the dystopian format for an all too essential interview with America’s next musical obsession. Tesher, draped in a cocoa-colored Kith garment, smiles with enough confidence to ration off between the two of us. Towering in front of a neutral-toned wall, the man of the hour—or 25 minutes—is warmed up and ready to begin our scheduled interview.
This is the conversation that took place.
. . .
MARC: So, let’s jump straight to it. I’m a massive fan of your viral single “Jalebi Baby,” but one of my favorite tracks of yours is actually “Outsider.” And cleverly enough, you had a bar in that song that goes, “I got white girls dancing to Bollywood Classics.” Fast forward ten months, and you’re performing on the TODAY Show tomorrow morning. How significant is this moment for you and your culture?
TESHER: Huge, man, huge. Ah man, it’s funny. I always wanted this moment to happen. You know where we have this cross-cultural thing happening; we have south Asian music spreading into [America’s] mainstream, but I didn’t think I would be the guy to contribute to it. I always thought Drake would do a song with some Indian artist or somebody would do something, but somehow Jalebi Baby ended up being the song to do that. So I’m really excited that this is happening, especially with the TODAY Show and the demographic that watches the TODAY Show; they’re about to see or rather they’re about to hear something that they have never heard before. That’s what this is all about, you know, exposing the mainstream to these kinds of [cultural] sounds that they’ve never heard, man, that’s what it’s all about.
MARC: I love that, man. And it’s that whole concept of identity and representation and inclusivity, and that’s one of the reasons why I admire your artistry. You’re not afraid to lean into who it is you are and your cultural roots. So, with that, can you explain how this fusion of Hollywood and Bollywood came about in your artistry?
TESHER: Well, I’m Canadian, so (laughs a hearty laugh) it’s kinda obvious it’s going to happen, no really, it’s kinda obvious it’s gonna happen. No, but literally that’s what it is; I’m a Canadian born Indian person—both my parents are from India, and I grew up speaking Indian Punjabi around the house watching Bollywood movies, you know, being around the food, being around the people, being around the religious parts of it, being around everything that has to do with this culture. At the same time. . . that’s my home life on the weekends growing up and going to functions, but at school, we were listening to 50 Cent, G-Unit, Game, Eminem, then a couple [of] years later Kanye, then we got older, and then there’s Wayne, Drake. As for pop music, there [was] Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and all these sounds mesh[ed] together, especially in my youth, at such a formative age. So my musical taste was built upon all these sounds, and when it came time for me to make music, the first thing I was doing was creating remixes of all these popular songs and mash-ups. [It was a way] to take both sides of my life and fuse them into one thing. And that sort of carried over into my music as I matured. I honestly think it’s because I get bored fairly easily, and this mashing of my two lives is a way to keep myself entertained and interested. That’s really the basis for “Jalebi Baby” as a sound, honestly.
MARC: Yeah, no, I can definitely hear the influence of all the various components within your music now. The mixing of your culture at home and the culture around your Canadian school life make for a good blend. So good, in fact, that you ended up getting Jason Derulo on the remix for the already viral “Jalebi Baby.” How did that relationship come about?
TESHER: Sure. So, like you said, the song was doing really good on Tik Tok and Instagram. Then, it kinda made its way out of Desi Tik Tok, and it started to chart high on Shazam in Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, North Africa. Then it started spreading towards Europe, and it was that moment that had me like, okay, so enough has happened that people who aren’t of South Asian culture are liking the record, so how do I get this to mainstream America? How do we go from playing Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” to Tesher “Jalebi Baby” to a Dua Lipa record and a Post Malone record, and it all is on a continuous radio playlist on Power 105 or something like that. How do I make that happen?
The obvious parallel was “Despacito” because it had the Bieber feature on it, and I’m sure it helped with radio play. Also, it helped the song grow, and of course, that song in itself had a whole ripple effect through the Latin [music] industry that helped revitalize the way we see Latin records within the mainstream, you know? You started to hear J Balvin on pop records and Bad Bunny show up on pop records, so to me, I was like, okay, if I can somehow secure a big American mainstream feature, that would help.
MARC: So did you already know it was going to be Jason Derulo?
TESHER: To be honest with you, one of the top guys I had in mind was Jason Derulo to try and get to him because, first of all, I heard [his voice] on the record. So I thought that he would sound really good on the song, and it was that he understands Tik Tok, so he might be familiar with the record already. He also makes high-energy records; this is a high-energy record; I know he’s down to take risks with songs that have different worldly influences in them; you know he has that ear for foreign sounds and stuff. But, funny enough, he came to me.
MARC: Wow, what a plot twist.
TESHER: Yeah, exactly. He had actually reached out to me, he had found the song, and I think his team had reached out saying we love the record and we want to be a part of it. So we sent him the stems, he did his part in LA, [and] I was still in Canada at the time, so I did my stuff here; we worked on it over the course of a couple of weeks. I spoke it into existence (Tesher chuckles with confidence). I manifested a collab with Jason Derulo.
MARC: Yeah, fa’sho (laughing), definitely manifestation at work. That’s super fire. So, on “Jalebi Baby,” there are elements in your verse that lean into a heavy Rap inspiration.
TESHER: Yeah.
MARC: Like you’re actually spittin’ bars.
TESHER: Yeah (laughs).
MARC: And, going back to the “Outsider” record as a point of reference, you mentioned Jadakiss on that particular song. You’re spitting on both songs, and you’re obviously privy to Hip-Hop culture, right. And Jalebi Baby is tearing the charts up, super successful, but what I think people are missing from this hit song is the fact that you can spit. It’s getting buried among the hype, but you can actually spit. Can you talk a little about that?
TESHER: Yeah. Yes sir. So, Hip-Hop was one of my first loves in terms of music and everything. I… you know, I was always into it, but I think something happened to me when I heard “A Milli” for the first time. It’s 2007; I’m in the 7th grade, and I just remember hearing “A Milli” and, ‘till this day, [its] one of my favorite songs, and it’s just straight bars the whole time. Bars and charisma. And from there, I got into not only Wayne but Lupe, Kanye; I even had a weird Cassidy phase for a while (laughs).
MARC: Hey, man, we all did (laughs).
TESHER: It was everything, man (laughing intensifies). It got to the point where I would check the blogs every day; I would read up on everything. I slowly immersed myself in the [Hip-Hop] world because I was so entertained by it. I think it’s just like the kids these days, you know, I think it’s the same story, but I always loved the world of Hip-Hop. And I always wanted to be a rapper, I always wanted to put my vocals on a track, but for the longest time, I didn’t know how I wanted to sound. Funny thing, I actually made this discovery very recently; I was listening to some of my old stuff from 2010-2011, and I’m like, man, I am biting Wayne so hard on these. I sound like Wayne, Mac Miller, and Kendrick. And obviously a Drake influence, too.
MARC: So, you sounded really good, then.
TESHER: No, see (laughs). That’s the thing, I copied all the good people, but I had none of it. You remember, around 2011, everyone rapped really high, like Mac [Miller] and Big Sean used to rap in that really high register, and for me, when I did it, it didn’t sound good at all. It took me around 2019-2020, where I found out where my voice would sit, and now that I found out exactly how my voice will sit on a track, I’m happy with it. I feel like I’ve gotten more comfortable as a rapper, too, because I know how to play the instrument that is my voice now.
But, no, I think it all comes down to Hip-Hop being something that deeply influences me for so long, and even when I think about marketing music, everything, I think about it from the angle of Hip-Hop because that’s what I know. It’s interesting because I am making Pop music, international music, but I’m very much looking at it as a rapper.
MARC: So, with the rapping aspect and your cultural roots, are you hoping for a Despacito-like impact on the mainstream American market? Or are you hoping for something entirely different?
TESHER: You know, I don’t think I’m going to make every song have Indian influences in it because that’s just one side of me. I’m probably going to make a lot of records that are straight pop or rap without mentioning Indian culture at all, which is fine. But, on the other hand, I’ll probably have records that are fully in Hindi and are fully Indian. What I’m trying to do is be an artist that can exist in both worlds, and I’ve been studying how the Latin community has done it as a reference. For example, Shakira has done it very well. She’s the first artist that comes to my mind because she can go to America and do the whole “Hips Don’t Lie” type album that has hints of Latin within it but appeals more to an American audience. Then she could go back home and do an entirely Latin album and that works, too.
It always felt like, for South Asian artists, [you] had to choose if you wanted to be here or there. The South Asian artists who have broken into the mainstream American market have found success and had to get rid of the cultural influence in their music. Maybe [it was] because the American market wasn’t ready for it. But, what I’m hoping for “Jalebi Baby” specifically, now that we’ve shown that American audiences are ready for Indian influences a little bit more, I’m hoping other South Asian artists just take that and run with it. I’m really hoping for that Despacito effect where other people see this song and say, “if Tesher can do this with “Jalebi Baby,” I can do this with my song.” For me, personally, my sights have always been on the mainstream American market, whether that’s Hip-Hop, whether that’s Pop, and at the same time, if I wanna go to Bollywood, I could do a record there, too. I want to exist in both worlds in a big way.
MARC: Yeah, I feel that; I love that. And, honestly, that leads me right back to where we started with the TODAY Show. Will the performance be a full-on Bollywood production or a blending of your two worlds? I don’t want you to spoil your performance (laughs), but is there something mind-shattering about this performance that you want to share about?
TESHER: You know, because the performance is in 24 hours, I don’t want to spoil it for you because it’s so soon, but I’ll say we have done the influences [in] the correct way. We got as much right as we possibly can, and I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t showing Hollywood’s [representation of] Bollywood. That’s when you get the stereotypical things like using a mariachi band to represent Mexican people or. . .
MARC: Or like using thugs to represent all Black people.
TESHER: Right! Exactly, you never want to do the most stereotypical thing and, I’m not saying we’ve ever seen anything that bad while working on this song, but anytime we had to work on the TODAY Show performance or the music video, the aim [was] to make it authentic as possible. I want to recreate what I have seen growing up watching Bollywood movies, and I guess it helps that I am the one making the record and not just people who aren’t even Brown because I can actually comment on what’s legit. But as for the performance, I think it’s going to be like you said, it’s going to be something that America will not forget.
MARC: Beautiful, beautiful. And this is my last question, bro, I promise. Sorry for talking your ear off.
TESHER: Nah, man, this is great. This is great.
MARC: Last question. What can you tell us about your future project or projects and future music that you’re working on now?
TESHER: Man, it’s upbeat. Upbeat, energetic, it’s uh, man, it’s just f—king fire (laughs).
MARC: Yeah, man! Talk yo’ sh-t! Talk yo’ sh-t!
TESHER: Yeah, I mean, honestly, man! (laughs) Nah, honestly, look, I got to this point with Young Shahrukh and Jalebi Baby both by being myself 100%. Not trying to be like anybody else, just making the records that I thought were the dopest and making the best thing that I can possibly make. So, if that formula is what’s working for me, then I’m gonna just keep doing it; I’m gonna make music that I think is fun and energetic and dope that I think people would like but most importantly that I like. And, as an artist, that’s really what my job is; I just gotta something that is true to myself that is representative of who I am, and hopefully, they like it. And if they don’t, then I’ll make something else, and hopefully, they like that. That’s all I can really do. I’m excited for people to hear the new stuff. It’s been a long time coming, and you know, what’s funny is songs aren’t usually promoted for this long. But with “Jalebi Baby,” I feel like Lil Nas X when “OId Town Road” came out (laughs). I love it, though, because every day, I feel like we’re inching closer to that #1 Billboard spot. We’ll see how she goes.
MARC: Hey (laughs), I hope you get that #1 spot; it would be well deserved. You seem to be a really dope dude, and it would be awesome for you to accomplish a feat like that with a song like “Jalebi Baby.” Look, I can’t wait to see the live performance on the TODAY Show, and I can’t wait to see where you go with the bars. I feel like you got something there that could really change sh-t on a global scale. Oh! And when you get that second single, let us know, and we would love to get another interview. I’ll be sure to throw you a follow.
TESHER: Thank you, dawg. Nah, man, I appreciate that and thank you so much for this. Hit me up, and we’ll figure something out for single number 2 for sure. Take care.
Watch Tesher’s TODAY Show US debut, listen to the viral hit “Jalebi Baby” featuring Jason Derulo, and watch the official music video.
