The Gunsmith

The Gunsmith
Background information
Birth name Yuvraj Goel
Born (1986-09-12) 12 September 1986
New Delhi, India
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • Lyricist
  • Music Producer
  • Director
  • Screenwriter
  • Editor
Years active 2012-present
Labels Independent
Website www.facebook.com/gunsmith.music, www.youtube.com/gunsmithreloaded

Yuvraj Goel aka The Gunsmith (born September 12, 1986) is an Indo-Canadian rapper and lyricist. In January 2016 he made his debut as a Bollywood lyricist, with the song Chitta Kukkad in the film Loveshhuda by Tips Industries, starring Girish Kumar and Navneet Kaur Dhillon.[1] He is also a screenwriter, director and producer who has created several music videos and is currently working on a film screenplay and his own short films.[2][3] He is recognized for his story-telling lyrics and his speed-rapping capability.[4][5] He works extensively with Bollywood music director Parichay,[6] and in the past his work has been appreciated by Bollywood personalities such as film directors Vikram Bhatt and Mohit Suri, and composer Sohail Sen.[7][8][9] He has performed his rap tracks at well-attended events in the Toronto area such as Bollywood Monster Mash-Up, DesiFest, and ICCC Gala.[10][11][12] In addition to being a creative professional, Yuvraj works as a Project Engineer in the private manufacturing sector in Toronto.[13][14]

Early life

Yuvraj was born in New Delhi. As a child he was both academically and creatively inclined, and began writing poetry at the young age of 9. When he was 14, Yuvraj moved with his family to Canada, where he got a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and also became heavily involved in songwriting and hip-hop. By 2010 he started making hip-hop beats and rapping under the name The Gunsmith.[3][13][14]

Career

2011-2013

In mid-2011, The Gunsmith created the fusion band "The Gunsmith & MoHit" with his friend, singer Mohit Bhatnagar. The group released its first single and music video Bollywood Star in January 2012. The Gunsmith and MoHit's sound was a fusion of Western hip-hop and Bollywood sounds. During this period The Gunsmith rapped only in English. Simultaneously with the single Bollywood Star, the band released an EP (extended play) entitled "Conquest", which was composed/produced/written/mixed by The Gunsmith.[15][16] Following the release of Conquest, the band auditioned for record labels such as Warner and Universal Music in Toronto and received airplay on several Canadian college radio stations.[17][18][19] In 2013, The Gunsmith & MoHit released their single and music video Dil Ke Taar, a collaboration with accalimed Bollywood singer Jonita Gandhi. The song was written and composed by The Gunsmith, who also wrote and directed the story-driven music video.[20][21]

During this period The Gunsmith also created songs and directed music videos for other artists. Among these projects, the most notable was The Accounting Song by Chinese-Canadian artists Ray-Man and Aimz. This hip-hop spoof of chartered accountants' lifestyle become a YouTube hit and has gathered over 125,000 views as of January 2016.[22]

2014

In the beginning of 2014, The Gunsmith began rapping in Hindi, and transformed himself from a fusion artist catering to Western audiences, to an Urban Desi artist catering to South Asian audiences. He started his own YouTube channel, as his fusion band The Gunsmith & MoHit went on hiatus.[3] He released 4 remix videos of popular Hindi songs with YouTube artist Shirley Setia. These remix videos featured hip-hop variations of Bollywood Tracks created by the Gunsmith, with Shirley singing and The Gunsmith rapping. These 4 videos have proven popular on YouTube, with over 2.4 million views combined as of January 2016.[23]

In June 2014, The Gunsmith began working with Parichay as the main lyricist and rapper in his team. Parichay's independent album 4 Steps Forward was almost exclusively written by The Gunsmith, with all music by Parichay. The Gunsmith's rap vocals were featured on Parichay's tracks Andhere Mein and Pocket Money.[3][24]

2015

The Gunsmith was prolific in 2015. He released 2 free mini-albums - Year of The Bandook (6 tracks) and The Rap Storybook (3 tracks). Each song was accompanied by a music video on The Gunsmith's YouTube channel.[2] He also began working with classically trained singer Abhinandita Das, who is featured on his official single, Love 2 Miss U.[25]

2016

The Gunsmith began his career as a Bollywood lyricist with the release of Chitta Kukkad from the film Loveshhuda, with music by Parichay.

The track was praised by leading Indian websites such as Bollywood Hungama and Rediff, who described it as "A 'cocktail' track that doesn't have a single dull moment" and containing "...funny lyrics in Hindi, Punjabi and English which cater to Generation X".[26][27]

In March 2016, The Gunsmith began a new album project called Rebel Anthems featuring darker and more aggressive content, and released the first music video from this album, Hero Mat Ban.[28]

Discography

This is a partial list of The Gunsmith's discography.[2]

Year Title Singer Music Director Lyrics Album YouTube Link
2016 Hero Mat Ban The Gunsmith The Gunsmith The Gunsmith Rebel Anthems https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwChzf6Tt8
2016 Chitta Kukkad Gippy Grewal, Neha Kakkar Parichay The Gunsmith Loveshhudahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s05KApAW6kE
2015 Love 2 Miss U The Gunsmith, Abhinandita The Gunsmith The Gunsmith Single https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1pLC_9n7Og
2015 Still Alive (Meri Mehbooba) The Gunsmith, Abhinandita Nadeem-Shravan, The Gunsmith Anand Bakshi, The Gunsmith The Rap Storybook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM2ILeeFnBw
2015 Pinjra Jonita Gandhi The GunsmithThe GunsmithSinglehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3EdSsQRpSM
2015 Mujhe Dhoondh Lo The Gunsmith, MoHit The Gunsmith The Gunsmith Year of the Bandook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDAndzj-3yM
2015 Awara The Gunsmith The Gunsmith The Gunsmith Year of the Bandook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oVjAVrGIZ4
2014 Kamli (Remix) Shirley Setia, The Gunsmith Pritam, The Gunsmith Amitabh Bhattacharya, The Gunsmith Cover Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgBL-9FDDoo
2014 Baarish (Remix) Shirley Setia, The Gunsmith Mithoon, The Gunsmith Mithoon, The Gunsmith Cover Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO4gEGhLaqA
2013 Dil Ke Taar Jonita Gandhi, MoHit, The Gunsmith The Gunsmith, MoHit The Gunsmith Single https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JexGcg8604Y
2013 The Accounting Song (Money All Day) Rayman, Aimz The Gunsmith The Gunsmith, Rayman Single https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmij1LMI_eY
2012 Bollywood Star The Gunsmith, MoHit The Gunsmith The Gunsmith Conquest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W97nd3HdhJ0

References

  1. ↑ "Loveshhuda - Official Teaser". YouTube. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 The Gunsmith. "YouTube Channel".
  3. 1 2 3 4 YouTube (December 24, 2015). "The Gunsmith Radio Interview with RJ Varad Mehta (CMR 101.3 HD3 Desi Music Joint)". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  4. ↑ Urban Asian (October 13, 2013). "The Gunsmith, Mohit and Jonita Gandhi team up for "Dil Ke Taar!"". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ Zaynah Rashid (November 29, 2015). "Love 2 Miss U by The Gunsmith ft Abhinandita". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ The Gunsmith. "Songs with Parichay (Lyrics by The Gunsmith)". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ Mohit Suri (December 23, 2013). "Twitter Page". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ Sohail Sen (February 12, 2014). "Twitter Page". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  9. ↑ Vikram Bhatt (April 7, 2015). "Twitter Page". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Gunsmith - Tune Maari Entriyaan Rap Remix (LIVE) feat. MoHit". September 1, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ "The Gunsmith - Junooni - Live @ DesiFest (feat. MoHit, Brian Vegas)". June 5, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  12. ↑ MoHit (June 5, 2015). "Twitter Page". Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Tapa Menon (February 9, 2012). "Local South Asians The Gunsmith and MoHit release Conquest on iTunes". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  14. 1 2 My Bindi (March 7, 2012). ""The Gunsmith & MoHit" band bring a fresh flavour to Hip-Hop". Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ Small World Music. "The Gunsmith & MoHit". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ iTunes Store. "Conquest - EP". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ The Gunsmith (March 1, 2012). "Facebook Post". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  18. ↑ The Gunsmith (April 14, 2012). "Facebook Post". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  19. ↑ College Radio Charts (October 2, 2012). "10.02.12 CRC Hip Hop Weighted Chart". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ Simply Bhangra. "The Gunsmith & MoHit feat. Jonita Gandhi - Dil Ke Taar (Video)". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  21. ↑ YouTube (September 26, 2013). "The Gunsmith & MoHit feat. Jonita Gandhi - Dil Ke Taar (Ijazat)". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  22. ↑ YouTube (October 10, 2013). "The Accounting Song (Money All Day)". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  23. ↑ YouTube. "Collaboration Covers". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  24. ↑ SoundCloud. "Parichay's Tracks". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  25. ↑ YouTube (November 29, 2015). "Love 2 Miss U (OFFICIAL SINGLE) - The Gunsmith feat. Abhinandita". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  26. ↑ Rediff.com (January 31, 2016). "Review: Loveshhuda has good party music". Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  27. ↑ Joginder Tuteja (January 25, 2016). "Loveshhuda Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  28. ↑ The Gunsmith (March 6, 2016). "The Gunsmith - Hero Mat Ban (from Rebel Anthems)". YouTube. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
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