DJ Rekha

DJ Rekha (born Rekha Malhotra, 1971) is a London-born musician, DJ, producer, curator, and activist. They have been credited with pioneering Bhangra music in North America. Their first album, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra, released in October 2007 on Koch Records, fuses the Indian genre of bhangra music with international hip-hop and drum beats.

Early life DJ Rekha spent the first year of their life in London, and the following three years in New Delhi, India. They credit this time in India as critical for exposure to Punjabi, the primary language of bhangra. They returned to London briefly until their family moved to Queens, New York. DJ Rekha spent most of their adolescence in Westbury, Long Island, where they attended public schools whose pupils were predominantly Black, and currently lives in Jackson Heights, Queens. They graduated from Queens College with a degree in Urban Studies while simultaneously experimenting and honing their craft on the turntables.

Music alt=Enthusiastic Indian dancers wear brightly colored clothing under colorful lights on a dark stage, in front of artistic video projected onto a screen. The photo is noisy, with lots of motion blur due to a longer exposure in the dark club, but you can make out a couple faces.

DJ Rekha launched a monthly event known as Basement Bhangra at SOB's on Varick Street. From 1997 - 2017, Basement Bhangra popularized the traditional-modern bhangra blend, making the genre a part of the NYC club scene. DJ Rekha often intentionally used Basement Bhangra as a political platform to raise awareness of systemic injustices, and raise money for or advertise events by New York City organizations working to improve the lives of people of color, such as DRUM.

As a volunteer, DJ Rekha DJed fundraising benefit shows to help raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims, for South Asians Against Police Brutality, for progressive South Asian political candidates, and other organizations. They arranged the music for Bridge and Tunnel, the [Tony Award] winning Off-Broadway show. Newsweek recognized them as one of the most influential South Asians in the US, and they have received accolades from The New York Times, CNN, The Fader, The Village Voice, and The Washington Post, among others. In this album, DJ Rekha collaborated with Wyclef Jean, Panjabi MC, and Bikram Singh, among others. The album weaves Punjabi folk traditions, dance hall rhythms from the U.S., U.K. and Jamaica, and DJ techniques that are 100% New York.

Since 2010, DJ Rekha has hosted 'Bhangra and Beyond', a weekly radio show on BTRtoday.

Equipment Turntable Roland SP-808 sampler

Entrepreneur In 2000, DJ Rekha founded Sangament (sangam is Hindi for "confluence" — a place where two rivers flow together), a production company that produces live concerts and provides music consulting services to record labels, cultural institutions, media companies, and corporations. DJ Rekha produces live events and their monthly parties, Basement Bhangra and Bollywood Disco through Sangament, Inc.

DJ Rekha founded Basement Bhangra in 1997 in New York. It occurred on the first Thursday of every month and became an international phenomenon, drawing an extremely diverse audience. It started with dance lessons and then turned into a dance party. It received international press, being featured on the cover of Billboard magazine and in Dutch and Japanese television.