‘AP Dhillon: First of A Kind’ – A Story of Passion, Loyalty and Brotherhood
Barring a few flaws, the new docu-series on the Punjabi star tracks his rise and gives fans a rare look at his creativity
AP Dhillon in a still from the docu-series 'AP Dhillon: First of a Kind.' Photo: Courtesy of Prime Video
★★★★
“AP! AP! AP! AP!” the crowd yells as AP Dhillon appears on the screen. “So I had two options, one is give up and listen to their advice,” he says. “The second is to just do what my heart tells me to do.”
For artists who are sequestered and have a certain kind of enigma the way AP Dhillon, real name Amritpal Singh Dhillon, does, a behind-the-scenes docu-series is always going to be an event worth checking out. Don’t get it wrong, AP isn’t quite as difficult to find these days, as he reaches a new level of megastardom. But the singer has never been the kind to share details about his life in public, the way other entertainers do. The “Excuses” singer sat down for his first media interview only in 2022, three years after his music career took off. These factors make Jay Ahmed’s four-episode First of A Kind on Amazon Prime all the more captivating to AP’s fans.
It is inspiring to watch the journey of Amrit, who grew up in a small village, close to the Pakistan border, as an immigrant exposed to a new culture in a new country, in his 20s. Seeing glimpses of how the brown boy from India works multiple jobs in Canada to save money to buy basic music equipment, is heartening. As the film progresses, we meet his brothers Gminxr, Shinda Kahlon, and Gurinder Gill among others – who end up becoming his biggest supporters, co-producers, and the most important men in the artist’s journey to becoming the AP Dhillon he is now.
Diving into AP’s life and watching him hunkered down in a small garage, working tirelessly to bring his first track “Fake” to the finish line in 2019 – these moments of intense craftsmanship are inspiring in a way that cannot be put to words. With just $7,000 to his name, Dhillon kept making music, and followed his dream to a point where his career blew up. Before anybody could even make sense of what was happening, including the artist himself, AP was hopping on a plane to perform a set of shows in his home country for the first time. And ironically, the singer’s first gig in India was also the first concert he’d ever been to.
After the successful India tour, there was no stopping AP. The singer’s growing popularity led to bigger and better productions including the 2022 EP Two Hearts Never Break The Same – an album that every Punjabi is fluent in by now. After taking a year-long break following his India tour, AP made a comeback with a bang, by announcing a North America arena tour.
After his first show at the iconic Rogers Arena in Vancouver, AP makes his way to Houston, Toronto, Chicago and New York – where hip-hop legend Nas introduces the “Brown Munde” singer as the “newest, greatest artist in the motherf***ing world”. In all honesty, you don’t hear something like that about an artist of Indian descent every day. It’s something to be very proud of. During his tour, Dhillon also displays his suave self, where he passionately works with his live band to give the concertgoers the experience they deserve. He dwells on comminuted details about the lighting, mic and drops that would seem undetectable to anyone else. “The beat needs to drop here!” he yells. “You need to take care of that.” It’s AP as you’ve never seen him, riled up, confident, and authoritative, but respectful.
First of A Kind has its flaws. The docu-series doesn’t talk much about Dhillon’s childhood, something that would’ve provided the perfect prologue to the storyline. It also doesn’t address the biggest complaint of lip-syncing at concerts raised by many AP Dhillon fans in the past years.
The storytellers compensate for the missing pieces by including parts on his recent hospitalization following a finger injury during the U.S. tour, and delving into the singer’s disappointing 2023 Lollapalooza India performance (apparently because of a throat infection). Also included is a tribute to the late Punjabi artist Sidhu Moose Wala.
Overall, the docu-series excels at giving fans a rare look at AP Dhillon’s creative process, and how passion, common connections, loyalty and brotherhood made a mind blowingly-wild dream come true.
