Premiere: Sonny Singh’s ‘Jaano Jot’ Video Shows the Radical Power of Langar

Brooklyn, New York artist Sonny Singh’s Punjabi-meets-brass fusion offering “Jaano Jot” takes us to the heart of the Sikh community’s globally-lauded institution – the food service of langar.

Combining the colorfulness of cumbia music with reggae and Punjabi elements, “Jaano Jot” is part of Singh’s upcoming second album Sage Warrior whose first single “Pavan Guru” was out in June. The new album – his follow-up to the debut full-length Chardi Kala from 2022 – is being released alongside a book, also called Sage Warrior, by writer and activist Valarie Kaur.

“Jaano Jot” draws from a 16th-century Sikh devotional poem by Guru Nanak, which translates as: “Know the light within all, ask not of caste: there are no hierarchies in the world beyond.” In the music video for “Jaano Jot” directed by filmmaker Shruti Parekh, Sikh folks from Richmond Hill in Queens are seen preparing rotis at a community kitchen of a gurdwara. It’s interspersed with footage of Sunset Park in Brooklyn where Singh lives.

Singh says in a statement about the current-day relevance of the track, “This is a very important song to me – drawing from the revolutionary words of Guru Nanak over 500 years ago yet so relevant in today’s world where millions of people are dehumanized through policies of war and occupation and rising hateful and violent political rhetoric. I see this sacred poetry and music as a call to action to speak up and stand up for the oppressed, from Punjab to Palestine.”

Kaur, in her book Sage Warrior, describes langar as “embodied protest” in terms of eating together without any hierarchies of caste and religion. She writes, “Langar was more than a rebellion: It was a practice for an alternative world of solidarity, dignity, and humility.”

Singh also speaks about the process between him and Kaur in terms of making the album. He says, “As Valarie would send me first drafts of each chapter of the book, the music flowed out of me with so much ease. Her writing puts our community’s history and struggles into language that I needed to hear—that our generation needs to hear. I hope my music helps the ancient wisdom Valarie unearths in her book land in the hearts of listeners.”

Sage Warrior, is set to release on Sept. 6, 2024, with Kaur’s book out on Sept. 10. They will tour nationally together between September and October this year. Singh launches the album with a show on the same date at Drom in New York.  

Watch the video for “Jaano Jot” below.