Issue 17 / Jay Sean, Rishi Rich and Juggy D Want You To Get Your FREAK On!

by Paulomi Patel

Jay Sean, Rishi Rich and Juggy D Want You To Get Your FREAK On!

Sep 28, 2015

**After more than a decade since their first single, Rishi Rich, Jay Sean and Juggy D come together to belt out the new hit song Freak.**

^{L-R: Juggy D, Jay Sean and Rishi Rich.

Photo Credit: Rishi Rich Project}

When they first emerged on the British Asian music scene back in 2003 with Dance With You (Nachna Tere Naal), music producer Rishi Rich, R&B artist Jay Sean and Punjabi rock star Juggy D heralded a new era for Asian underground music, not just in Britain, but across the world.

Dance With You reached number 12 on the U.K. Singles Chart and catapulted the three rather obscure newcomers at the time into the mainstream spotlight.

Now, after more than 12 years since that first super hit collaboration, the musical trio got back together to combine their talents in the new track, Freak. Get ready for a smooth R&B number peppered with a Punjabi flavour and foot-tapping-get-up-and-dance beats.

^{Jay Sean}
^{Photo Credit: Rishi Rich Project}

Describing Freak as a sexy club song with a nice R&B feel, Juggy D says the track has a new vibe to it that’s more evolved since Dance With You which was a very happy-dance-around-style track. “We’ve matured and that shows in Freak,” he says.

Released last week, Freak comes more than a decade since Rich, Sean and Juggy D first made music together. However, the extended break does not seem to have affected the legendary chemistry they’ve always shared.

“We’re all grown up, we have families and we have different things to talk about now but the chemistry we share is still the same as it was back when we first met some 14 years ago,” says Rich. “When we get together in the studio there’s pure magic and we have a lot of fun. We are like brothers, always have been and always will be.”

The three have come a long way since back when they were just friends from West London looking to make music, unaware of the kind of impact they would have with Dance With You. “The Rishi Rich Project really shaped all three of us in perfecting our craft,” says Rich.

Since Dance With You they’ve toured the world performing together and gone on to become musical stars, each in his own right. Under Rishi Rich productions, Rich, who’s now based in Atlanta, launched stars like H-Dhami and Mumzy. New Jersey-based Sean achieved superstar status with chart-toppers like Hit The Lights and Down featuring L’il Wayne. And, Juggy D spends more and more time in India after gaining popularity with successful Bollywood collaborations like Hum Tum.

^{Rishi Rich

Photo Credit: Rishi Rich Project}

Freak was announced back in 2013 but despite the strong bond they share, finding time in their busy schedule for recording together wasn’t easy for the trio. It took more than two years for the track’s release.

To make the magic happen, Rich works on the music and Sean starts with the lyrics. Next, Juggy D adds in his flavour with the Punjabi vocals. The three make sure they don’t think about delivering a super hit song when they start creating music. “Some of the magic gets lost when you start questioning if every track, every lyric and every musical note will be a hit,” says Sean. “That makes the music too scientific. We have to go with what feels good.”

The challenge then is to keep questioning if the song is good enough and if all three of them are happy with it. It’s common for them to guide each other — Sean might encourage Rich to try something new with music and Rich guides Sean and Juggy D with the vocals. Their chemistry allows them to freely bounce ideas off each other. The three realize that it’s rare to find artists who are so tuned into each other’s work. “We have to check each other,” says Sean. “All egos need to go out of the door. But then, none of us have egos when working together.”

Agreeing with this, Rich talks about how Freak wasn’t achieved in their first attempt. “We did three or four tracks and it took a while before we got to the song that we were all happy with. The three of us are strong individuals with so much experience individually in this industry so when we come together we put everything into one part and we work together. That’s the main thing.”

^{Juggy D

Photo Credit: Rishi Rich Project}

Freak — the single’s name — expresses the sentiment of letting go. Just like the three of them have let go of any expectations and simply made it for the sake of creating a nice song, they hope that the number allows listeners to break free. “Break the monotony, get out of your comfort zone and dance like no one’s watching,” says Sean.

Juggy D reiterates this sentiment. “You’ve got to enjoy what you do. When you’re having fun, it shows. Anything that you do with your heart and with a lot of passion shows in what you put out in the product,” he says, explaining that at the end of the day, they created Freak because their fans were looking to them for new music. “For the three of us, I can’t describe how good a feeling it is to just have that positive energy. I hope our fans enjoy listening to the single as much as we enjoyed making it.”

^{Main Image Photo Credit: The Rishi Rich Project}