They've spent two months at number one in the British Asian Charts, are the first desi act to sign to Def Jam, have one of the highest rated shows on a UK radio station, have beaten Timbaland to his choicest samples and packed out clubs all over the country. HMV now has a section dedicated to the genre of music they invented. 2003 can be remembered as the year that urban Asian music came out dancing with artists like Panjabi MC's Mundian to Bach Ke. Trouble is, Panjabi Hit Squad - four fresh-faced lads straight outta London's Southall - got there a decade ago. "Man, that Timbaland thing is old," says Dee. "We've been doing that stuff for ten years. We were doing what he's doing a long time ago but now hip hop is feeling what we've been feeling. In fact there is a new Jay-Z track called Higher which features a sample from a big bhangra hit on our last album called Hai Hai." Dee, Rav, Amo and Markie Mark first met in 1993 when Dee, Rav and Amo went by the name of Asian DJ Culture (ADC) and Markie went by the name of London club runner and DJ. His night was called Bombay Jungle and ran weekly in London's West End. Back then, clubnights were usually one-off events - this was the height of rave, after all - so a regular, weekly club night really stood out; particularly if it was an Asian clubnight in Leicester Square.

"This was the first evidence of an urban Asian movement, a world away from the kitsch of Bollywood," says Amo. "Our music is a direct result of multicultural Britain… Bhangra was almost Asian hip hop." It caused such a stir that one night Puffy's Bad Boy Entertainment posse stopped by to check out the action. Also dropping by regularly was one Panjabi MC. Explains Rav: "We were the first outlet for PMC's new tunes in the clubs." Pretty soon, the lads had a new name for their new music: desi beats. Today, HMV has set out a special desi beats section. Word spread and Mark and Asian DJ Culture spent the Nineties putting on underground parties in London and around the rest of the country. When founding member of Asian DJ Culture Raj went to India to record some vocals from the cream of India's singing talent and sadly passed away, things for ADC had to change - but they still wanted to keep moving forward. "We got talking one night in a club with Markie after DJ'ing and put our ideas together," says Amo. "That's when Panjabi Hit Squad was born." It was 2001 and things happened quickly from there.

Building on their loyal Asian fan base - which they modestly estimate to be 30,000 strong in London alone - Panjabi Hit Squad toured the country winning over new fans wherever they played their infectious desi beats sets. Then they recorded an album which went straight to number one in the Asian charts and stayed there for weeks. With their contacts and years worth of experience in and around clubs, it wasn't long before the mainstream started to prick up its ears. So did new black music station 1Xtra, which snapped up PHS for a monthly show named Desi Beats - they were the first Asians to have a show on national radio. Pretty soon, it was one of the most highly rated shows on the station. "We get untold texts and emails from people all over the world," says Dee. "Canada, Australia, Birmingham!" In August 2004 1Xtra rewarded PHS with a promotion to a better time slot on the station, moving to a weekly Thursday show from 10.00pm to midnight. Then Def Jam offered them a deal and they released an album, Not For Duplication, in 2003. So can The Hit Squad explain hip hop's current love-in with Asian sounds? "It's here to stay," says Dee. "Rappers and hip hop producers heard Asian music and they were on it like a shot. "Indian sounds just go with hip hop. It's amazing that sounds we record with a village musician in the middle of rural Panjab can go so well with a hip hop banger. "Indian music is so multi-layered and multi-faceted, from raw Panjabi tumbis to Bombay tablas to laid-back Rajasthani flutes, there is so much for producers to indulge in. "Hip hop has only just scratched the surface, there's a lot more to come…"

Discography Albums & EPs Desi Beats Vol.1 (Def Jam UK, 2003) Desi Beats E.P (AV8 Records, 2002) The Streets (Tiger, 2002) The Debut Album (Indiasound, 2001) Remixes David Steele & Fried featuring RZA - Get Out Of Jail (London Records, 2004) Beenie Man - Dude (Virgin, 2004) Christina Milian - Dip It Low (Def Soul, 2004) Zena feat Vybz Kartel - Around The World (Universal, 2003) Keith Murray - Yeah Yeah You Know It (Def Jam, 2003) Ashanti - Baby (Murder Inc, 2003) Mariah Carey - Boy I Need You (Def Jam, 2002)