It might have taken US producers like Timbaland, Dre, Quik and Missy Elliott to break it into the mainstream, but on this side of the Atlantic Asian music been rubbing sides with hip hop, house and urban sounds for over a decade.
Mostly this has been confined to underground clubs, such as North London's South Asian lesbian and gay nights Shakti and Kali, where DJ Ritu has been alternating between hip hop, house and bangra flavoured beats since 1989.
But while the UK's Asian music scene and artists such as Fun Da Mental, Talvin Singh and Nitin Sahwney have achieved considerable acclaim, nobody has so far managed to translate critical success into commercial sales.
The arrival of Panjabi MC's ubiquitous chart bound hit of the moment, 'Mundian To Bach Ke' (which translates as 'Beware of the Boys') has therefore been a long time coming.
And Outcaste records head honcho, Shabs, has, with his customary eye for timing and indefatigable passion for the UK's Asian flavoured fusion music, seized the opportunity.
Opening with Panjabi MC's theme from 'Nightrider' sampling hit, the album includes a number of recognisable tracks, such as Badmarsh and Shri's overlooked classic 'Signs', the Afterlife mix of Jakatta's 'So Lonely' and Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn's 'Tere Bin Nahin Lagda' - used in 'Bend It Like Beckham'.
But part of the point of the album is to introduce lesser-known artists, and this it does with relish.
Outstanding contributions abound, with DJ H and Punjabi Outlawz' 'Yaaar Dha', Punjabi Hit Squad's 'Hasdi Hasdi' and Orient Expressions 'Istanbul 1:26 AM' deserving particular mention.
Meanwhile the inclusion of tracks such as Trick Baby's house orientated 'Neelaa' stretches the album's meaning, while Nitin Sawhney's brilliant 'Punjabi', originally released in 1995, adds history while it begs for a re-release.
Finally Craig Armstrong and Swati Natekar bring the album to a close with the beatless, filmic 'Miracle'.
An essential introduction that, nonetheless, only scrapes the surface of one of the UK's most persistently creative music scenes.
