The video, which racked up more than 60,000 views before it was removed from public view, featured a swagged-up Brar with slick hair and gold chain rapping into the camera while pulling hand signs.
The clip included shots of fake money, flying helicopters and his group of friends, along with panning shots of local landmarks including Papamoa Plaza.
But 22-year-old Brar said the firearms were only in the video because they fitted the aesthetic of a hip-hop video.
"We didn't fire them in the video and it's on a private [property] ... My aim was not to create violence ... I did not think about that."
He said the police had questioned the presence of firearms in the video so Brar volunteered to take the video down from public view.
"The police said it would be better for you and better for me," he said.
The video was filmed before the nationwide firearms amnesty and the guns, which were owned by a friend, were authentic and licensed, he said.
Despite the video, he said the song was about family pride, his friends, his critics and putting Pāpāmoa on the map.
"I represent my area, I represent where I live and I represent my friends," he said. "[People] don't know anything about it, so they can't judge me. They've just seen a video."
Hundreds of messages from fans had flooded his Instagram inbox and he said New Zealander acquaintances had sung words of praise about his music.
Pāpāmoa Punjabi rapper Vijay Brar had a visit from police after posting a music video featuring a number of firearms. Photo / Andrew Warner
"They don't understand [any of the words] but they love the beat and they love the rhythm," he said.
Making music is his passion project while he works part-time in a retail store and studies business at Toi Ohomai.
In 2014, he moved from Budha Singh Wala in Punjab, India.
He attended Pāpāmoa College where friends introduced him to hip-hop music and in 2015, he began making his own music with Punjabi people as the target audience.
Pāpāmoa Zone was written in 2017 and the video, which was filmed on a cellphone, was released in June 2019.
Brar said he would continue to make music but would not feature guns in his videos.
The Bay of Plenty Times asked police who alerted them to the video and whether they had any safety concerns regarding the firearms in the video.
A police spokesperson said: "Tauranga Police were recently made aware of online music video content displaying images of firearms".
The spokesperson said police spoke to a Tauranga man about the content and inquiries into the matter were ongoing.
