Brown pride and dark underbelly

I've often heard hip-hop is best left to the blacks. Apparently, the whole genre loses its sheen when Indians try to imitate the art form. Which is also why Mumbaiya rappers get derided for their unflattering attempts. I counted myself as one of the critics not very long ago. I found Bombay-based hip-hop artists way too wannabe to be taken seriously. This was before i stumbled upon Divine and Naezy. These young artists are brilliant not just in their expression but also with their substance. There is an undeniable volume of honesty in their work. They speak about the place (read: chawls) they come from and that too in a language their neighbours understand. They don't seem to be putting on a cape to look cooler than they already are. 

For instance, check these lyrics from Divine's Jungli Sher:

Chhota sa main ladka

Chhoti cheezon pe main bhadka

Mere daal mein nahi tha tadka

Ghar mein baap ke roz ka lafda

Dafna mushkilon ko

Meri maa ki kamaai ne

Baap wala role nibhaya mere bhai ne

Tairna sikha khaai mein

Isiliye shabdon mein gehraai hai

Zindagi toh ek ladaai hai

Jo paiso mein samaayi hai...

And here are some from Naezy's Haq Hai: 

Mumbai ka mai chokra

Ye nagri hai ayyaasho ki, ameero ki

Sitaaro ki, funkaaro ki, ghumkhaaro ki

Gareebko ki, fakeero ki

Bas daal roti ki bhi kadki hai, majboori hai

Maal daaro ki tadki hui tandoori hai

Bhadki hui maa ro ri hai

Khaa k maa ki lori wo

Ladki bhooki so rahi hai

Wo tarsi hui si thodi hai

Khaane ko bhi wo ro rahi hai...

Both of them seem to draw inspiration from their surroundings. They observe and they feel and they write about stuff that really matters to them. Poverty and illiteracy are some of the two recurring subjects addressed without any resort to self-pity. There is anger in their voice but it's tempered by their inward looking attitude. It's remarkable how the words chosen somehow maintain the balance between the problems exhibited and the solutions proposed. 

They collaborated for a song titled Meri Gully Mein and you don't even need to have a past in the slums (like i do) to get attached to these engaging lyrics:

Tere shooterooo ka khaas

Meri gully mein

Poore shehar ki awaaz

Mere gully mein

Pray aarti ya namaz

Meri gully mein

Maa pe gaali tho chamaat

Mere gully mein

Police aayi lagi waat

Mere gully mein

Ek number saari baat

Mere gully mein...

I'm a copywriter by profession and i basically write for the graphic designers. So far, i've made it a point to NOT pretend to understand design. Similarly, i stay focused on lyrics and pretend not to understand music. To me, words matter. The sincerity behind them matters more. And in the above mentioned cases, that's evident in abundance. It'd be great to see many more such rappers emerge from the darkest of underbellies that are left unsung. They shall be brown and they will be noted hopefully. The way a white guy named Eminem was 20 years ago. 

In awe of Coke Studio...

The other day, someone who read my blog (I know it’s hard to believe that just like it’s hard to believe you are reading now!) concluded that I write less and complain more. Well, I told him I've got the divine right to rant and he, the divine wrong to get offended. But I guess he had a point. My writing is bleak and I ought to apply the positive elements too, and most importantly, try to project myself as less of a loser than I already am.

Movies and Music are my closest friends. Since I’ve already done a bland piece on cinema, I’ll try to replicate its *success* with a on songs. No, no, I won’t be listing out ‘20 Names in Music’. That won’t happen for a very simple reason: I don’t know much about music except that it’s almost like a medicine that puts the heal in health. So here’s what I’ll do. I’ll just talk about the songs I got hooked to lately and what makes them so special.

Before I get started, I must confess I’m smitten by Coke Studio. For those who aren’t aware of it, go Google it. It’s one of the finest things to have ever come out of Pakistan and you can’t afford to miss it. There are hundreds of musical gems flowing thanks to this TV Show. And one such song that has been at the top of my personal chart is ‘Mori Araj Suno’. This song by Tina Sani is electric, to say the least. It is Sufism meet God meet Tina Sani meet talented musicians meet Sufism. Perfect harmony.

Besides, do check out Nawai Ney. It is a melting pot of flute, violin, drums and everything else that pitched in well with Tina Sani’s tuneful voice, powerful words and the chorus of three pretty girls. Needless to say, Sufi music has this unexplainable purity that engages mortals with our so-called Creator and back.

Arieb Azhar’s Husn-e-Haqiqi too belongs to the same stable. Here, Khwaja Farid-inspired lyric questions the vanity behind naming Almighty and draws parallel between nuances that goes unnoticed in our day-to-day existence. And then there is also his Na Raindee Hai which extols the virtue of truth and invokes the supreme power as well as Bulleh Shah in the concluding line. I’m in awe, is a gross underunderstatement.

Add Arif Lohar & Meesha Shafi's spirited Jugni and Zeb & Haniya's Afghani folk number Bibi Sanam Janem to the list and you're a fan for life. And please let Sanam Marvi's Pritam tickle your musical curiosity.

For those who aren’t Sufially-inclined and found the aforementioned reccos dull, either go stab yourself with a plastic knife or try Damien Rice’s The Volcano and Rootless Tree. The haunting but assuasive cello at the very beginning sets the tone for the song and the two beautiful singers with melancholic swagger do the rest. 

Enjoy.