Recently, we’ve seen singers coming in from two very different corners of the country and putting out a level of music that was previously unheard by the Pakistani audience. SomeWhatSuper, Pakistan’s biggest EDM sensation, got together with Abid Brohi and gave us the most viral song of the year: The Sibbi Song.
This was the first edition of “Patari Tabeer”, a six-part series powered by Pakistani music platform Patari. The song could be heard playing in every other car on the streets, and people would be humming it everywhere you went; that was the power of the song.
Then came Jahangir, a 12-year old boy from a town called Rohri in Sukkur, Sindh. The video of Jahangir singing first went viral in 2015. He was picked up by Patari and was brought down for a collaboration with Abbas Ali Khan, and the result was absolutely breathtaking.
Now, Patari Tabeer gives us something different, yet again. A bunch of boys from Lyari, Karachi, getting together for their shared love for music and rap. They started in 2008-09 and they haven’t looked back since. Like every big story, their friends had a major role to play in the formation of their style of music, as one of them introduced the boys to rap artists like Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.
These boys are the epitome of having started from scratch, as they started out with no equipment, no knowledge of music, and no platform.
Their claim to fame is that they rap in Balochi, which is a rare occurrence in Pakistan.
Lyari Underground is a group of boys who have emerged from the Bronx of Pakistan: Lyari.
With writing their own songs, mixing their own music, and being insane football freestylers, these boys have all the makings of becoming the next big thing in the hip-hop genre.
Starting out in their mid-teens, these boys chose to channel their frustration through music. They grew up amidst loose gun-control laws, the police always on their case, and gangs sprouting up left, right and centre. Lyari Underground, comprising of Anxiously, M4 Jin, Asadullah, Abood Baloch, Danger Baloch, Slipknot Denna, Desert Eagle, DJ Killa, and DJ Khalifa, wanted to stay away from the negativity in their society, so they turned to music and football.
In spite of the conditions of Lyari, these boys manage to get together and show off their insane skills, in song and on field at their favorite sport – football.
Talking to MangoBaaz about their rhyme and rhythm, Asadullah says while they didn’t understand the English language, they picked up on the beats, and incorporated it into their own music. Their forte is rapping in Balochi and presenting a side of the society that we turn a blind eye towards. He said that they did exactly what they wanted to, in terms of the music they were making.
They wanted to highlight the injustices taking place within Lyari, and the conditions that they grew up in.
Here’s a look at their song:
“Rap halaat ki wajah se paida hota hai” , Asadullah says; words that stand true for every rapper to ever have emerged.
They don’t want to rap about big cars filled with women, but they want to use this medium to stay true to the essence of rap and work around that, instead of only becoming famous just for the sake of it. Everyone, while talking about Lyari, comes from a place of preconceived notions about the town, but Lyari Underground wants to present the true picture; their own picture of Lyari.
From playing football on the streets, to making their own music, these boys are well on their way to becoming international stars, and we’re behind them every step of the way.
Patari Tabeer’s contribution towards the revival of the Pakistani music, and making it truly truly Pakistani, is commendable.
Cover image via: Patari