Tala Anjum’s Short Film Review Queue Karachi Published in Icon There was one major question about the film – why? Like, this rapper is making a movie starring himself, and why would that be noteworthy?
In fact, this sentiment dismissed the effort as a mere vanity act with several flaws. This is an understandable criticism if the film is seen purely as a film, but to do so is also to miss the point: Queue Karachi Exists because it’s the victory lap of the country’s biggest musical superstar at the moment, and an extension of the extraordinary album launch.
Recently, when Talha Anjum showed up at a local mall to promote Queue Karachithe massive crowd that gathered there to see the rapper – the country’s most streamed and perhaps most popular artist at the moment.
If Pakistan was a country with a viable and functioning music ecosystem, Talha would be on the cover of magazines, headlining top 10 countdowns and charts, appearing on music channels, being discussed in print and blogs. Consider, and receive prestigious and meaningful awards. .
But Talha is in the past in the musical ecosystem that exists. He completed the holy troika of Pakistani music in launching a soft drink campaign, appearing in Coke Studio and singing the league anthem for the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He further remained silent when he was signed by Mass Appeal, a record label run by American rapper and entrepreneur Nas.
And on he goes, arguing Islam as Pakistan’s most serial artist, who has been around for longer than smartphones or social media! Perhaps, most impressively, it crossed the final and most important frontier for Pakistani artists – the Indian market – without ever stooping to a Bollywood release.
If you’re my age or older, there’s a chance you’re not really sure who Tala Anjum really is (try saying “who Lock? ” [Talha who?] out loud in front of teenagers to find out), so let’s use the crutch of mainstream culture to explain.
Remember the first time you heard about desi hip-hop in Ranveer Singh’s Street Boy? The rapper, whose life the film was partially inspired by, recently sparked a major brouhaha by claiming not to know who Tala Anjum is. After a wildly viral diss track, Tala had not only made her mark and brushed off any criticism, but was soon mainstreamed into the mainstream with the likes of Badshah (which you’ll be attending this winter for all the hennas). were raising their voices) coming out to announce their longstanding admiration for Talha’s work. .
In light of all this, Queue Karachi Can be seen as an attempt by a musician who has scaled enough peaks to create one of his own to climb. There were no worlds left for Fateh Anjum to conquer, so he had to build a new one with it Queue Karachi.
Cultural critic Hadi Ahmed coined the phrase ‘anjam kainat’ to describe the deliberate homogeneity of characters and stories in the various music videos released by the artist, with the same stories and characters appearing from one video to the next. Access the video. He argues that, for young audiences who have grown up with social media, the standard tropes of music videos are predictable, and that Tala admits that “his audience is evolving like crazy, They have understood it. [standard music video] format… and they want something else. I think that is the place Queue Karachi Mass plays a role, as it develops this shape.
In 2017, Sharaf Qaiser, a rap producer, held a meeting in his studio in a dingy, dark building on Main Ma Jinnah Road near Sadir, Karachi, claiming that the sealed, spooky rooms had haunted him. Before, torture chambers were kept for a regional political party. There was one in the building The spot (Jhari) on its ground floor and, according to Sharaf, Urdu rap began at that time The spotat many hangouts for tea and cigarettes.
When asked about it today, Tala recalls that era with a laugh. “Back then, and still, there wasn’t a place for live music… especially for young artists, where they could come together and do something. So for us this is a special place.
After starting out in talent shows at school, Talha Anjum and her long-time bandmate Talha Younis broke through with two songs – ‘Mila Majnoo’ and ‘Burger-I Karachi’. Targeted instant virality. As Tala says, “It was the era of Bluetooth, not even the social media one,” in the sense that fans could connect devices and stream music. How to share
But what’s truly impressive about the young wonderkids — as the duo would eventually call themselves — is that, unlike many other viral musicians and influencers who were happy to nurse their 15 minutes until They both wanted the lock more.
“At the time, people might have realized we made it, but we still thought ‘What a scene, boss? [What’s going on?]’ – Where is it all going? “
Instead, these two young men threw themselves into doing live shows and small events, which is quite generic and predictable until you realize that this was an era where Pakistan was plagued by terrorist violence, and just stepping out of the house was a risk, let alone holding and performing musical shows.
On top of that, the few musical events that did exist generally hated rap music, which was little more than a novelty at the time. But with some incredible perseverance, the young stunners continued to find gigs and perform at colleges, private events and more. And all this performance was fueling his extraordinary rise in the music scene.
According to Zirak Ahmed who helps run the Pakistan Music Newsletter Same“The generation of artists in the early 2000s were the first to use the Internet to gain popularity. Peer-to-peer sharing. [Napster etc] And the fledgling websites got them initial distribution, but they really made it big through TV, sponsorships and live shows.
“The next generation was drowned out by the ban on the Internet,” Zerik sums up a Sisyphean phenomenon that has defined urban, mainstream music in Pakistan for the past four decades or so. “Anjam is the only one who escaped these restrictions in the 2010s, and built an entire career that takes place on YouTube. Few, if any, have done it at this level.
A new technology comes along and almost immediately, tons of new music is released. A few years later, that technology changes and, almost immediately, a music scene without a copyright system or stable royalties immediately creates.
We saw this in the 90s, where the boom started with a new TV channel and ended when illegal cable TV and pop music were banned. PTV came into play. This was repeated in the 2000s, when new music channels rose before a drastic switch to news media and a deteriorating social order.
“One thing I’ve realized,” Talha said, “is that I have fans The queue [hardcore] The fans. So the question inevitably arises: Why is Tala so popular?
For one, there is the artistry of their lyrics. Over the past year, I’ve been telling people that they or someone they know got into Urdu poetry, or taught themselves the language, after getting into Talha’s music, whose lyrics are often in Urdu. Comes from poetry verses and quotes. To some, he is as much a poet as he is a rapper.
“I understand my influence in introducing people to poetry…but if people just read books, they will develop that interest themselves, as it has for me.”
When asked about Jovan Elia, the poet he frequently features in his verses, he reveals that he entered the poet relatively late in life.
” Shayari [poetry] They teach you in school is controlled. I was never really impressed by it, which I think is also because of how we were taught poetry.
Instead, Tala discovered Jon Elya from a YouTube video of the late poet’s mashaira (poetry gathering). “That [Elia] It was very different. He was lighting a cigarette on stage and he was a full voice. And then there’s his poetry itself, which feels very new age, very contemporary.
Talking to Tala shows his considerable knowledge. He cites Tupac Shakur’s ‘Life Gone’ as “an example of a music video where the rapper was playing a character, which inspired his own turn as a thespian in his videos.”
When asked, he cites Eminem’s early career about the challenges of risking machismo, as Tala has done. When I avoid that age there’s a lot of galum-galloch in hip-hop [curses, swear words]he refers to the wider rap culture and its unreserved ethos. “It’s about values rather than culture. I’m not saying that our values should be cursed in songs, Luckin Boss, culture is Yahya [but this is the culture].
I ask him about the idea of rapper ‘beefs’ or feuds between rappers – are they a strategic means of attracting attention, or do they reflect the highly competitive and instinctive nature of the genre?
“There are many rappers who depend on beef, and to them beef is a science.” “Most of what I’ve done, there’s no science to it. If I feel the need for something, I do it. To me, it’s an art.
What comes across is Tala Anjum’s insistence and ease in being himself, which is why, when he talks about his future plans, it doesn’t sound like a bombshell.
“I want some rap music that’s playing in Karachi, if it’s good rap music. I’d love to have my name under my umbrella. I think I’ve got enough experience to know what’s next.” I mean, if I can do it for myself, I can do it for anybody as long as they deserve it. That’s my plan, to make sure the music is released consistently Because I did it, I never had a label or a collaboration There was consistency.
This is what makes Tala Anjum’s journey to the top. For all the bowling, massive audiences, shout-outs from celebrities and worldwide acclaim, Talha’s appreciation for her kind of music. Done through constant, unrelenting dedication.
Hadi Ahmed estimates that he has released more than 80 songs in the last two years (a number Talha himself struggles to remember) and almost every one has been played in millions!
When asked what led to this, Tallulah’s answer is simple. “I feel like I’m in my element when I’m writing or recording, or when I’m working. In those moments, I feel like I’m not just some guy, those moments are something. And there are
For a decade now, Pakistani music has been caught in the middle of a struggle to survive or exist as an extension of marketing campaigns for consumer goods. All this was a truly authentic, inimitable artist with an intimate understanding of his audience like a lock that finally breaks and a different future and a different possibility emerges.
Today, when someone asks “who Talha”, the answer is: Pakistan’s biggest, most influential musician right now.
Dawn, published in IconJanuary 26, 2025
