Pakistan has given us some of the finest artists in the continent. Be it singers like Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Noor Jahan, actors like Nadeem Baig and Waheed Murad or poets like Parveen Shakir and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the country has had its fair share of legends in the sub-continent’s entertainment industry. Bohemia came up as a legendary American-Pakistani hip hop artist marking his place in the international industry.
While the mainstream arts have prevailed, Pakistan hasn’t really been a hip-hop nation entirely. Or has it?
Bboying, more commonly known as hip hop dancing, has relatively never been in the lime light in the country – both dance and hip-hop is considered to be an adapted culture. Yet, remaining overlooked or under the shadows, as some might say, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
Despite its lack of fame, hip hop artists have remained a part of the entertainment industry and continued their struggle without any accolades. With the rise of social media, things have seemed to be on the right track, now more than ever. With a platform to market themselves and make themselves known without really having to break the bank, hip hop artists have finally started making a name to some extent.
Sitting down with one such name, we learned quite a bit about the hip hop scene in Pakistan; and of course, about the man himself.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Khudaish Aseem Gulzar a.k.a. Taishi is one of the torchbearers of the hip hop industry in the country. At just 22 years of age, he is, as he likes to call himself, an anarchist. His crew, Anarchy, has risen to heights of fame that very few have ever managed.
Born in Lahore, raised in Karachi, Taishi somewhat stumbled upon his passion for Bboying. He never intended to become one until he became one. Talking to him, he revealed that he was always a cricketer, someone who was almost destined to do something big in sports.
“I was a cricketer – I was really good at it and I was headed in the right direction to be somewhere. I played at club level, and as my mother knew a few people in the cricket scene who would have helped me take the right steps, I could have made it somewhere”, he said.
People don’t realize this but hip hop brings people together. It doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, gender or religion. And that’s the beauty of it.
Bboy Taishi
While he loved cricket, Taishi always was up for dancing. “I remember how whenever my jam came on, I used to go crazy. Do some of the most unusual steps and my mother had to calm me down.”
As time unfolded and Taishi met a small group of people in his apartments in Karachi who used to practice dance, he realized he was meant for this. “These group of guys used to do headstands and some common, yet fancy dance moves and I just used to practice with them”, he said.
These guys formally introduced Taishi to the hip hop scene as he learned from them about the then-hot crews such as The Unknown Crew, EXD Crew, Chemistry Crew and others. Before he knew it, Taishi had already made up his mind to make his name in this industry.
We also had Taishi answer one question that had us and many of his fans wondering since forever. How did Khudaish Aseem Gulzar become “Taishi”? He told us it was kind of a ‘written in the stars’ thing.
“Taishi was a nickname my mother gave me when I was little. I hated the name. My siblings and friends used to use it to irritate me. Coming into the hip hop scene, I needed to have a nickname – I tried Flow-Sipher, D-Fusion, and a few others. None of them really seemed to just ignite the spark. And it was not until 2015 when it was exam season and I was stressed out. So, like always, I went out to dance as it was catharsis for me. That’s when I realized that if dance is that special then my name should also be equally special. And what’s more special than the nickname your mother gave you as a child, right?”
Since then, Taishi has become almost a household name for anyone practicing hip hop in Pakistan. But the out of the many great things about him that we learned, the one that stood out for us was his willingness to help people around him adapt to this culture.
The journey, though, wasn’t simple.
Growing up in a family where hip hop as a profession or a career was nothing close to being an option, Taishi had to face criticism. He was labeled non-religious and a lot of his direct family still question his life choice.
“Just because I didn’t choose engineering or business studies or medicine as a career, they think that I am a failure or something. And I don’t even know how being a bboy made me a non-religious person” Taishi told us as he remembered what made things difficult for him in the beginning.
“At a time when I needed people to be supportive, they told me that I was non-religious. Thankfully I didn’t let them get to my head. If I were doing drugs or alcohol or gambling, they’d probably be ok, but because I didn’t choose a mainstream career, it just pushed their buttons or something, I don’t know.”
People, especially in his family, being non-supportive of him was something that Taishi recalls being difficult to cope with. He also told us that regardless of everything his mother and his siblings were always there to support him. They made sure that “Taishi” kept on going strong and did not quit on his passion just because it wasn’t in-line with people’s opinions.
The conversation took some interesting twists and turns. Taishi revealed that bboying practically helped him maintain his sanity during the toughest times in his life.
“I went through phases where I found myself depressed. There was just so much going around I didn’t know how to escape all of it. Bboying kept me sane.”
His struggle truly is an inspiration if we put into perspective the things that he went through. A broken family, non-supportive relatives, a new city, and not many friends were a few things that Taishi grew up with, but that didn’t hold him back. If anything, they made him stronger and have undoubtedly shaped his success as a bboy and an individual.
CLEARING SOME CONFUSIONS
Taishi also cleared a common confusion regarding Bboying and hip hop – most of us believe that bboying and hip-hop is limited to just rapping or dancing. He put it together very comprehensively, “Hip hop is not something you can do. It is a culture or a mindset. It has many elements. Yes, rapping is one of them. But there are others too, like breakdancing, DJing, beatboxing, the way you dress, graffiti writing, and so much more. People don’t realize this but hip hop brings people together. It doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, gender or religion. And that’s the beauty of it.”
PROMOTING THE 'CULTURE'
In his efforts to promote the culture, Taishi has brought together artists from anywhere he can in the country to unite for jams and meetups – he’s been working on his cause to help this industry grow.
He calls upon anyone who wants to learn to join him and his peers in these discussions. He believes that the talent is there and so is the will to learn – all this country needs, according to him, is a platform.
This has been one of his biggest concerns too. While he does not single out any individual performer, he believes that people who have been in the scene and have made a name for themselves haven’t done enough or have paved the way for others.
His community which he has named, ‘Our Culture’, is, as he calls, his effort to pave the way and hold the torch for others. Our Culture has had two meetups in total in a space of just five months with the latest one being attended by 150 people, including Asim Azhar.
“This is just the beginning and I want to make sure more meetups like these are arranged to promote bboying as a mindset. And more importantly to let people know what the concept of hip hop actually is.”
The biggest milestone that the hip hop scene in Pakistan hit was in June 2018 when a French journalist, Paul Gasnier covered ‘Rhymistan’, which is one of the few go-to platforms for hip hop artists to showcase their talents. Gasnier’s article in Vice brought the attention that artists like Taishi needed and deserved.
While Taishi claims this to be the first step towards the growth of the scene and is fairly optimistic about the future, he still believes there is much to be done. Since Rhymistan, there have been no major improvements on a local level. Taishi himself, on the other hand, went to Slam Fam in Dubai five months after Rhymistan, to “explore the international hip hop scene.”
The adaptation of the hip hop culture has been going nowhere but upwards. The past few years have been particularly notable. If the scene manages to live up to its full potential, these years will surely be considered as the most important ones.
He believes himself to be an anarchist and that is not only because he is a part of Anarchy. The idea behind the name is truly impeccable. “Anarchy started off as a crew then became a revolution and now it’s a movement.”
This movement, according to Taishi, is to motivate aspiring artists to live their dream and realize that hip hop is not merely a thing to do on the weekends with the gang. It is a permanent part of one’s life and the passion should never die. “#WeAreAnarchy is for anyone who is part of this movement. You don’t have to be part of the crew to be part of this trend”, he said as he explained his crew’s OG hashtag on Instagram.
https://www.redbull.com/pk-en/pakistan’s-hip-hop-scene:-a-discussion-beyond-tidbits-with-bboy-taishi
