Best of 2024 – Laila's Picks

can’t take it anymore by JANI and Umair

Jani is one of the best things to come out of Urdu hip-hop. Particularly because he isn’t afraid to express vulnerability in his lyrics. His honesty resonates deeply, as do themes like being misunderstood or taken for granted like in this song.

“Mein doob raha hun, mujhe kinaare na dikhayen
Chaand maanga hai, aasman na girayen
Uthate hain tou phir haath na barhayein
Mein likhun shayari jo inhe samajh he na aaye”

He also appeals to the Karachiite in me, especially with two pieces of Jani lore: how he went to Saddar with his Nani to buy his first mic, and how it once took him six months to write a song because his phone broke—and the next one was snatched. In essence, sab sakht launday ban sakhtay hai magar naram dil rehna thora mushkil kaam hai.

Intentions by Umair, JJ47 and Natasha Noorani

Personally, my favorite song from Umair’s debut album which is a banger overall. Intentions has a distinctly nighttime vibe, like most tracks on the album. Particularly because the track starts with

“Chamakti jo roshni aisay majboori se thak gayi
Shaamon mein sog karte, mombatiyon se
Sheher mein girray huay sitaray”

It also marks the first collaboration between JJ47 and Noorani, whose styles complement each other. I also enjoyed seeing related DHH fan-generated reels/TikToks. It seems that hip-hop culture in general encourages fan-generated content, whether it be song remixes, podcasts, fit checks or the classic snap of your car/motorcycle.

Jatti Lahore Di by Raf Saperra and Naseebo Lal

Naseebo Lal is an icon, and I always admire her willingness to experiment which she does in-spite of the backlash for defying expectations about the kinds of songs an older Pakistani woman should sing. Raf Sappera’s rap combined with Naseebo’s verses creates a bhangra track that’s absolutely club-worthy. Songs like Jatti Lahore Di often tap into the abstract idea of Punjabiness that seems to transcend even specific locations like Lahore. This is reflected in how Punjabi tracks dominate charts both in Pakistan and globally.

Yakh-flow by Pameer Yousafzai

Waliullah Aitemad always helps me navigate through other Pashto media and he introduced me to Pameer this year. It doesn’t matter whether you understand Pashto or not—the flow is as cold as the song title suggests. Regional languages are often ethnicized, with deviations from tradition facing resistance. But without such innovations, like Yakh-flow, we would have one-dimensional songs and perceptions.

2hi2 by Natasha Noorani and MALIK.

2hi2 really just scratches my brain right because it’s an angsty love song with large doses of yearning and a glitch core beat. Although this collab was not on my 2024 bingo card, in retrospect it makes sense because their sets were the best ones from Boiler Room Pakistan. I’ve enjoyed MALIK.’s work since I found him from the collective Miracle Mangal and Natasha Noorani adapts to every style like a wizard.