Best of 2025 – Laila's picks

Editor’s note: we know that this series is quite late. Regular readers know that we are in a perennial battle against our own deadlines. We thank you for your support and patience.

cm - Maanu, MALIK.

In an era of AI slop where Suno users generate 7 million tracks daily and surpass Spotify’s entire catalogue every two weeks, standing out requires intentional sonic and conceptual packaging.

The cm (channa mereya) music video is great at world-building. By placing Maanu and MALIK. in astronaut suits on the streets of Lahore, they create a core memory for both gawking bystanders and digital viewers. The YAIN branding, a callback to the universe Maanu has been building throughout his career, adds a layer of depth and human intent.

My research shows that listeners often associate a robotic vocal touch with AI. But in cm, this texture is a deliberate artistic choice. Since the track is electronic pop produced by MALIK., his signature industrial style uses vocal processing as a stylistic tool rather than a sign of automated generation.

It is easy to sing along to and features minimalist dance moves that are simple for the audience to mimic. While the song merges Maanu’s easy lyrical flow with MALIK’s industrial influence, it remains human and digestible.

BUSIN JA DHIKA - Babar Mangi, Amjad Mirani

بسن جا ڌڪا کائي پنھنجي حياتي وڃائي
Thrown around by the bus, while life slipped away

Babar Mangi is carving out a distinct niche by blending Sindhi folk influences with modern hip-hop. His ability to tell local stories through a folk-pop rap lens has made his sound instantly recognizable.

His visuals and lyrics exhibit the heavy influence of his upbringing in a village in Larkana, keeping his work deeply rooted in the heart of Sindh. However, he also manages to tap into a wider audience by covering relatable themes. He uses an undercurrent of humor in songs and provides lyric translations to bridge the gap for non-Sindhi listeners.

His track Busin Ja Dhika uses the metaphor of an endless, jolting bus ride to represent the journey of life. It is the musical embodiment of the phrase thokay (or dhakay) kha kha kar seekhna. Both Amjad and Babar sing/rap about a struggling economy where people have become double-faced and untrustworthy. They describe a life spent chasing money that is never enough, with their patience wearing thin as the destination remains out of reach.

The video is filled with classic Pakistani imagery shown in a humorous light, such as a bus driver spitting gutka out of the window, uneven roads, stolen motorbikes, bribing police, and men climbing the roofs of moving buses. Yet, beneath the humor is a serious observation on how people have become accustomed to helplessness and no longer fight for their rights. Ultimately, the song reminds us that we are all in this together regardless of class or creed.

SAKHI - Raazi Hussain, Ahsan Pervaiz Mehdi

Success in a music project partially depends on how organically it connects with an audience. In Sakhi visual artist Murad Muradov achieves this through AI visuals rooted in Azerbaijani heritage. While AI in art often triggers repulsion, the conversation isn’t clear-cut because aesthetic beauty and emotional resonance still matters. The images of flowy shawls, physics-defying carpets, and pattern-lined caves are oddly touching.

These visuals complement the grief-stricken Punjabi lyrics about a lost friendship. Raazi Hussain’s raspy vocals float over a violin and EDM beat, creating a semi-classical vibe that thrives on the contrast between sad lyrics and a driving rhythm.

Beyond the heavy use of patterned carpets, the video finds its true resonance in human visuals. It uses cultural objects as a backdrop, focusing on female-centered scenes like a grandmother braiding hair or women drying red spices. Interestingly, many female faces are obscured by flowing shawls. This creates a contrast to other uses of AI, such as the currently controversial use of Grok to undress females and minors.

While the clips maintain a mostly organic flow, they raise ethical questions. Does the moral weight of AI change if an artist uses it to augment their own original work? We must also remain critical of inherited biases; for example, the darker-skinned women are depicted in manual labor while fair-skinned women are shown as dancers in luxury. In the end, generative AI remains a stagnant mirror. It cannot evolve without the human input that drives true cultural growth.

Tanhayi - Dijay Khalifa, Islam Zemer

While Islam Zemer is an exciting new find from late 2025, Dijay Khalifa has been on our radar for some time. His fresh approach to Balochi rap provides a strong contrast to other contemporary Balochi music, which often consists of melodic renditions of poetry.

Tahnayi caught my interest pre-release because it was marketed as the first Balochi sci-fi music video. Set in Gwader, Baluchistan, in the year 2099, the premise involves a high-stakes “voice transfer” project. Interestingly, the song itself is quite warm and mellow with an acoustic feel, which sits in stark contrast to the cold, high-tension futuristic laboratory scenes at the start of the video.

One of my favorite moments is the heartfelt performance by the director, Mohammed Al Balushi, whose dance style is a unique blend of traditional Balochi and contemporary movement.

I also enjoyed spotting the linguistic similarities between Urdu and Balochi, which was made possible by the provided romanized lyrics and English translations. For example, zind and zindagi, as well as bewapa’e and bewafa. These shared roots highlight the cultural overlap between the languages, while the universal theme of loneliness remains relatable for everyone regardless of the language they speak.

Beyond the music itself, one of the most enjoyable aspects of any Balochi release is the community engagement. The Baloch audience is incredibly active on every platform, turning every release into a collective digital event.

ta.ra.ra - Natasha Noorani, Abdullah Kasumbi

Even if you don’t know FT.WA (Forward Thinking With Attitude) Studio by name, you have likely seen their work. Co-founded by Shams Mansur and Abdullah Kasumbi, the studio is the creative force behind projects like Afusic’s Pal Pal music video and Hasan Raheem’s Nautanki audiovisual tour. Kasumbi’s influence on Raheem’s sound is evident from his breakthrough Aisay Kaisay all the way to the present.

FT.WA’s creativity continues with ta.ra.ra, the first collaboration between Natasha Noorani and Kasumbi. This partnership exemplifies the cross-pollination of producers and singers that drives a music scene’s evolution. The music video was produced by FT.WA Studio, while the song itself avoids flashiness. It leans into Kasumbi’s minimalist, airy production style to allow the melody to flow.

Filmed on a boat in Karachi, the video focuses on Noorani against the sea. The imagery of the sea breeze aligns with the song’s themes of yearning. In a striking finale, she unwraps a gun and tosses it into the water, evoking a tragic film ending. It is interesting that the song title uses non-word syllables to fit the melody.

The chorus, “Piya more aaja/ پیا مورے آجا”, uses a staple phrase of South Asian pop culture. While piya often implies romance, it historically can signify divine love. This is also seen in the works of the Sufi poets such as the iconic Mera Piya Ghar Aaya by Baba Bulleh Shah. It is fascinating how various forms of love are often conflated with romantic love today. Historically, South Asian art provided a vast space for expressing spiritual longing through the metaphor of the beloved so perhaps it is a Western lens that has caused this shift in perspective.