"the biggest, most influential musician in Pakistan right now"

I wanted to send over friend of the show Ahmer Naqvi’s profile of Talha Anjum for Dawn. This essay was written around the release of Anjum’s film Kattar Karachi which he stars in and soundtracks.

Recently, when Talha Anjum showed up at a local mall to promote Kattar Karachi, the sizeable crowd that had assembled there to see the rapper — who is currently the most streamed and perhaps the most popular artist in the country — almost led to a stampede.

If Pakistan were a country with a viable and functioning music ecosystem, Talha would have been on the cover of magazines, headlining the Top 10 countdowns and charts, appearing on music channels, being discussed in print and on blogs, and receiving prestigious and meaningful awards.

The essay also includes some quotes from the Hamnawa team. I meant to send this earlier but fell behind. My apologies!