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 Now, as law enforcement crackdowns slowly improve the
security situation across the nation, some musicians are getting
help from two-year old Pakistani start-up Patari, a music
streaming and production company.
Both the startup and the musicians' efforts are helping to carve
out a new creative space for young people in Muslim-majority
Pakistan, where those below 30 make up 60 percent of a
population of almost 200 million.
Karachi rap ensemble Lyari Underground was once afraid of
putting its music on Facebook, deterred by episodes of bloody
gang war in the precinct of the same name that many Pakistanis
consider the most dangerous in their largest city.
But the same violence has inspired many of the group's songs,
taking cues from the music of U.S. rapper Tupac Shakur, said its
founder, who uses the name AnXiously.
"In a ghetto, rap exists naturally," he added. "If there is no
rap, then it is not a ghetto. Rap is a product of this reality
and these surroundings."
Band members said when they first heard the music of Tupac,
although half a world away, it reminded them of their own
experiences living with violence and poverty.
Lyari remains one of Karachi's poorest areas and financial
limitations often force its young people to forego creative
pursuits.
FROM STREAMING TO PRODUCING
Launched in February 2015, Patari now boasts a library of 40,000
Pakistani songs and podcasts, and subscribers exceed half a
million, said Chief Executive Khalid Bajwa.
Nearly 30 million of Pakistan's people use the internet, mainly
on mobile telephones, says digital rights organization Bytes for
All.
Bajwa declined to discuss revenue, apart from saying the company
was "self-sustaining", mostly by producing events for
established firms such as drinks company Pepsi, consumer goods
giant Unilever and Pakistani clothing brand Khaadi.
The company's latest initiative, Tabeer, or 'Dream Come True',
pairs established artists with unknown musicians to produce six
songs and music videos, completed on a budget of $15,000, and
features on its app.
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Patari exploited the fact that Pakistan's tiny pop music scene
comprised a couple of "corporate branded shows" featuring the same
artists every year, but excluded amateur musicians.
"We saw an inefficiency in the market, where you have all this
talent, all this interest, but there is nothing bridging the two,"
said Chief Operating Officer Ahmer Naqvi.
The first two videos, featuring Abid Brohi, a rapper from remote
Sibbi in southwestern Balochistan province, and 13-year-old tea
vendor Jahangir Saleem, have drawn more than a million views,
matching Coke Studio, Pakistan's premier music programme.
Another video features Nazar Gill, from the capital, Islamabad, who
was one of the cleaning staff at an apartment building where Naqvi
once lived.
One day, Gill knocked on Naqvi's door and asked to sing a song he
had written.
"I sang my song for him and he liked it," recalled Gill, a member of
the country's tiny Christian minority that prides itself on its
musical tradition.
"He said, 'Nazar, I will not let your voice go to waste.'"
OUT OF THE TALIBAN'S SHADOW
Tabeer's sole female artist, Malala Gul, grew to love music as a
child, by listening to an aunt who sang songs in the Pashto language
spoken across Pakistan's northwest.
Times were tough when she began singing five years ago, in a city
roiled by Taliban-led violence.
"Conditions in Peshawar were very bad, but thank God the situation
is much better now," she said.
Gul stressed the importance of music, rebuffing those who call it
unIslamic.
"This is a big world, and some people will say one thing, others
will say another, but anyone who understands and values music will
go very far."
(Reporting by Saad Sayeed; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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