Friday, January 09, 2009

YouTube of the Day



Bakhtawar Bhutto's tribute to her slain mother. Imagine the sentimentality of We Are The World - in rap - and you get this incredible video.

7 comments:

Tazeen said...

Do you guys know that Benazir Bhutto asked a New York based journalist to arrange a meeting between Bakhtawar and P. Diddy (also known as Puff Daddy and Sean Combs)so that Bakhtawar can get some tips on improving her rap skills.

I guess that meeting either did not take place or Bakhtawar is a very slow learner.

AKS said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AKS said...

I actually think it sounds okay. It has a + The Streets-esque feel about it. But therein lies the problem with the song, Mike Skinner aka The Streets and other British rappers of the genre grew up in council estates in London and Birmingham, and their style of rapping reflects the manner in which they speak. Bakhtawar certainly does not rap the way she speaks, I'd bet my left nut on it.

The other problem with the song is that it doesn't tell us much about Benazir the persona and the mother. We all knew she was intelligent and brave, and that people loved her, but Bakhtawar gives us no insight about her personal relationship with Benazir. This in itself may be a revelation - perhaps Bakhtawar has not only lost her mother, but also lost the chance of ever knowing her mother.

I do think that Bakhtawar deserves credit for this little endeavor. It would have far simpler for her to write a book of poetry (or have it ghost written) but to express herself by rapping a song is noteworthy.

@ Tazeen

I’d have given anything to meet Eddie Vedder in my teenage years, I doubt if that would’ve made my attempts at music any more bearable for those who had the misfortune of listening to me playing the guitar. Poor souls, I feel for them, they just couldn’t handle revolutionary music.

Anonymous said...

it's ok, it's bakhtawar's own choice of expression, i doubt she's gone touting this around as an official BB anthem.
i'm also glad she didn't subscribe to celine dion's brand of cheese, again, this is her personal thing, an expression of love to her mother, bless her for trying, and for trying something a little different.

saying that as much as i like bits of hip, hop and r&b this really isn't my scene.

tazeen, p diddy isn't exactly a hot chart-topper anyway, he's just .. meh!

Anonymous said...

Sorry AKS, her stuff really isn't The Streets style. It's more like the countless Dizzee Rascal or Wylie wannabes out there. Maybe even a Sway-esque thing but no way is it The Streets.

Some of Mike Skinner's finest:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KTS6INVmZGI&feature=PlayList&p=D942A108057228EF&playnext=1&index=1

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XczLJ4-sd8M

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z1kRhiPE0E&feature=PlayList&p=D942A108057228EF&index=11

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NBb3RIThPis

karachikhatmal said...

sometimes you guys say something really insightful, like the fact that it seems bakhtawar really didn't know her mother very well... i may be wrong, but "crazy intelligence" and "crazy brave"? i'm sure she could have come up with more...

however, in a weied way i feel really sacreligious every time i make a joke about this song. i mean its her mom.

also, VOA reported that she had indeed met P Diddy. "Crazy Props"

Anonymous said...

I heard P Diddy told Bakhtawar that her dad, A Zardari, is a "real bad ass gangsta!"