It’s started off as an inventive year for Osama Com Laude (OCL) who spearheaded the electrifying multiple-rapper song, ‘Pindi Aye’ that has crossed huge numbers. It’s important to note that the song doesn’t feature well-known faces but mostly emerging rappers.

OCL also switched to a multi-lingual identity with a four-track EP called paKING with good rap songs.

The title track, ‘paKING’ is still the best of the lot so far, followed by the newest release, ‘3- PEAT’ (also featuring Guru Lahori & Talha Yunus) and then the second release ‘Overdose’. A delay in release was initially due to coronavirus lockdowns, before OCL finally decided to drop the third single.

‘3-PEAT’ is inspired by “the concept of the Big 3 from the NBA” and thus features local hip-hop stars Talha Yunus of Young Stunners as well as Guru Lahori. The result is an English/Punjabi/Urdu rap song that is both razor sharp and playful. The song talks about the hubris of others, not conforming (clearly), before it turns to Punjabi and back-to-back Urdu verses with which OCL proves he’s here to stay. He spoofs himself and uses his gym and doctor degree as an analogy to someone to rely on. This is a giant of a song, produced by Abdur and co-produced by MRKLE and written by the big three. It’s a step above ‘Overdose’, also featuring Myra C of No Front. This has a hit written all over it and if it isn’t, maybe we need to pay more attention.

Takatak releases second music video, ‘The Whale’

When you watch the opening, just the first few seconds of Takatak’s ‘The Whale’, a scene from Arrival by director Denis Villeneuve - and not as a copy but as a vivid visual motif - comes to mind. But the resemblance quickly ends there.

After releasing the collaborative ‘Fault Lines’ with India’s Keshav Dhar from cross-border band, Skyharbor, Takatak is back with their second single, ‘The Whale’ from their debut album Acrophase. Keshav, however, is also present in this song as the mixer, with Takatak and Umair Dar of A for Aleph as producers, Daniel Arthur Panjwaneey and Adeel Tahir as engineers with mastering done by Ermin Hamidovic of Systemic Productions.

As for the band, more or less the same album personnel that featured on ‘Fault Lines’ such as Luke Azariah (guitars/synth), Zain Peerzada (guitars), Isa Najam (bass), Yusuf Ramay (drums), Ali Suhail (vocals) and Altamash Sever (vocals) is featured on the single. This advanced line-up with the inclusion of Ali Suhail as vocalist in particular has added a new dimension to the unit.

Combined, this line-up serves as the backbone of a band that isn’t pandering to anyone. There is cohesion to the sound as well as imagery that was present on ‘Fault Lines’. If the debut video was about showing the band in its element, the second one, also by Hybrid Imaging (Amar Ali and Umair Khwaja), is about showcasing the band but taking the entire experience a step forward. As a single, Takatak begin their high-quality song – full of heavy guitars and heavier vocals and reverb – without waiting but it is exactly what you need from a band such as Takatak. Hybrid Imaging created a music video that makes complete sense once you look at the lyrics. The neat transitions and guitar solos along with the lyrics, “I’ve found a way to feign delight/As you persist to crush the pieces of my mind/Your hubris is all I’ve on my side/If the world has to end/To bow before a god/You don’t challenge the odds/I’d rather be the right side of fate/” make this song a delight. This is another metallic delight and Takatak know exactly what they are doing.