After the death of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, a lot of speculation has been made about the political conflict in the country. The death, which many are calling an assassination, occurred two weeks before a state election, where Bhutto was a leading opposite candidate to President Pervez Musharraf, whom many believe was behind her death.
Grand Scheem, an independent rapper based in Miami, had something to say on the matter. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, he has been featured in Rolling Stone, The Source and XXL. He used the civil wars going abroad, and compared to film and music within the Hip Hop context to help others understand.
Reacting to last week’s incidents, Scheem told HipHopDX, “Although the recent passing
of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, Pakistan is a tragic event, there are
two sides to every story. What’s important is – what do the
streets of Pakistan really have to say, and I represent those streets,
specifically Karachi. Pakistan right now doesn’t need someone
that knows how to give a good speech (Bhutto), Pakistan needs someone
that knows how to use a gun (Musharraf), because that’s what it takes
to control a developing country. Just like you can’t contain The
Bloods and The Crips, you can’t contain the multiple sets all over
Pakistan. If you’ve ever seen the movie Gangs of New York,
you saw how hectic and violent this country was in the beginning, and
Pakistan is only 60 years old – imagine what America was like at age
60.”
The rapper went on to endorse the present leadership in Pakistan, “People need to respect what
Pervez Musharraf is doing. If not, the world can plan on being
a lot bloodier putting its faith in people that don’t know how to fight.
Pakistan in 2007 is the New York City of the 1800s. It’s
the Compton – times 10 – of ’88. All these little snippets
that you see on TV from the bombings to Al Qaeda to Osama bin Laden
– all surrounding the country of Pakistan – give people on the outside
a glimpse into the underworld – kind of like the first time you watched
the movie Colors… and now people are waiting for the soundtrack.
Then and only then will people truly understand what goes down in the
trenches, and these are a couple of the topics I’m helping you understand
with the Bigger Picture.” The Bigger Picture is indeed the title of Grand Scheem‘s forthcoming debut album.
Scheem deduced, “I truly believe Bhutto, by
simply being female and presenting herself in the fashion she has –
has impacted women of Middle Eastern culture in some capacity…but
not nearly the capacity that the Western media – who has a vested
interest in her – portrays it to be. Women from the Middle East
don’t view sex videos, or having multiple babies by multiple dudes,
or writing a book about who and how they whored out – as cool.
The truth is the women in the Middle East are comfortable with the way
they live, and live that way by choice. As much as everybody wants
to paint a pretty picture, and inject the thought of a female president
making an attempt to drop democracy in the middle of the desert –
that may not be realistic – and the time for wishful thinking is definitely
not now. People in Pakistan don’t kill for money or drugs, or
any other materialistic things…they kill for principle, for ideals.
You’re not deemed successful based on how much dope you push or how
many guns you have. You’re deemed successful based on the person
that you are – what you live for and what you’re willing to die for.
I know the streets here feel that because its that same type of code
you live by, and now you’re starting to hear different artists incorporate
Pakistan into their songs. The only difference between the ghettos
here and the third world ghettos is that if you slip, jail-time
isn’t always the first option.”
Grand Scheem has commuted back and forth from Karachi extensively since 2004. This was home to both Bhutto and Musharraf. Scheem‘s music can be heard by clicking here.
