The incredibly talented, angry, foul-mouthed rap artist known as Faris Shafi has quietly been releasing new singles. Late last year, he released Jashan-i-Hip Hop in collaboration with Indian rapper Raftaar, to rave reviews online. And now he’s back with a new single titled With Love.

The last couple of years have been good for the rap artist. He’s seen delivering verses at dizzying speeds — with Atif Aslam in Cricket Khidaiye, with the darlings of modern rock music in the country, Karakoram on Yeh Dunya and with the pop music icon Meesha Shafi on Muaziz Saarif. The latter two tracks are from the ongoing Season 14 of Coke Studio, helmed by Zulfiqar ‘Xulfi’ Jabbar Khan who has breathed new life into a show that had otherwise gone somewhat stale.

His latest single, With Love, is a Punjabi-English track that’s the closest thing to a ballad that Faris could have come up with. The song shows the artist evolve to a point where he can easily and effortlessly break boundaries of different genres and merge them together effortlessly.

It starts off with Faris quietly rapping verses to minimalistic calming music in the background. Midway through the song the music changes, or rather flows into a different type. Faris takes a breath from singing while the song moves from rap to a soft, jazzy sound. We have a very light drum beat in the background which sounds like it was recorded live, in person and not some sample played through a software. Soft keyboards play chords while the trumpet adds a bit of atmosphere to the With Love.

With Love by Faris Shafi is a Punjabi-English track that’s the closest thing to a ballad that the rap artist could have come up with

This seems like a fun playful number that you would dance to… while wearing a suit. Because this song is both playful and suave. There are some groovy, jazzy electronic beats that come in between is very reminiscent of the work done by European electronic acts from the ’90s, such as Air or Phoenix.

Faris repeats these lines in the middle of the song. It’s the closest we’ll come to a chorus in With Love:

Assi apas’ch gallan kar rai saan/ Apniyan aadataan nu le ke/ Main ta kadon da pareshan aan/ Assi apas’ch gallan kar rai saan/ Apniyan aadataan nu le ke main ta kadon da...

[We’re talking among ourselves/ Keeping my true nature in mind/ I’ve been perturbed since long/ We’re talking among ourselves...]

Known for being brutally honest and touching upon topics most artists shy away from, Faris Shafi is an artist that commands the respect of his peers in the music industry. His music is also peppered with a teeny, tiny bit of profanity. Perhaps this is why it’s taken him over a decade to finally break on to the mainstream and he’s managed to shake things up — for the better.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 19th, 2023