Fortitude Pukhtoon Core
Fortitude Pukhtoon Core | |
|---|---|
 Fortitude Pukhtoon Core in January 2020. From left to right: Webster Beats, Party Wrecker, and Shax | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
|
| Origin | Peshawar, Pakistan. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | Vocals, Rapping, Lyrics, Production, Keyboards, Sampler, Drums |
| Associated acts | |
| Members |
|
Fortitude Pukhtoon Core is a Pushto rap trio from Peshawar, Pakistan, founded in 2005. The group consists of Mustafa Kamal (Party Wrecker), Shahkar Alam Khan (Shax), and Shumail Alam Khan (Webster Beats). They have featured in various concerts, shows, gigs, and conducted a number of interviews with popular media channels like BBC Urdu and Dawn news.
Early life[edit]
Shahkar Alam Khan and Shumail Alam Khan are brothers. Mustafa Kamal and Shumail, Shahkar were classmates and friends long before they started a hip hop trio. All three of them were born and raised in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was during their school that they became fascinated by the hip hop genre. In an interview with BBC Urdu they mentioned how difficult it was to win support from their families in the beginning but eventually they came to terms with it and started supporting them.[1]
Music career[edit]
2005–2009[edit]
Being exposed to Hip Hop at an early age, they thought to form their own rap group. Fortitude Pukhtoon Core was formed in 2005 (initially they named it just ‘Fortitude’). They decided to name their alter egos Shax, Webster and Party Wrecker. During the early years they kept releasing audio tracks on then main platforms like Soundclick, Myspace, Reverb Nation and Orkut.[2]
In 2008 they realized they need to produce their own music to keep up with the musical trends and not rely on anyone else.[3] Thus Shumail started producing music becoming one of the early hip hop music producers of Pakistan. From school to college years they remained active with their sporadic releases.[4][1]
2010–2013[edit]
After college was over Mustafa Kamal moved to Islamabad to pursue university. He started Bachelor's in Business. Subsequently, he was followed by Shahkar Alam Khan, to study Architecture. While Shumail Alam Khan remained in Peshawar who studied Electrical Engineering alongside making music.[1]
In 2010 Mustafa decided to start rapping in their native tongue Pashto becoming the first ever Pashto rapper.[5] It was to “represent Pukhtoon culture to the world through music”. Till that point Fortitude Pukhtoon Core had released all their tracks in English entirely.[1] Mustafa and Shahkar shot their first music video titled "Pukhtoon Core" in 2011.[6][7] Its audio was recorded on the spot by the camera mic and was not studio recorded but that did not stop it from becoming one of the major viral sensations of that year in Pakistan.[8] It garnered Fortitude a loyal following. It served as an introduction to the Pashto rap.[9] After this they decided to add Pukhtoon Core into their group's name.
Next they released "Time Pass" which also had an overall positive response.[10] It was their first song to have a run on national music channels. Following that in February 2012 they released "So Fly".[11]
In summer of 2012 they launched their single "No Borders" which featured Alag the Band. It quickly became one of the biggest hip hop releases of Pakistan.[12] It also helped Fortitude Pukhtoon Core to become one of the most well-known names in the local hip hop scene,[13][14] which was also reflected by the following on their Facebook page. It remained in top ten lists of many national music channels for an extended period. It was even named by Express Tribune in the "Best of ’12: Memorable music by Pakistan”.[15]
It was around this time that YouTube was banned in Pakistan thus hurting the growth of many local independent artists including Fortitude Pukhtoon Core. Because of the uncertainty looming, their next track release took a year. "Before I Fall" was released in September 2013 on Vimeo instead.[16] It was their last music video for some time.[17]
2014–2018[edit]
After "Before I Fall" they took a hiatus of sorts. They shifted focus on their careers and study. Mustafa Kamal released his first solo track during this period featuring Adil Omar titled "Aorae" in 2014.[18] Shortly after he moved to Australia which made it difficult to regularly make more music.[19] They released an audio track ‘I Don’t Care’ in 2015.[20][21] In 2016 Shumail (Webster Beats) released his first solo EP "Beat Paralysis".[22] It contained five tracks one of which was Fortitude Pukhtoon Core's track "Streets Of Peshawar".[23][24] It was recorded a couple of years back. The song's lyrical content was mainly about Peshawar's rampant street racing culture.[25][26]
In September 2017 they released their first music video after four years ‘Lewani’. The song was about their care-free approach to life in general. It was positively received as their comeback track but subsequently they went silent for another year.
2019–Present[edit]
In April 2019 Fortitude Pukhtoon Core made a return and collaborated with Rap Demon for the first episode of Highzone sessions. The song was titled "Outrageous". The opening Pashto rap lines by Mustafa Kamal went viral on TikTok amongst Pukhtoon youth.[27] They released a couple of more music videos in the coming months, named "Tavegum" and "Era Of Pushto". "Tavegum" was featured on BBC Asian Network.[28] The latter had an animated music video which was the first of its kind in local hip hop.[19] It also made waves on TikTok.[29]
A rap song by Fortitude Pukhtoon Core was chosen as the 2020 anthem for cricket team Peshawar Zalmi,</ref> which was the first rap anthem for any team in the Pakistan Super League.[30] Its music video featured celebrities Hania Amir and Mehwish Hayat along with players including Daren Sammy, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Imam Ul Haq and Kamran Akmal.[31][32] The anthem received an overwhelmingly positive response.[33]
Musical Styles and Influences[edit]
Mustafa Kamal is the Pashto rap face of the group, aggressive nature of delivery is his style of rapping. Shahkar Alam alternates between English and Pashto and has a signature style of fast rhyming. He also frequently does the melodic hooks of their songs. Shumail Alam occasionally raps but mostly produces music for the group which can range from hip hop and more recently to trap and EDM.[2][34]
Discography[edit]
- 2011: " Pukhtoon Core"
- 2011: " Time Pass"
- 2012: "So Fly"
- 2012: "No Borders" (feat. Alag the Band)
- 2012: "No Disrespect"
- 2013: "Before I Fall" (feat. Bali Shah)
- 2015: "I Don’t Care"
- 2016: "Streets Of Peshawar"
- 2017: "Lewani"
- 2019: "Outrageous" (with Rap Demon and Farasat Anees)
- 2019: "Tavegum"
- 2019: "Era Of Pushto"
- 2020: "Zalmi Anthem 2020"
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "شمائل عالم خان اور شاہکار عالم خان کا فورٹیٹیوڈ پختون کور: پشتو میں ریپ موسیقی متعارف کرانے والی جوڑی". BBC. 6 June 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Fortitude: Exclusive interview". Dawn News. 21 June 2012.
- ↑ "Fortitude Live on Generation Desi -FM91". 15 August 2019.
- ↑ "Fortitude G". 30 Jan 2008.
- ↑ "Party Wrecker rocks Pashto Rap with Pukhtoon Core Fortitude!".
- ↑ "FORTITUDE – PUKHTOON CORE". Pak Media Revolution. 21 May 2011.
- ↑ "Pushto Rap — FORTITUDE". 29 March 2011.
- ↑ "Pushto Rap – FORTITUDE (lyrics & translation)". 4 June 2011.
- ↑ "Pushto Rap — FORTITUDE". 22 April 2011.
- ↑ "Hip Hop 2011 and the Big Dogs". Kool Muzone. 3 February 2012.
- ↑ "FORTITUDE – SO FLY (PASHTO RAP)". Desi Hiphop. 12 Feb 2012.
- ↑ "FORTITUDE FT. ALAG – NO BORDERS". Desi Hiphop. 9 July 2012.
- ↑ ""No Borders" by Fortitude Ft Alag: Official Music Video". Pakistani Ultimate Media. 4 July 2012.
- ↑ "Decline of Pashto Music". Pakistani Ultimate Media. 24 August 2012.
- ↑ "Best of '12: Memorable music of Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 29 December 2012.
- ↑ "Fortitude feat Bali Shah – Before I Fall". Kool Muzone. 15 September 2013.
- ↑ "Fortitude feat. Bali Shah – Before I Fall". Pakistani Ultimate Media. 16 September 2013.
- ↑ "Aorae: Stand up and listen". Dawn News. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "SOUNDCHECK: THE RETURN OF PASHTO RAP". Dawn News. 20 October 2019.
- ↑ "FORTITUDE – I DON'T CARE". 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "FORTITUDE (Pukhtoon Core) – I Don't Care". 2 August 2015.
- ↑ "WEBSTER BEATS – BEAT PARALYSIS". Pak Media Revolution. 21 May 2016.
- ↑ "Streets Of Peshawar by FORTITUDE (Pukhtoon Core) – Audio Song". Pakistani Ultimate Media. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ↑ "FORTITUDE – STREETS OF PESHAWAR". 18 May 2016.
- ↑ "STREETS OF PESHAWAR BY FORTITUDE". The Music Beats. 19 May 2016.
- ↑ "FORTITUDE – STREETS OF PESHAWAR". Pak Media Revolution. 18 May 2016.
- ↑ "original sound". TikTok. April 2019.
- ↑ "Bobby Friction". BBC Asian Network. 10 July 2019.
- ↑ "Pashto rap". TikTok. September 2019.
- ↑ "Peshawar Zalmi Most Unique And Pashto Hip Hop Anthem For PSL Five Released". Urdu Point. 17 February 2020.
- ↑ "Watch: Peshawar Zalmi release new song and music video". Samaa TV. 18 February 2020.
- ↑ "Peshawar Zalmi release official song for Pakistan Super League's fifth season". Arab News Pakistan. 17 February 2020.
- ↑ "Peshawar Zalmi's new anthem knocks out PSL's 'Tayyar Hain'". The Express Tribune. 20 February 2020.
- ↑ "Fortitude Pukhtoon Core first Pashto Hip-Hop/Rap band".
External links[edit]
- Fortitude Pukhtoon Core on Facebook
- Fortitude Pukhtoon Core on Instagram
- Fortitude Pukhtoon Core on YouTube
- Fortitude Pukhtoon Core on Twitter
Fortitude Pukhtoon Core[edit]
This article "Fortitude Pukhtoon Core" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Fortitude Pukhtoon Core. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
