It’s heart-warming to see how far the duo of Talha Younus and Talha Anjum, also known as Young Stunners, has come. They’ve invested years in their craft and have ‘made it’ into the mainstream not just because they are talented, but through grit, hard work and merit. Years of uploading their music on the internet has paid off.

Young Stunners are now one of the most recognised names when it comes to the newer generation of rap artists from Pakistan. They’ve collaborated with Naseebo Lal on the 2021 Pakistan Super League anthem, Groove Mera. They’ve been featured on Coke Fest and other related projects. They’ve collaborated with Asim Azhar on several tracks and have been picked up by several sponsors to add a bit of youthful energy to their brands.

Their corporate work aside, Young Stunners haven’t forgotten where they came from or what platform initially helped them make a name for themselves. They’re still releasing independent music and their latest release is a groovy number called Why. The song is featured on their YouTube, Instagram and Spotify accounts.

Budding rap artists Young Stunners exhibit a more mature sound with their latest moody number Why

Why by Young Stunners is a bit different from the duo’s usual fare of angsty, melancholic, emo sound. Moody keyboard chords and a slow jazzy beat open the song with the Talha Anjum opening the song rapping a very slow, romantic, very American-pop sounding number. There’s a jazzy sax as well and the background chorus sounds programmed into the song seem sampled from another song.

The song is the duo’s first bilingual track. The main chorus is simply: “Why do you do this to me?/ Why you?/ I know tum meri nahin/ I do.”

The bulk of the poetry — which includes verses from a ghazal by poet Jaun Elia as well — is focused on the main theme of the song. Why is about feeling intensely attracted to the object of your… rejection. This character has clearly moved on or is not interested, yet the protagonists keep going after him or her. The emotion coming out of that conflict, the inability to accept that the protagonist’s affection is not wanted or returned, is what has resulted in this song — Why.

In truth, there’s no point asking why. Just accepting what is.

Why shows the band evolving into a far more mature sound, shedding their angsty roots, getting even moodier. I can’t say the same for the main verses — they’re far more complicated — but the chorus is annoyingly catchy. You can’t help but sing along after a couple of listens.

Published in Dawn, ICON, February 6th, 2022