Lazarus

I’ve been talking a lot about “Urban Desi” artists and haven’t been giving the recognition to desi artists as a whole. Well, today “I’m going to let the game know” about an American born Pakistani rapper who goes by the name of “Lazarus”, and rightfully so (In the “New Testament” Lazarus is two separate people).

Apparently, Laz is a doctor and a rapper. No, that was not a typo. We are talking about a suburban desi kid who spits real hip-hop while sticking to the traditional path and making his parents proud. I heard about this guy a few years back when I went to Wayne State but I never paid too much attention to him. For that Lazarus, accept my apologies. I am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due and although he may not be in the “Urban Desi” scene, I thought a desi hip-hop artist would be an interesting topic.

The first time I heard one of his battles, my initial assessment was “Brown Eminem”. I know, very high praise being that Eminem is in my top five of all time. But I do not regret that statement. In “8 mile”, Eminem played the part of Jimmy “B Rabbit” - A white boy who struggles to earn respect among his peers, mostly blacks. Also, I may not know why Eminem was nicknamed “B Rabbit” but if I were to make an assumption, I’d have to say because of the incredible amount of energy, like a rabbit. Until I heard Laz, I haven’t heard anyone come with such fire since Eminem – significant lyrics, passion, and emotions are all felt when you hear his rhymes.

My favorite scene in “8 Mile” was the last battle, when Eminem embarrasses Papa Doc in his own environment. This reminds me of Laz at Belle Isle, tearing into these alleged “rappers” and it remains evident who wins every time, suburbia. You can just tell his opponent is dumbfounded when Lazarus goes first. Dude is shook; he doesn’t know what to say. Can you blame him? I mean, he was battling someone with knowledge and awareness behind his words; he uses multiple syllables and countless metaphors - all without referencing guns, bitches and violence - to fluster his opponent whenever the opportunity arose. That’s like taking out a guy’s knees in a fight and he still tries to fight back. At that point the bell rings and the fight is over, with several unsuccessful attempts at degrading him over topics such as racial stereotypes, the judges have spoken and raise the hand of the winner, Laz. If his opponent was smart he would’ve thrown in the towel as soon as he realized he was going to make himself look like an ass, in retrospect, I give props to Papa Doc for making a wise decision.

Question, “If this guy has so much talent, why don’t we hear him on the radio?” I’ll answer my own question - for many reasons, hip-hop is dead, no one really knows who the fuck he is, and outside of hip-hop heads no one really cares for his music. But that is not to say he does not get any recognition.

The Discovery Channel did a special on “the real 8 Mile” and Lazarus was featured. We saw him jump out of a stretch limo followed by his entourage as if he were Diddy. We also saw snippets of him in the studio, the classroom, on the set of making a video, numerous battles (even one against his professor in Anatomy) and him promoting his new album on WJLB. Pretty cool, but in my opinion the most attention-grabbing part of the “special” was when we got to see him in the lab with Royce da 5’9 (at the studio in Canton, I thought that was kind of cool). For those of you who don’t know, Royce is Detroit’s unsung hero. He is one of the few who possess the talent but didn’t opt for the mainstream route, or maybe it’s because mainstream didn’t choose him, who knows. Either way, I think it’s great to see a Desi artist work with respected individuals such as, Royce.

Unfortunately for Lazarus, Royce and many other artists, America is more interested in tracks like “Lollipop” and “Apple bottom jeans.” Fortunately for Lazarus, he lives up to his name and leads two very different lives. And his day job will most likely blossom far sooner than his rap career.

Check out a few youtube clips...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ncaih2wIo -"Let the game know"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwos_qQAaUQ&feature=related - "godflow"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98HAMtYjFAs&feature=related - Lazarus in Anatomy class
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbVtmbTaCEQ&feature=related - freestyle friday battle on channel 95.5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C84BCLdUFHU&feature=related - freestyle friday battle on channel 95.5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfq95nUvONk&feature=related - on WJLB


There are many more clips on You Tube if anyone is interested..