After having been exposed to traditional Pakistani and Toronto culture, M1rza established his brand and musical style as an RnB artist.
By Sarah Tomlinson
M1rza posing wearing a keffiyeh on July.23,2018. (Photo by, M1rza,Taha Muharuma)
M1rza’s eclectic new single “Jump” is a testament to the influence of his East Asian heritage on his Canadian upbringing.
Filled with rich sounding vocals, synth melodies, and RnB beats, “Jump” sounds like it’d fit into the portrait of Toronto music on a surface level. However, halfway through the track, M1rza surprises his audience with a rap verse sung in Urdu. After being guided by a Pakistani coworker, he realized Urdu’s rhythmic flow would fit the song perfectly.
“I just played the track for him and he [my coworker] started freestyling this melody with that kind of flow. I got him to record a very simple voice memo of it, and then I just went home and went off of that flow and wrote the story. It just came together really nicely,” he said.
Although M1rza is fluent in Urdu and Punjabi, he said he needed his coworker’s help to write the verse in order to convey the poetic nature of Bollywood and Pakistani Indian music. “The writing they use is not the same as speaking. It's almost Shakespearean. I don't have that level of knowledge of the language, so he kind of helped me a little bit with that,” he said.
While the song’s general meaning is to be cautious about getting into tough life situations through lyrics like “You better watch how you land” or “It’s a long way down,” M1rza said the Punjabi verse adds a layer of romance to the message. “It’s about falling for someone head over heels. They say ‘jump’ and you say ‘How high?’,” he said.
Born and raised in Toronto, M1rza said he grew up in a very strict cultural and religious household. Growing up, his mom would wear traditional clothing daily and his family would only eat Pakistani food.
His Pakistani upbringing influenced his musical background. For example, the Bollywood movies that he would watch with his mom when he was young would provide much of his future musical inspiration.
“I'll find a Bollywood song that I haven't heard in ages and it'll trigger something in me, like an emotional response,” he said. “I feel like my vocal ability, it definitely ties in with those songs because those are the first songs I was singing along to.”
However, as soon as he’d leave home for school, he said he would be as heavily influenced by Toronto culture. He said his friends would expose him to Usher, Neo, and Lil’ Wayne, which led him to idolize RnB and HipHop culture.
M1rza posing in a dark background on July.23,2018 (M1rza/Taha Muharuma)
Although he feels connected to his roots now, he said he wasn’t as connected to it growing up because he resented the restricted nature of his Muslim religion. By equating his religion to his culture, it made him care less for it and even led to him moving out. “I was completely removed from my culture and completely immersed in this white Western culture. It was welcoming and I appreciated it. It was cool to be able to do whatever I want, whenever I wanted. It was very liberating,” he said.
Nevertheless, after a year away, he moved back home. When he started taking music more seriously, he said an artist he was working with encouraged him to use his culture’s clothing style to be more fashionable and unique. After making that leap, he said he started diving deep into his roots, “writing songs in Urdu and Punjabi and cooking the food.”
In late September, M1rza decided to post his first cover on Instagram of a traditional Bollywood song called “Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai” from the movie “Rabb Ne Bana Di Jodi.”
Since then, M1rza has released four more similar covers, which have been viewed over 20,000 times collectively.
“A lot of people enjoyed it, even my cousins. It's a talking point for my family because there's only so much that we can really talk about as far as Western music goes. They don't have any sort of connection to that. So me doing this allows me to bring them more into the conversation,” he said.
By embracing his culture and letting it influence his music, M1rza has embarked on a journey of self-discovery and healing.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a part of a white family. I wanted to be part of black culture. So coming back to [my own culture] and embracing it, it made me realize that there's nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “There's so much to discover about myself through this. It's very much a self-healing self-realization process.”
In addition, he said it was a great decision for marketing his music in a way that felt more personal than just putting out content.
“It was just a way for me to communicate my skill set and do it in a fun way,” he said. “No one's doing any sort of Bollywood music. I can sing it and it connects to me and I love it.”
When asked whether he would encourage other artists to showcase their heritage in their music, M1rza agreed, saying the music industry needs more representation.
“The fact is that everyone can do music now. Everyone is still writing pop records. Everyone wants to be a rapper. It dilutes the culture. It dilutes the industry. This is such a great way for there to be a fresh new sound. It just makes for a more interesting, more original, and more inclusive environment,” he said.
In addition, he said artists should use their identities to stand out.
“How many Drake’s are we gonna have? There's only one Drake. So everyone trying to be him is not gonna do anything for anyone. People don't realize that the only way to win is when you're really trying to be yourself because no one can copy you,” he said.
M1rza says he plans on allowing his roots to infiltrate his music, but only if it feels natural for the song.
“I don't want to be pigeonholed as just a desi artist. I want to be an artist that has his roots. But I'm also a Toronto kid,” he said. “If I do have a song that's completely English, I'll let it be. But instead of just using trap drums all the time, I'll use percussive elements of Bollywood, bringing my world into hip hop.”
Stream “Jump” Below: