Hip Hop Reacts To Benazir Bhutto's Death in Pakistan

After the death of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, a lot of speculation has been made about the political conflict in the country. The death, which many are calling an assassination, occurred two weeks before a state election, where Bhutto was a leading opposite candidate to President Pervez Musharraf, whom many believe was behind her death.

Grand Scheem, an independent rapper based in Miami, had something to say on the matter. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, he has been featured in Rolling Stone, The Source and XXL. He used the civil wars going abroad, and compared to film and music within the Hip Hop context to help others understand.

Reacting to last week's incidents, Scheem told HipHopDX, "Although the recent passing of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, Pakistan is a tragic event, there are two sides to every story. Whats important is what do the streets of Pakistan really have to say, and I represent those streets, specifically Karachi. Pakistan right now doesn't need someone that knows how to give a good speech (Bhutto), Pakistan needs someone that knows how to use a gun (Musharraf), because thats what it takes to control a developing country. Just like you can't contain The Bloods and The Crips, you can't contain the multiple sets all over Pakistan. If youve ever seen the movie Gangs of New York, you saw how hectic and violent this country was in the beginning, and Pakistan is only 60 years old - imagine what America was like at age 60."

The rapper went on to endorse the present leadership in Pakistan, "People need to respect what Pervez Musharraf is doing. If not, the world can plan on being a lot bloodier putting its faith in people that don't know how to fight. Pakistan in 2007 is the New York City of the 1800s. Its the Compton times 10 of '88. All these little snippets that you see on TV from the bombings to Al Qaeda to Osama bin Laden - all surrounding the country of Pakistan give people on the outside a glimpse into the underworld kind of like the first time you watched the movie Colors... and now people are waiting for the soundtrack. Then and only then will people truly understand what goes down in the trenches, and these are a couple of the topics Im helping you understand with the Bigger Picture." The Bigger Picture is indeed the title of Grand Scheem's forthcoming debut album.

Scheem deduced, "I truly believe Bhutto, by simply being female and presenting herself in the fashion she has has impacted women of Middle Eastern culture in some capacitybut not nearly the capacity that the Western media who has a vested interest in her portrays it to be. Women from the Middle East dont view sex videos, or having multiple babies by multiple dudes, or writing a book about who and how they whored out as cool. The truth is the women in the Middle East are comfortable with the way they live, and live that way by choice. As much as everybody wants to paint a pretty picture, and inject the thought of a female president making an attempt to drop democracy in the middle of the desert that may not be realistic and the time for wishful thinking is definitely not now. People in Pakistan don't kill for money or drugs, or any other materialistic things...they kill for principle, for ideals. You're not deemed successful based on how much dope you push or how many guns you have. You're deemed successful based on the person that you are - what you live for and what you're willing to die for. I know the streets here feel that because its that same type of code you live by, and now youre starting to hear different artists incorporate Pakistan into their songs. The only difference between the ghettos here and the third world ghettos is that if you slip, jail-time isnt always the first option."

Grand Scheem has commuted back and forth from Karachi extensively since 2004. This was home to both Bhutto and Musharraf. Scheem's music can be heard by clicking here.