My veil is my musical identity: Eva B

Pakistan’s first female rapper, Eva B, who comes from an urban-slum settlement of Lyari, is known for consistently  breaking glass ceilings with her powerful music. Her lesser known fame came in limelight after her recent collaboration with Coke Studio’s Kana Yaari featuring Kaifi Khalil and Abdul Wahab Bugti. The folk Balochi song has been racking up millions of views on YouTube for its groovy beat despite the theme based on a raged betrayal.

While the song plays on loudspeakers in cars across the country, only few are aware of the hardships the veiled rapper has had to go through to have her voice reach to the masses. In an interview with The Guardian, Eva B spoke about her collaboration with the Xulfi led-music webcast Coke Studio, her veil, the long chain of excuses and disapproval to create Kana Yaari, her early beginnings, and her hometown’s significance in her rap music.

The practice of donning a veil originally started as a brother mandated condition to pursue music but has now become a part of Eva B’s identity and personality as a musician. “I don’t feel comfortable or can’t perform well if I don’t wear it. The veil just covers my face; it cannot cover or take away the talent I have,” shared the rapper.

According to the publication, Eva B’s phone had been buzzing throughout the interview. Slyly making a comment on her recently garnered fame, the Gully Girls crooner shared how she was approached for Coke Studio season 14. “Since I didn’t get as many calls as I get now, I picked it [Xulfi’s call] up,” chuckled the hip-hop rapper. “He introduced himself and asked me if I would like to sing for the franchise – I said who does not want to work with Coke Studio?” and just like that she became part of a top trending song from the franchise for its newest season.

However, the recordings became a problem for her. Her brother never approved of her music despite her following his condition to wear a veil. She even kept her musical career on hold from 2015–2019 because of the recurring arguments at home. But she revealed that the tables turned after her big break. “I would have to lie to my brother if I had to go for recordings. I would say I was going to university. Even when I had to rehearse for Kana Yaari in Coke Studio, I lied back home about having to attend a friend’s wedding. I would ask everyone to schedule me before nightfall so I could make an excuse at home more easily,” she shared.

She later revealed that her brother no longer deems her passion “inappropriate.”

The young rapper’s musical journey began with a computer filled with Eminem’s songs. Inspired and curious by the refreshing style and rhythm of the music, she asked around about the genre. “It is rap, and you have to write your lyrics and sing,” she was told and 2014 marked the beginning of a self-taught musician channeling her lived experiences and of those around her in the form of YouTube videos on her channel.
“Through my rap I wanted people to hear my story and the story of women in Lyari. I come from a place where only a few girls got to work and my society doesn’t consider a girl who raps to be respectable – I wanted to challenge that,” said Eva B.

While she paused her musical career as a consequence of her brother’s loud disapproval, she did not stop writing.  “I was burning inside and kept writing about societal restrictions on girls, on Lyari and more,” she shared. After a long hiatus, she was discovered by Pakistan’s largest music streaming platform, Patari, and was asked to write and perform an original song.

Eager to take on the opportunity, Eva B did not care about the lack of professional audio equipment and went along with recording the Gully Girl using her mobile phone only. Overnight, the track made her famous as the Gully Girl.  Her track tells the tale of young women who want to make it big in hip-hop, a retelling of the famous Ranveer Singh starrer film Gully Boy.

Eva B, who says her name comes from Eve, the first woman on Earth, in lieu of her being the first female rapper in the country, and the B is an ode to her Balochi origin. Writing in Urdu and Balochi, the young rapper touches on a plethora of problems facing society, and particularly of the regressive image of Lyari. Her songs include Qalam Bolega (The Pen Shall Speak), Tera Jism Meri Marzi (Your Body, My Rights), and Quarantine Baji.

She is of the opinion that while Lyari is also famous for its footballers, artists and musicians, but “the history of violence in the area has become our identity, sadly.” She says there are many women, just like her, who feel inferior to their male counterparts since they’re dependent on them and their approval. Shedding light on the extra effort required to create a name outside of the stamped violent identity, she shared, “women have to work hard to claim their space in society. We have to snatch it if it is not given.”

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