Between Desire & Deception: Nayel & Hasan Raheem Talk About Their Latest Single
Dimly lit poker tables, a smoky haze hanging in the air, and a guy walking into an underground club forms the setting of Roop's music video. Our guy locks eyes with a girl across the room — there’s chemistry, no doubt, but also something else brewing beneath the surface and it's not just love. We’ve seen this electric premise thousand times across South Asian pop music. Only this time, the story takes an unexpected turn something more criminal; something sinister. Pakistani sensations NAYEL & Hasan take this timeless trope and give it a fresh, edgy spin in their latest track. The video is a love story of desire-meets-deception, told by two voices redefining what Desi pop sounds like, in a total earworm of a track.
A former medical doctor turned chart-topping musician, Hasan has made a roaring mark on Pakistan’s indie music scene. His signature sound that weaves pop, R&B, soul, and electronic music led him to find a kinship with NAYEL who envisioned Roop as a fusion of his eastern musical roots and modern global sounds. Hasan, while speaking to us about the collaboration, explains:
“NAYEL sent me the song when I was in Dubai, and as soon as I listened to it, I started bopping my head. From then on, I wrote the verse within 30 minutes and I knew the song was pretty much done after that because it was already in a good space and NAYEL had such a great melody and a catchy hook! it was straight up a banger of a pop song, so I just needed to fill up these spaces that were missing, and I did. That’s how we got the song done."
Like any iconic pop track that cuts through the noise, Roop's music video gives it the visual narrative it needs to shine. “Initially, I think we bounced off a lot of ideas and then we went ahead with this one that Shahrukh gave us, the director of the music video. NAYEL and I both liked it and so we chose to go with it. The thing that links the music video to the song is that, in situations like this, when there’s like a sting operation or when there’s a lot going down, there’s always that one corner of romance that is constant, so I think that’s what we tried to show. NAYEL pulled it off completely with our fellow actress Yasmeen, so it was lovely," Hasan shares.
The duo’s synergy is what truly elevates Roop. Hasan, with his laid-back R&B vibe, didn’t try to overthink the blend of their styles as the track already melded seamlessly with the the voices of the artists. What emerged from this alliance is a snapshot of two artists at their peak, merging their styles, stories, and artistry into something unforgettable. Whether you’re in it for the beats, the story, or that poker-club-meets-love-story aesthetic, one thing’s for sure Roop is an undeniable part of a new wave of South Asian music that's having its moment, possibly for the first time since the 2000s pop era; and we're here for it.
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