Mustafa Kamal Khan

Fortitude member and financial analyst

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Mustafa Kamal Khan is a financial analyst who works for a bank and a member of Fortitude, a crew and band that moved from English to Pashto rap. He was born and raised in Peshawar and is based in Canberra. He completed a BBA in marketing. The group's first branded project was with Peshawar Zalmi.

Early life and background

Khan was born and raised in Peshawar. He says he comes from Swabi. His father worked in the irrigation department and was often posted to different places. Khan says he and others studied in the same school and were brought up in the same area. [1]

Education

Khan moved to another school from sixth grade until college. His father, an engineer, wanted him to study civil engineering, and Khan says his parents thought computer engineering would not work out. A friend told him he had been admitted to a BBA at a university. He completed his BBA in marketing. [1]

Khan describes the move from Peshawar to Islamabad as the first big switch in his life. He also says he was moving out of his house for the first time. [1]

Fortitude

Fortitude is the name of Khan's crew and band, and it has three members. He says he contributes his own tunes and the others do their own part. [1]

The group wrote its early songs from scratch, all in English. Khan says Eminem was the main inspiration, and the group changed its band name a couple of times early on. He says the turning point was the move from English to Pashto, and he described Pashto as undiscovered altogether. Around 2008 to 2009 he proposed to his bandmates that they could also start in Pashto. [1]

The group shot its first music video in the Margalla Hills, and it made a video in Pakhtunkhwa that was a live video. Khan says rap was still not acceptable at that point. He says it took the group four or five years to get a grasp on Pashto rap, and that they were the first ones who actually made that rhyme. He says they needed to talk about Pakhtuns and their culture. [1]

Khan says the group got its name outside Peshawar first. In 2011 and 2012 the group played Pashto rap concerts in Faisalabad and Multan. He says they were contacted by an agency in Peshawar. He says that at the time, reaching 10,000 views was a big thing, and that at 10,000 views everyone in Peshawar knew them. [1]

Peshawar Zalmi

The group's first branded project was with Peshawar Zalmi. Khan says the Zalmi anthem was, he thinks, the first anthem with rap. They decided to put it completely in Pashto so that they could relate easily, and he says they made it within about two days. [1]

Khan recorded his part separately from the others. He says reactions to the track came in from India. [1]

Move to Australia

Khan describes his initial thought as jumping out of Pakistan and moving to Australia. He says that when he graduated he got a job locally in an IT company. He was told he could only be promoted with a master's degree, and he planned to come back with a master's degree and then be promoted. [1]

The group's momentum stopped in 2012. Khan says he devoted his whole time to study, and two years were gone. He says that when the chance came to start a movement, he left Pakistan. [1]

Return in 2017

Khan says he graduated in 2017 and came back. He says that after meeting them, he decided it was time to get back into the game. The group mostly released its music on SoundCloud. [1]

Financial career

Khan says he disliked accounting, and he says he shifted to finance. He says he started with Apple. He works as a financial analyst for a bank, where he does financial analysis and looks after lending and investments. [1]

Khan wanted to shift his field slowly, because that area is big right now. He says the home investment and lending side is booming right now. He says that for about two or three years, property and anything close to it has been going up in Australia. He says banks are closing outlets as customers move to digital. He says there is a new void to fill in mobile banking and mobile financial advice, and that he is moving to that sector. [1]

Views

Khan says rap is about vibe, feeling and the aggression an artist brings. He says that, looking back, rap rose from Islamabad, and that KP is the region where rap should be rising. He says Pakhtuns are culturally very resistant to change. [1]

Khan says his current focus is the general situation of Peshawar and Pakistan. He says Peshawar has changed tremendously and is now no different from Lahore. He says Pashto was given national acceptance through the weight of a brand. He says Pakistan could be more connected to the world if the current trend continues. [1]

Personal life

Khan is based in Canberra. He says he makes a trip every year for project-related things. [1]

Timeline

2008
Around 2008 to 2009, Khan proposed to his bandmates that they could also start in Pashto.[1]
2011
The group played Pashto rap concerts in Faisalabad and Multan in 2011 and 2012.[1]
2012
The group's momentum stopped.[1]
2017
Khan says he graduated and came back.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2022-05-09 The man who invented Pashto rap Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mustafa Kamal Khan?

Mustafa Kamal Khan is a financial analyst who works for a bank. He is also a member of Fortitude, which he describes as his crew and band. He was born and raised in Peshawar and is based in Canberra.[1]

What does Mustafa Kamal Khan do?

Mustafa Kamal Khan works as a financial analyst. He does financial analysis and looks after lending and investments. He says he is moving into mobile banking and mobile financial advice.[1]

Where is Mustafa Kamal Khan from?

Mustafa Kamal Khan was born and raised in Peshawar. He says he comes from Swabi. He is now based in Canberra.[1]

What is Fortitude?

Fortitude is the name of Mustafa Kamal Khan's crew and band, and it has three members. The group wrote its early songs from scratch, all in English. Khan says the turning point was the move from English to Pashto.[1]

What was Mustafa Kamal Khan's first branded project?

Mustafa Kamal Khan's group, Fortitude, had its first branded project with Peshawar Zalmi. Khan says the Zalmi anthem was, he thinks, the first anthem with rap. He says they made it within about two days.[1]

When did Mustafa Kamal Khan's band start rapping in Pashto?

Around 2008 to 2009, Mustafa Kamal Khan proposed to his bandmates that they could also start in Pashto. He says the turning point was the move from English to Pashto. In 2011 and 2012 the group played Pashto rap concerts in Faisalabad and Multan.[1]

References

  1. The man who invented Pashto rap . Thought Behind Things , 2022-05-09.
Show the source passages (69 statements)
  1. He was born and raised in Peshawar. I'm born in Peshawar, born and raised in Peshawar.
  2. He says he comes from Swabi. Swabi se main hoon Tordher se.
  3. His father worked in the irrigation department and was often posted to different places. my dad was being posted a lot because he was in the irrigation department.
  4. He moved to another school from sixth grade until college. and then I moved to PF. From sixth grade till college.
  5. A friend told him he had been admitted to a BBA at a university. Usne kaha Mustafa tumhara admission ho gaya hai BBA mein, Bahria mein.
  6. His father, an engineer, wanted him to study civil engineering. because my father was an engineer, he wanted me to move into the same direction, civil engineer.
  7. He says his parents thought computer engineering would not work out. Computer engineering. To parents were like, that's not going to work.
  8. He describes the move from Peshawar to Islamabad as the first big switch in his life. Peshawar se Islamabad, that was my main, I think the first big switch in my life.
  9. He was moving out of his house for the first time. especially because I was moving for the first time out of my house.
  10. He completed his BBA in marketing. Maine marketing mein BBA kar liya.
  11. He says he and others studied in the same school and were brought up in the same area. So, we studied in the same school and ek hi area mein brought up hue hain.
  12. Fortitude is the name of his crew and band. Fortitude is basically my crew, band's name.
  13. Fortitude has three members. So, there's three members. One is Shakar, then there's Shumail.
  14. He says he contributes his own tunes and the others do their own part. I'll key in my, you know, tunes from my side and then they'll do their own part.
  15. The group wrote its early songs from scratch, all in English. We kept on writing everything from scratch. To but it was all in English.
  16. He says Eminem was the main inspiration. Aur I think inspiration wahi se aayi. Eminem was the main.
  17. The group changed its band name a couple of times early on. we changed our band's name a couple of times initially.
  18. He says the turning point was the move from English to Pashto. the turning point was when we moved from English to Pashto.
  19. He described Pashto as undiscovered altogether. Pashto on the other hand is just undiscovered altogether.
  20. Around 2008 to 2009 he proposed to his bandmates that they could also start in Pashto. Humne 2008-9 mein, I gave it a thought. I told my boys ke hum shuru karte hain, Pashto mein bhi kar sakte hain.
  21. The group shot its first music video in the Margalla Hills. we started shooting our first music video in Margalla Hills.
  22. The group made a video in Pakhtunkhwa that was a live video. humne jab woh Pakhtunkhwa ki humne video banayi, that was a live video.
  23. He says rap was still not acceptable at that point. Lekin rap was still not acceptable at that point.
  24. He says Pakhtuns are culturally very resistant to change. Pakhtuns culturally aur their attitude is that they they are very resistant to change.
  25. He says rap is about vibe, feeling and the aggression an artist brings. Rap is really all about the the vibe and the uh the the feeling of the artist and the aggression that the artist brings to the table.
  26. He says KP is the region where rap should be rising. jahan par mujhe rap ubharti hui nazar aani chahiye hai woh KP hai.
  27. He says that, looking back, rap rose from Islamabad. jahan se agar main thoda peeche ja ke agar dekhun, rap utha Islamabad se tha.
  28. He says the group got its name outside Peshawar first. we got famous, uh we got we got our name outside Peshawar first.
  29. In 2011 and 2012 the group played Pashto rap concerts in Faisalabad and Multan. back in 11 and 12, 2011, 12, we kept on doing concerts in Faisalabad and Multan on Pashto rap.
  30. He says they were contacted by an agency in Peshawar. because we got contacted by a agency Peshawar mein.
  31. He says that at the time, reaching 10,000 views was a big thing. us waqt jab woh 10,000 views tak pahunch gaya, that was a big thing.
  32. He says that at 10,000 views everyone in Peshawar knew them. in that 10,000 everyone in Peshawar knew us.
  33. He says it took the group four or five years to get a grasp on Pashto rap. it took us like I think four five years to actually get a grasp on Pashto rap because we created it.
  34. He says they were the first ones who actually made that rhyme. we we were the first ones who actually made that rhyme
  35. He says they needed to talk about Pakhtuns and their culture. we need to talk about Pakhtuns, our culture.
  36. He says his current focus is the general situation of Peshawar and Pakistan. mera toh aaj kal focus yahi hota hai ke zara thoda uh generalized situation of Peshawar, Pakistan
  37. He is based in Canberra. I'm in the capital, Canberra.
  38. He planned to come back with a master's degree and then be promoted. I'll come back with a master's degree and then I'll be promoted
  39. He describes his initial thought as jumping out of Pakistan and moving to Australia. So that was I think the initial thought of me jumping out of Pakistan and moving to Australia.
  40. He says that when he graduated he got a job locally in an IT company. when I graduated here toh I'm I got a job locally in an IT company.
  41. He was told he could only be promoted with a master's degree. we can only promote you if you have a master's degree.
  42. He says he disliked accounting. I hated accounting to guts.
  43. He says he shifted to finance. Toh I shifted to finance and then it was not that difficult.
  44. He says he started with Apple. I started with Apple.
  45. He works as a financial analyst. So you're a financial analyst. Yes.
  46. He does financial analysis and looks after lending and investments. I'm doing financial analysis but at the same time I'm doing a bit of um I'm looking after lending and investments and home investments as well.
  47. He works for a bank. For a bank, for the same bank.
  48. He wanted to shift his field slowly, because that area is big right now. I wanted to shift my field slowly and slowly and try to get used like because that's big right now.
  49. He says the home investment and lending side is booming right now. the home investment that that side lending side more because that's booming right now.
  50. He says that for about two or three years, property and anything close to it has been going up in Australia. since the last I think two three years, property um anything close to property is going up in Australia.
  51. He says banks are closing outlets as customers move to digital. Banks are closing, outlets are closing and everyone is going digital now.
  52. He says there is a new void to fill in mobile banking and mobile financial advice, and that he is moving to that sector. there's this new void that I people had to fill for mobile banking and mobile financial advice and like that. So now I'm moving to that sector.
  53. The group's momentum stopped in 2012. Um woh jo hamara rhythm chal raha tha till 2012 when we were like in one of the big leagues, that stopped straight away
  54. He says he devoted his whole time to study, and two years were gone. and then I had to study there so that I devoted my whole time to that. That two years were gone.
  55. He says that when the chance came to start a movement, he left Pakistan. the problem is when when we got the chance to do something, koi movement shuru karein, us waqt main nikal gaya Pakistan se.
  56. He says he graduated in 2017 and came back. when I graduated 2017, I came back
  57. He says that after meeting them, he decided it was time to get back into the game. And I met them and I was like okay Mustafa time to get back into the game.
  58. The group mostly released its music on SoundCloud. We kept on producing stuff, audio, audios and stuff, toh mostly SoundCloud pe tha.
  59. The group's first branded project was with Peshawar Zalmi. that was our first branded project with the Peshawar Zalmi.
  60. He says the Zalmi anthem was, he thinks, the first anthem with rap. Toh that was I think the first anthem jismein rap hua tha.
  61. They decided to put it completely in Pashto so that they could relate easily. Let's give it put put it completely in Pashto taake hum aaram se relate kar sakein
  62. He says they made it within about two days. Toh humne banaya, I think do din ke andar humne
  63. He recorded his part separately from the others. But I recorded my bit there, they recorded it here
  64. He says reactions to the track came in from India. Aur woh aisa ho gaya ki India matlab every single woh reactions aa rahe hain
  65. He says Pashto was given national acceptance through the weight of a brand. Unhone apna brand ka weight lagakar Pashto ko national acceptance di
  66. He says Peshawar has changed tremendously. Peshawar has changed tremendously from the last I think
  67. He says Peshawar is now no different from Lahore. there's no difference between Peshawar or Lahore. It's completely advanced.
  68. He says Pakistan could be more connected to the world if the current trend continues. I think if it stays on the same track slowly and slowly, uh I can see Pakistan on a different level, more connected to the world.
  69. He says he makes a trip every year for project-related things. main har saal chakkar lagata hun projects ke cheezon ke liye