Eva B is a Pakistani rapper who rose to prominence in 2022 after appearing in the Pakistani music TV series ‘Coke Studio’ in which she rapped for the song ‘Kana Yaari’ alongside Kaifi Khalil (the lead vocalist) and Wahab Ali Bugti (Tambura player).
Wiki/Biography
Eva Baloch was born on 11 March, and she hails from Karachi, Pakistan, where she spent her childhood in the urban-slum area of Lyari, which is known for its violence, gangsters, and drugs. Her zodiac sign is Pisces. She was intrigued to pursue a career in rapping after listening to the songs of the popular American rapper Eminem. She came across the songs via a folder on her second-hand computer. While talking about her first encounter with Eminem’s songs, in an interview, she said,
I was blown away and fascinated by what I had heard. I went on to ask my friends what this music is really about. I never thought that music could be like this”
Eva B’s childhood picture
She did her schooling at Al-Qadir Model English School, Lyari. She grew up in a conservative society, where women weren’t allowed to pursue a career of her choice. In an interview, she said,
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.”
During her school days, she was often bullied due to the separation of her parents. Consequently, she was twice expelled from her school as she picked up fights with her bullies. In an interview, while talking about the same, she said,
My parents are separated. We would have to hear taunts about that. I have been expelled from two schools, in Class 5 and Class 9, for fighting with girls who made mean comments about my family.”
After completing her schooling, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts at Government College for Women, Karachi, Pakistan.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 3″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family & Ethnicity
Eva B belongs to Pakistan’s Baloch minority ; the Baloch or Baluch are Iranian people hailing from Balochistan.
Parents & Siblings
Her parents separated when she was young. She has a younger brother. Although she has a supportive mother, her brother asked her not to rap, citing it was an inappropriate profession for a woman. Eva B’s sister’s name is Uneek B.
Eva B with her sister, Uneek B
Career
After teaching herself the basics through the internet, Eva B began her journey as a rapper in 2014. She started a YouTube channel, but every time she uploaded a freestyle rap song to her channel, her brother’s friends would tease him about his sister being a rapper. Consequently, there were constant quarrels in her house. In an interview, while talking about her brother, she said,
Neighbours would come and listen as my brother scolded and fought me.”
As a result of conflicts with her brother, Eva B stopped performing rap in 2015. Although the rapper discontinued rapping, her zest for music and writing about societal restrictions on girls did not cease. In one of her songs, she says,
Socha rap chhod dun, kalam tod dun, par kalam mein tou meri khoon ki siyahi hai (I thought I would give up rap, snap my pen, but the pen has the ink of my blood).”
In 2019, she made a come back to the Pakistani rap circuit after she was approached by the music streaming platform ‘Patari.’ Despite the lack of music and audio equipment, she recorded her first official song titled “Gully Girls” using her mobile phone, which went viral. Featured on Patari, the song was produced by the Pakistani record producer Sunny Khan Durrani and CEO of Patari Zari Faisal.
Inspired by the 2019 Indian musical drama film ‘Gully Boy,’ in the song Eva B challenged gender and social norms which restricted her dreams to become a rapper. She collaborated with the Pakistani singer Momina Mustehsan to perform “Gully Girls” at the Lux Style Awards (2019).
Eva B performing with Momina Mustehsan at the Lux Style Awards (2019)
She released the songs Quarantine Baji (2020) and Turond’e Gap (2021) under her independent label.
Featuring a combination of Urdu and Balochi lyrics, she released various songs including ‘Qalam Bolega’ (2020) and ‘Tera Jism Meri Marzi’ (2021).
Eva B’s song Qalam Bolega (2020)
As of 2022, she is signed with the Pakistani Record label ‘No Limit Muzik,’ which released her songs Mukhtasir Baatein (2021), Bayani Rog (2022), and Khushnawees (2022).
She has lent her raps to songs Kehndi (2020) and Siyasi (2021) by Pakistani rapper-singer Mudassar Qureshi. Operating under her pseudonym, provided her with a sense of security from her orthodox brother, who wanted her to abandon her career. When Eva B was 22, she received a call from the music producer of the Pakistani music TV series ‘Coke Studio.’ To rehearse for the show, she lied to her brother. In an interview, she said,
I would have to lie to my brother if I had to go for recordings. I would say I was going to university…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.”
In the 14th season of ‘Coke Studio,’ Eva B collaborated as a rapper with the Pakistani vocalist Kaifi Khalil and Tambura player Wahab Ali Bugti for the song ‘Kana Yaari.’ Garnering 3.2 million views by the third day of its release ‘Kana Yaari’ led Eva B to become a YouTube sensation.
Favourites
- Singer(s): Billie Eilish, Eminem
- Poet(s): Saadat Hasan Manto, Jaun Elia
Facts/Trivia
- Various publishing and media houses use the moniker “hijabi rapper” for Eva B as she keeps her identity anonymous by wearing hijab, a veil or head covering worn in public by some Muslim women. ‘Faeva’ is her nickname.
- “Eva B” is not the rapper’s real name. In an interview, she revealed that the pseudonym ‘Eva’ is a tribute to the first woman on Earth, Eve. Like Eve, Eva B too is the first female rapper from Pakistan. Meanwhile, the letter “B” denotes her Baloch identity. She is also known by the name “Gully Girl.”
- It was her brother who put forward the condition of wearing hijab if she wanted to become a rapper, which eventually became a part of her identity and personality as a musician. In an interview, she said,
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.”
- In an interview, the rapper revealed that she was severely criticised for wearing a hijab, a garment linked to the Muslim religion, to pursue her career as a rapper. The conservative population of Pakistan cited it as ‘haram’ (forbidden in Islam). Defending her act, she said,
But it is not like I put on the hijab only to sing. I have been wearing it since Class 7. For Balochi people, hijab and burqa are cultural things too. Little girls wait for the day they can grow up to wear one. Why should I have to remove a part of my identity to pursue my passion?”
She also said,
I may reveal my identity someday, but I will not remove the hijab. Wearing it comes naturally to me, it is a part of who I am.”
- A tattoo inked on her right hand reads “mother” in Urdu.
A picture of Eva B featuring her tattoo
She has a crown inked on her right arm with her mother’s name inked under it.
Eva B’s tattoo
- In an interview, Eva B shared an incident from her teens when she went to pay a household bill at a local office. To pay the bill, she put her hand across the counter and the man at the other end grabbed it. Despite her screams to bring the man’s pursuit to everyone’s attention, nobody spoke up for her. Witnessing such incidents where women were suppressed and discriminated against built up a rage inside her, which she converted into words and expressed in her raps.
- She has a cat named Simba.
Eva B with her cat, Simba
