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Rapper Talha Anjum addressed a question that has long hovered over his lyrics in a recent candid exchange with young fans — the perception that his music normalises alcohol use or glorifies a certain “sigma” lifestyle.

Appearing in a Townhall video on the YouTube channel Raftar on Saturday, the Young Stunners frontman said that while his songs often reflect real emotions and poetic references, he has never promoted drinking or violence.

During the conversation, a teenage fan asked Anjum about his responsibility as a public figure and the influence he holds over young audiences. “You have a lot of influence, and with great power comes great responsibility,” she said. “Don’t you think you sometimes normalise things that should not be normalised, like alcoholism, for instance? We hear sharab [alcohol] a lot in the lyrics.”

Anjum responded by pointing out that his lyrics are often interpreted selectively. “The problem with our country is that we only see the negative, the bad things — never the good,” he said. “We only see the good in people when they die. Then we call that person a legend and make it seem like there was nobody better than them.”

He went on to challenge the notion that the mere mention of “sharab” in art implies endorsement. “If you spot a lyric of mine where I’ve mentioned sharab and bring it to me, I will show you so much Urdu poetry from such great poets that you will question why they’re also called legends,” he argued.

Quoting his favourite Ghalib verse — “begaanagi-e khalq se be-dil nah ho Ghalib / Koi nahin teraa, to merii jaan, khudaa hai” (Do not lose heart, Ghalib, because of people’s indifference / If no one is yours, my dear, remember, God is) — Anjum explained that it’s all about perception and literary tradition.

“When it comes to violence,” he said, “I don’t think I have a single song in which I’m preaching violence, nor am I promoting the consumption of alcohol.”

When the fan noted that his “aura” and style inspire imitation, Anjum drew a line between influence and personal choice. “I would want people to copy me, but not in these things,” he said. “And technically, they’re not copying me if they’re doing it, because I’m not saying that I’m doing it. Neither am I saying I love doing it or promoting it.”

At another point in the interview, the host asked about the profanity sometimes used in Anjum’s music. To that, the rapper replied, “If I’ve ever used a cuss word, I’m not going to disown it. But I will say that I have used it to mimic that colloquial Karachi way of speaking. And in so much of my music, you will hardly spot such words. What you will find in abundance are messages like, ‘If you don’t provide, how can you call yourself a man?’ Those are the things people should be influenced by instead of taking inspiration from something said in a song that is only there for entertainment purposes.”