Riz Ahmed Honors Pakistani Heritage In His New Track

Riz Ahmed, the actor-rapper best-known for his roles in The Night Of and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, celebrates his Pakistani roots on new single Mogambo, released under his rap name, Riz MC.

The song opens with the verse, “They put their boots in our ground/ In put my roots in their ground/ And I put my truth in this sound/ I spit my truth, and it’s brown,” he raps. “I don’t give a f*** about the cash you stack/ Or the crown on your skull – you ain’t Basquiat/ Or the Prince of Denmark/ Rizzy boy piss on their benchmarks ’til the white kids wanna be Paks/ Brown planet – it’s gonna be that/ The man frown, panic and wanting me out/ But I’m outstanding ’cause I stand out/ And where I was standing there’s gonna be plaques.”

“It’s a message to anyone who feels unwanted right now,” Ahmed told Variety. “It took me a long time to realise that the same reasons you might be excluded are the same things that you should be proud of about yourself. That’s really what it’s about… I hope it connects with people.”