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Zahra Hanif

Freelance culture journalist. Featured in: CLASH Magazine, Polyester Zine, Karma! Magazine, Music Is To Blame, The Indiependent, and The Courier. 

The Indiependent •

Album Review: People Watching // Sam Fender : The Indiependent

Sam Fender’s People Watching is a blockbuster. The North Shields-born singer-songwriter announced his third studio album last November, igniting excitement among his ever-growing, devoted fanbase. There’s no denying Fender’s meteoric rise since the release of his last album, Seventeen Going Under. Now armed with an upcoming sold-out stadium tour and a place among Britain’s biggest contemporary artists, his journey from North East local hero to a festival headliner is complete. The album’s eponym...
Polyester Zine •

Gen Z’s Pretend Apoliticism and the Friend Who’s Too Woke

This TikTok is a symptom of a broader cultural shift that has made us deeply self-conscious about sincerity in all forms. Gen Z’s obsession with dark humour, in making light of trauma, has spiralled into what was described aptly by Ethel Cain as an “irony epidemic”, as we are desperate to prove that we are unaffected. This has brought a level of disengagement upon us that naturally causes us to scroll past anything that challenges our detachment, as insincerity reigns over all corners of the int...
The Indiependent •

Album Review: GNX // Kendrick Lamar : The Indiependent

On Friday, Kendrick Lamar delighted fans with the surprise release of his new album, GNX. The release caps off a legendary year for the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, who not only emerged victorious in a high-profile feud with Drake after delivering a string of chart-topping singles, but was also confirmed in September as the headliner for the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show. With a runtime of 44 minutes, the album is short, but packed with the same dynamic flow patterns and lyrical excellence tha...
The Courier Online •

Newcastle hand the L to L-JMU

The match kicked off at 3pm, with Liverpool John Moores (from here on LJMU) taking the lead as they scored the first goal of the match, and appearing to direct the game as Newcastle fumbled their first few shots on the other side of the pitch. However, a switch was flipped as Newcastle scored their first goal, and five more relentless dubs followed this. The coordination between the wing attack and the goal attack was phenomenal, securing the team goal after goal, win after win, with the goal ke...