Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani-born, Brooklyn-based vocalist, composer, producer, and songwriter known for creating music that brings together South Asian musical traditions, Urdu poetry, jazz, minimalist music, folk, blues, and contemporary experimental sounds.
Performance highlights and selected moments
Arooj Aftab is a Pakistani-born, Brooklyn-based vocalist, composer, producer, and songwriter known for creating music that brings together South Asian musical traditions, Urdu poetry, jazz, minimalist music, folk, blues, and contemporary experimental sounds.
She became internationally recognized after her album Vulture Prince and its song “Mohabbat” earned major critical attention. In 2022, Aftab won the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance for “Mohabbat,” becoming the first Pakistani woman to win a Grammy.
Her later projects, particularly Love in Exile with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily and Night Reign, expanded her international profile and demonstrated her interest in creating music that does not fit neatly into one genre.
Arooj Aftab was born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents. When she was 11, her family moved from Riyadh to Lahore, Pakistan, where she spent her teenage years.
Growing up in Lahore had a major influence on her musical identity. She was surrounded by music and art at home and became interested in changing melodies, arrangements, and sounds from a young age. Berklee notes that she began experimenting with songs when she was around 13.
Her early exposure to Urdu poetry, South Asian music, and Western popular music later became an important part of her distinctive musical language.
Aftab began writing and recording her own music while still young. One of her earliest internationally noticed recordings was her cover of Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah.”
The recording circulated online and helped introduce her work to a wider audience. The Vilcek Foundation notes that the online popularity of her music helped encourage her to pursue formal music education in the United States.
She subsequently moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, where she studied music production and engineering and jazz composition. She graduated in 2010.
After Berklee, she moved to New York City and developed her career within the city's independent, jazz, and experimental music communities.
Arooj Aftab studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
She graduated in 2010 with a degree involving music production and engineering and jazz composition. Her education helped her develop both the technical and compositional skills that became central to her later work.
Her career demonstrates the combination of these two areas: she is involved not only in vocals and songwriting but also in arranging, production, composition, and musical experimentation.
Aftab's early album Bird Under Water was released in 2014.
The project represented an important stage in the development of her acoustic and experimental sound. The Vilcek Foundation lists it as her first major album, followed by Siren Islands and Vulture Prince.
In 2018, Aftab released Siren Islands, an ambient and electronic-oriented project that continued her exploration of space, texture, and unconventional song structures.
The album helped establish the experimental side of her musical identity before her international breakthrough with Vulture Prince.
Arooj Aftab's major international breakthrough came with her third album, Vulture Prince, released in 2021.
The album explored themes including grief, love, loss, longing, and healing. Its sound combined Aftab's voice with spacious arrangements, South Asian influences, minimalist textures, and contemporary jazz-oriented production.
The album's song “Mohabbat” became particularly important to her career. The track eventually earned Aftab the Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance in 2022.
“Mohabbat” became the defining song of Aftab's international breakthrough.
At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in 2022, Aftab won Best Global Music Performance for “Mohabbat.” According to Berklee and GRAMMY.com, this made her the first Pakistani woman to win a Grammy Award.
The song also received wider cultural recognition after being included on Barack Obama's 2021 summer playlist.
Aftab was also nominated for Best New Artist at the same Grammy cycle, giving her recognition beyond the global-music category.
In 2023, Arooj Aftab released Love in Exile, a collaborative album with acclaimed musicians Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily.
The project moved further toward ambient jazz, improvisation, experimental music, and spacious vocal arrangements.
The album received two Grammy nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards:
Although it did not win either category, the nominations further established Aftab's position within the international jazz and experimental music community.
Aftab released her fourth solo project, Night Reign, in 2024 through Verve Records.
The album explores the emotional and creative possibilities associated with nighttime. It combines elements of jazz, South Asian music, minimalist composition, folk, and experimental production.
The album includes tracks such as:
The project includes collaborations with musicians such as Vijay Iyer, James Francies, Moor Mother, Cautious Clay, Kaki King, Maeve Gilchrist, and Marc Anthony Thompson.
“Raat Ki Rani” became one of the most recognized tracks from Night Reign.
The song was also nominated for Best Global Music Performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards. The album Night Reign received a nomination for Best Alternative Jazz Album during the same Grammy cycle.
The track further demonstrated Aftab's ability to combine Urdu-language expression with contemporary jazz and experimental arrangements.
Arooj Aftab's music is difficult to place within one traditional genre.
Her work incorporates:
Her official biography describes this approach as “global soul.”
Aftab has also discussed how her music grew from her experiences with Pakistani musical traditions, jazz, acoustic guitar, folk music, R&B, and blues.
Urdu poetry is an important element of Aftab's artistic identity.
Her music draws inspiration from poets and traditions associated with Sufi poetry, while her compositions also engage with classical Pakistani and North Indian forms.
New Amsterdam Records notes influences from figures including Rumi and Abida Parveen, as well as forms such as khayal and kafi.
This combination allows her to connect traditional poetic ideas with modern arrangements and international jazz.
Vijay Iyer has been one of Aftab's important collaborators.
Their work together includes Love in Exile, created with Shahzad Ismaily, and the song “Saaqi” from Night Reign.
Aftab collaborated with Shahzad Ismaily and Vijay Iyer on Love in Exile, a project recognized with two Grammy nominations.
Aftab and Indian-British sitarist Anoushka Shankar collaborated on “Udhero Na.”
The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Performance in 2023.
Her broader catalogue and performances have involved musicians including:
These collaborations reflect her interest in bringing musicians from different musical backgrounds into the same creative space.
Some of Arooj Aftab's best-known and most significant songs include:
Her official website currently highlights several of these recordings and performances.
Arooj Aftab remains active in the international contemporary music community in 2026.
A major 2026 profile from Berklee College of Music, published in April 2026, revisited her journey from Lahore to Berklee and New York and discussed the development of her sound through grief, joy, jazz, South Asian influences, folk, blues, and R&B.
Her official website currently continues to feature Night Reign, Love in Exile, Vulture Prince, and recent video releases including “Whiskey,” “Raat Ki Rani,” and “Aey Nehin.”
As of the latest information available on her official tour page, no upcoming shows are currently listed.
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