Las Vegas, 5 April 2022 (TDI) Arooj Aftab, a Pakistani vocalist based in Brooklyn, won her first Grammy on Sunday for her song “Mohabbat,” which was nominated in the Best Global Performance category.
The 37-year-old, who has lived in New York for the past 15 years, has progressively gained international acclaim for her music, which blends ancient Sufi traditions with folk, jazz, and minimalism.
Congrats Best Global Music Performance winner –
“Mohabbat” @arooj_aftabWATCH: https://t.co/cqASdN9JXi #GRAMMYs
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) April 3, 2022
She’s also in the running for the prestigious Best New Artist award, which will be handed out at the main Grammy show later on Sunday.
Aftab was born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents and spent her teenage years in Lahore before moving to Boston to study music production and engineering at the famed Berklee School of Music.
She received critical acclaim for her third studio album “Vulture Prince,” which drew even more recognition after former US President, Barack Obama selected the single “Mohabbat” on his summer favorites list for 2021.
“I am beyond thrilled,” the artist told journalists backstage at the pre-gala ceremony, at which the vast majority of awards are handed out. “It feels great,” said Arooj Aftab.
Aftab has performed at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as opening for Mitski at The Brooklyn Steel in 2018.
In an interview with AFP in the days preceding the Grammys, Aftab lauded her fellow nominees for Best New Artist, which include Olivia Rodrigo, Saweetie, and The Kid Laroi, among others.
“We’re all so cool, the group itself is kind of like a win,” she remarked, “I think I’m going to faint.” “Wow thank you so much. I feel like this category in and of itself has been so insane.
Burna Boy, Wizkid, Femi Kuti, Angelique Kidjo — should this be called Best World Music Performance? I feel like it should be called the ‘yacht party category’.”
