Arooj Aftab crafts a timeless body of work that blends jazz, South Asian music, folk, and the avant-garde. Born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents, she grew up in Lahore, where she taught herself guitar and shaped her voice listening to Billie Holiday and Begum Akhtar. At 19, she moved to the US to study music at Berklee before settling in Brooklyn, where she became a central figure in the city’s jazz and experimental scenes. In 2022, she won a Grammy Award for her hypnotic ballad “Mohabbat” and made waves as a Best New Artist nominee. Her latest album Night Rein was met with critical acclaim and earned her two more Grammy nominations.