© 2026 WBGO
WBGO Jazz light blue header background
Jazz...Anywhere, Anytime, on Any Device.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Arooj Aftab's life is in a bit of a whirlwind

Arooj Aftab
Blythe Thomas
/
Courtest of the artist
Arooj Aftab

When I spoke to Arooj Aftab, it was just over a week since she had won the Grammy for Best Global Performance for her beautiful, moving song "Mohabbat." That victory was a lot of "firsts." It was a new category, so she was the first artist to ever win it. It was her first Grammy. And she was the first Pakistani woman not only to win a Grammy — but to even be nominated for one! Her life, as you might imagine, was in a bit of a whirlwind. But she was able to take a moment between packing and catching flights to talk about the album that winning song came from — called Vulture Prince — and about her life. When Arooj was about 10 years old, her family moved to Lahore, Pakistan, from Saudi Arabia. You'll hear how music brought her to America coming up — but first, that Grammy-winning performance.

Copyright 2022 XPN

Raina Douris is the host of World Cafe.
Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.