Arooj Aftab, the Brooklyn-based Pakistani artist who recently notched a handful of Grammy nominations (including Best New Artist), performed a trio of songs from her acclaimed album Vulture Prince on the latest installment of NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series.
Aftab and her backing ensemble staged their performance in a Brooklyn convent with paint peeling off the walls, the group’s sound filling the cavernous space. Aftab, who sings in Urdu, opened her set with the sprightly “Suroor,” followed by the lush, lovelorn “Mohabbat,” then closed with the pensive, poignant “Saans Lo.”
For the performance, Aftab was backed by a small chamber ensemble that included classical guitarist Gyan Riley (son of celebrated composer Terry Riley), Celtic harpist Maeve Gilchrist, violinist Darian Donovan Thomas, and bassist/synth player Shahzad Ismaily.
Along with the arrival of Aftab’s Tiny Desk concert, it was announced Wednesday, Dec. 8, that the singer-songwriter had signed a new record deal with Verve. “We are so proud to welcome Arooj to the Verve Records family,” Verve head Jamie Krents said in a statement. “Arooj has made history with these [Grammy] nominations and we look forward to helping even more listeners discover the Vulture Prince album and her future recordings.”
Vulture Prince, which was released in April, marks Aftab’s third solo record, following 2018’s Siren Islands and her 2014 debut, Bird Under Water. The record helped her become the first Pakistani woman ever to be nominated for a Grammy as she picked up two nods: Best New Artist and Best Global Music Performance for “Mohabbat.”
VIDEOS
Los Angeles-based designer and recent-ish hip-hop producer Real Bad Man is taking up after Boldy James' prolific work ethic. He is rolling out the red carpet for his next collaborative project with the Detroit spitter titled Conversational Pieces.
Per a press release, the duo will be releasing their third body of work on May 2 via the producer's namesake record label. This will be a follow-up to 2022's Killing Nothing, as well as their debut back in 2020, Real Bad Boldy. The latter also happened to be Bad Man's first LP. As per usual, the tracklist is going to be tight knit.
There's going to be a total of 13 songs and three features. One of them is Conway the Machine, and the other two are a part of the lead singles to Conversational Pieces. Real Bad Man and Boldy James have decided to recruit Washington D.C. artist dreamcastmoe and Run The Jewels' El-P for "Come Back Around" and "It Factor," respectively.
Overall, the vibe we are getting from both tracks is very much "conversational. From the fairly chill production from Bad Man to James' very matter-of-fact deliveries on both cuts, they are definitely following the blueprint they laid out for themselves. See what they are hitting for with the links below.
Quotable Lyrics From "Come Back Around":
Uncle love to smoke and drink, granny on the couch slumped
Needle hanging out her arm, shoot up at least twice a day
Kids damn near starving, cooking noodles in the microwave
Where peoplе slave and don't ever gеt a job promotion
Auntie working two jobs every day but she be closet smoking
Where n****s sick and tired of being tired of hoping
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