Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Early life

Rahat was born into a family of Qawwals and classical singers in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan into a family of traditional musicians. The son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and grandson of Fateh Ali Khan, he was trained by his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the art of classical music and Qawwali.

Career

Rahat was chosen by his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for tutoring in the traditions of Qawwali music and was singing with his uncle and father by the age of three. At the age of seven he began formal training with his uncle; and he performed first time in public when he was nine, at the death anniversary of his grandfather. From age fifteen, he was made an integral part of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's well-known qawwali group. He toured the UK with his uncle in 1985, and performed solo songs in addition to singing with the Qawwali group. At a concert in Birmingham on 27 July 1985, he performed the solo ghazal, "Mukh Tera Sohneya Sharab Nalon Changa Ae". At the concert held at Harrow Leisure Centre in 1985, he performed the solo song, "Gin Gin Taare Lang Gaiyaan Rattaan". He sang Bollywood playback in the 90s and debuted as a playback singer in Bollywood with the movie Paap (2003), featuring the hit song "Mann Ki Lagan". His recent works include Pakistani nationalistic songs such as "Dharti Dharti" and "Hum Pakistan", and songs from Bollywood films. He has performed in Pakistan, India, United Kingdom and other countries. In April 2012 Rahat toured in the UK, performing at Wembley Arena and the Manchester Arena, playing to a combined audience of over 20,000 people.

Soundtracks and collaboration

In a subordinate role with his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, working in collaboration with Eddie Vedder, of the American rock band, Pearl Jam, Rahat contributed to the soundtrack of the 1995 Hollywood film, Dead Man Walking. In 2002, he worked on the soundtrack of The Four Feathers in collaboration with the American composer of orchestral and film music, James Horner. In 2002, Rahat guested with The Derek Trucks Band on the song "Maki Madni" for Trucks' album, Joyful Noise. In 2006, his vocals were featured on the soundtrack of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto.

Television

He judged the show, Chhote Ustaad alongside Sonu Nigam. He was also one of the judges on the singing reality show Junoon, premiered on NDTV Imagine in 2008.

Nobel Peace Prize Concert

Rahat became the first Pakistani to be invited at 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, to perform at its concert. He performed Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's most memorable qawwali "Tumhe Dillagi" and "Mast Qalandar", and he also sang "Aao Parhao" there.

UN General Assembly Concert

Pakistan Day was celebrated for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly Hall on 23 March 2016. At the occasion a concert titled "Sufi Night: Music of Peace" was organized. The sole performer at the concert was Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Diplomats from 140 countries were present in the concert.

Coke Studio

Rahat has appeared in three seasons of Pakistani musical show Coke Studio. He first appeared in season 1, where he collaborated with singer Ali Azmat for the track "Garaj Baras". He then collaborated with Abida Parveen in season 6. He then also appeared in season 9, where he generated the song "Afreen Afreen" along with Momina Mustehsan, then he sang "Rang" along with Amjad Sabri. This was one of the last performances of Sabri, who was assassinated in Karachi on 22 June 2016.

MTV Unplugged

Rahat appeared in MTV Unplugged (India) in 2016, with a new compositions of the Qawwalis sung by himself and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.