Former US President Barack Obama has turned out to be a big fan of Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab. Obama’s summer playlist for 2021 includes Arooj Aftab’s song “Mohabbat” from the album Vulture Prince.
For the last few summers, Obama has been releasing playlists of music he has liked listening to. This year’s playlist has been titled Barack Obama’s Summer Playlist.
“With so many folks getting together with family and friends, there’s a lot to celebrate this summer,” he said. “I put together a playlist of some of the songs I’ve been listening to lately — it’s a mix of old and new, household names and emerging artists, and a whole lot in between.”
‘Mohabbat,’ a song by Aftab, has been listed among tracks by Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, and Rihanna. The singer expressed her pleasure at being featured on the list on Instagram.
“Well this has been wonderful to wake up to!” she wrote. “Thank you, Barack Obama.”
Riz Ahmed, Mira Sethi, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, and Natasha Noorani were among the celebrities that congratulated Aftab on his inclusion in the playlist on social media.
Aftab’s supporters and well-wishers reacted positively to Obama’s endorsement.
According to Pitchfork, Aftab is from Lahore and studied music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Her sound is influenced by classical music, particularly the ghazal. She grew up listening to musicians like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Jeff Buckley, an American vocalist.
Her first album, Bird Under Water, was released in 2015. In 2021, she released her album Vulture Prince, which contains the song “Mohabbat.” Here’s where you may hear her song:
