East meets West as Jeffrey Iqbal performs in SA
KNOWN for his energetic and upbeat style, his signature dance moves, and his fusion of contemporary Western and Indian music, the first Americanborn and raised Bollywood singer, Jeffrey Iqbal, is set to perform in South Africa for the first time this month.
And all it took was a once-in-alifetime performance to kickstart his career.
From thousands of applicants, Iqbal was chosen by music maestro AR Rahman to perform on the Indian televised talent search competition, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, in 2017.
At that opportunity, he realised he was born to be on stage.
Osman Osman, of Blu Blood Entertainment, recently announced that Iqbal would perform at the Lyric Theatre, at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, on October 20.
“We are excited to host Jeffrey Iqbal for his debut in South Africa. Jeffrey has specially prepared an amazing selection of songs for these shows and we have no doubt that he will give a spectacular performance.”
Iqbal is known for his ability to authentically bring together music from the east and the west, ranging from classic to new Bollywood and new-age English pop chart-busters.
His “Unity Thru Music” mission and belief is that music can break down barriers and unite people of different ages, cultures, religions, genders, and anything that can divide us from love and community.
Iqbal began his exploration of music from an early age.
Hailing from an Indian heritage (his mom grew up in Pakistan and his dad in India), his parents realised early on that he had an innate talent for music.
His mother bought him his first keyboard at age 7.
His parents were ghazal and qawwali fans and often took him to watch legends like Medhi Hassan, Zakir Hussain, and Nusarat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib perform.
Inspired by Shankar Mahadevan and Vishal Shekar, he too wanted to touch the world and people’s lives through music.
In 2012, Iqbal was invited to perform during Shreya Ghoshal’s world tour.
He was also the first American-born Indian to sing in a Bollywood movie, with the song Rubaru for the film Dehraadun Diary.