New York: Grammy Award-winning singer Arooj Aftab has expressed her displeasure at those who call her ‘Urdu’ and ‘Pakistani singer’, which has sparked a new debate on social media.
In 2021, the singer won a Grammy Award in the category of Best Global Music Performance for her song ‘Love’.
Pakistani singer arooj aftab…… Urdu singer arooj aftab….. arooj aftab’s amazing Urdu singing… like. It’s fine I guess? But can a person of color musician ever just get to be without this tag to whatever someone else is presuming is our root or heritage.
— arooj aftab (@arooj_aftab) May 26, 2023
Arooj Aftab wrote in his post on Twitter that singers should be recognized by their creative heritage rather than their race and colour. After the singer’s tweet, there have been mixed reactions, some people have supported her stance while the majority have criticized Arooj Aftab for it.
sis you can spend your life trying to break the glass ceiling by abandoning your heritage/roots but in their eyes you will never be anything but your heritage. So why not embrace it and achieve all you can and want while carrying that tag? https://t.co/dwpjlk2rXK
— its me. Hi. Im the problem, its me. (@thebigsadddd) May 27, 2023
Addressing the singer, some users wrote that even if you reach the highest throne of success with your potential, you will still be identified by your roots.
Big fan..but are you ashamed of your roots & heritage or what?? Bro u literally won Grammy by singing an Urdu heritage song..the racial inferiority dripping from this tweet is just unthinkable. https://t.co/kn1oK5pbzU
— Hashim Shah (@HashimShahSyed) May 27, 2023
Some users shamed Arooj Aftab saying that he should not be ashamed of his race and roots but should embrace it and this cultural label will be his source of strength in his artistic journey.
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