See the rapper with 62 million streams perform in Melbourne
Rapper Faris Shafi, one of South Asia's biggest artists, is coming to Melbourne for the first time to perform in a free concert at Fed Square.
Dubbed the 'uncensored voice of Pakistan', Shafi's work includes Blockbuster, a viral track streamed 62 million times on YouTube last year.
The song provided the inspiration for the Fed Square show which takes its name, to be held as part of the Rising festival in June.
It's a coup for Melbourne's winter arts festival – a melding of White Night and the Melbourne Festival – now in its fifth year, to attract such huge artists from the subcontinent.
As well as Shafi, the lineup for Blockbuster includes Annural Khalid, Spotify Pakistan's most-streamed female artist of 2024, and brother duo Zain Zohaib, known for Thagyan, as headliners.
Also on the bill is Sherry Khatak, lead vocalist of the Pakistani alternative rock band, Karakoram.
Producer, composer and musician Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, professionally known as Xulfi, will also appear. Having started his musical career on what he calls a 'toy piano', he felt connected to it and went on to learn piano, then guitar, drums and later became a composer and a producer.
Speaking on the phone from Lahore, the 45-year-old says Pakistan has a diverse soundscape. Music schools and options for learning music were not common when he was growing up and, as a result, 'you have to hustle your way through it'.
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