Natasha Baig (Urdu: نتاشا بیگ), also spelled Nata-sha Baig is a Pakistani singer-songwriter from Hunza Valley. She sings in various genres including Sufi rock and had her latest hit with the Burushaski language song "Ya Maula" in collaboration with the designer Yousuf B. Qureshi.[1]
Early life
Natasha Baig was born and raised in Karachi, but her family home is in Hunza.[2]
Career
Baig has no formal music education. She grew up listening to Abida Parveen, Michael Jackson, and others. She is known for her live performances in Pakistan.[3]
She started her career in 2013 with a reality show ‘Cornetto Music Icons’ where she was selected as one of the six finalists and was mentored by Zoe Viccaji. Her performance of the song ‘Dekha na tha’ by Alamgir was commended.[4] After the show Baig joined ‘Sounds of Kolachi’ a Sufi ensemble originally started by Ahsan Bari where she was one of the main lead singers in the ensemble.[5]
Baig was also one of the panelists in ‘The Karachi Music Festival’ alongside Humera Channa, Zoe Viccaji and Saif Samejo where they discussed the Pakistani music industry. She also performed in the event with her new band ‘Kaya’. Soon Baig left Kaya and started performing as a solo artist with her own band members including her brother Sameer Baig on guitars. She performed at "Lahooti Music Mela" introduced by Saif Samejo of Sketches band and many other musical events across the country.[6]
In 2016, Baig co-founded a production Company ‘Laal Series’ that produced Baig’s music videos besides other work in the industry including commercials, short films and public service messages. The breakthrough for Baig came when she was nominated for Best Emerging Talent at the 2017 Lux Style Awards for her song "Jhoom Le" in the film Janaan.[7][8] She then released her song with Mai Dhai "Kesaria".[9] which was produced by her company Laal Series.
Baig then released her song "Maa" on Mother’s Day.[10] Her latest song is "Deewana Banaya". She has appeared in Coke Studio Season 11, singing Shikwa/ Jawab-e-Shikawa, a poem by Allama Iqbal. The song was well received throughout the region and remained trending at top in Pakistan.
Natasha Baig appeared in Kashan Admani's Acoustic Station and performed a rendition of "Dur Ze Darya" - written by the Persian poet Nasir Khusraw. [11]
