Kaifi Khalil

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kaifi Khalil

• Kaifi Khalil is a Pakistani singer and music composer who gained popularity when he appeared on the Pakistani music TV show Coke Studio Season 14 in which he collaborated as vocalist with the Pakistani rapper Eva B and Tambura player Abdul Wahab Bugti for the hit song ‘Kana Yaari.’

• Growing up in a humble household in the urban-slum area of Lyari, a locality notorious for its violence, gangsters, and drugs, Khalil developed an interest in music watching his musician father.

  

• To stay afloat after his father’s demise, Khalil pursued various odd jobs. Soon, the passionate musician bought a secondhand guitar using his savings and learned to play it through YouTube videos.

• He received his formal music training when a friend introduced him to MAD School, a performing arts academy in Karachi.

• In an interview, while talking about his initial struggles to learn music, Khalil said that he was bullied by the neighbourhood. He revealed that people would pull his guitar and call out teasy names on his way to music classes.

• At MAD School, under the guidance of artistic directors Nida Butt and Hamza Jafri, Khalil secured the opportunity to collaborate with various popular Pakistani musicians.

• In July 2015, he started a self-titled YouTube channel. He uploaded his first YouTube video, an acoustic cover of the Balochi song “Mani Tawe Dost” in November 2016. Soon, combining traditional Balochi music with modern music became Kaifi Khalil’s signature style of music. His YouTube channel features covers of numerous Balochi and Urdu songs.

• His association with the Non-profit Karachi-based organization ‘I AM KARACHI,’ which promotes socio-cultural activities in Pakistan, provided him with numerous platforms to perform.

• He is the recipient of the I AM KARACHI HOPE AWARD (2016).

  

• He also took part in the I AM KARACHI Music Festival (2016).

  

• He released a song titled “Chammani Ars” in 2017 under his independent label.

• He featured in the Pakistani talk show ‘The Chiragh Baloch Show’ in 2019.
  

• He came into the spotlight with his 2020 song “Bya K Bacheke Abdaale,” which has garnered more than 1 million views on YouTube.

• In 2020, he voiced the song “Tauba Tauba,” uploaded on his YouTube channel. In the song’s description, he revealed that the song was very special and dear to him because it was written and composed by his father for his mother, out of his admiration for her.

  

• Other singles that he lent his voice to include Baali Guraab (2021), Kadi Kaye (2021), and Mast (2022).

• A turning point in his life came when he received a casting call from Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan, the producer of the Pakistani music TV show Coke Studio (2022).

• The profound collaboration between Kaifi Khalil, Eva B, and Wahab Ali Bugti created the Balochi pop song “Kana Yaari” for Coke Studio (2022). Besides Eva B’s rap, the song was written and composed by Kaifi Khalil. The song accumulated 3.2 million views by the third day of its release and made Kaifi Khalil a YouTube sensation.
  

• On his Facebook account, under the about section he has mentioned: “I’m Ugly.”

• In an interview, Kaifi Khalil expressed his desire to form a band because whenever the singer was invited to give a performance at a college or university, they demanded a full-fledged band instead of a solo singer.

• He is also fond of English pop songs. “Somebody Else” (2016) by the English pop-rock band ‘1975’ is one of Khalil’s favourite songs.