Meet Rickey Kej, the only Indian to win 3 Grammy awards.
It is just another proud moment for India at the 65th Grammy Awards; Ricky Kej, an Indian music composer, won his third Grammy at the music award ceremony’s 65th edition on February 6, 2023. The American-born musician shared the best immersive audio album award for Divine Tides with Stewart Copeland, the drummer of the iconic British rock band ‘The Police’.
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Who is Rickey Kej?
Ricky Kej was born on August 5 1981, in North Carolina, US. The half-Punjabi, half-Marwari Kej, moved to Bangalore when he was 8. Both his father and grandfather were doctors. He had struck a deal with his parents that he could try his hand at music once he finishes his degree.
Kej graduated as a dentist. He started playing the keyboard for a progressive rock band.
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Kej composed music for Kannada and more than 3000 ad jingles. By the time he was 23, he had earned enough money to set up his own recording studio. Inspired by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Peter Gabriel, he dabbled in multiple genres as a composer. Self-taught so far, he started learning classical music at 24.
He said that good music comes from the heart. His album ‘2 Unite All’ was a call for peace in the Middle East. His album Shanti Samsara was dedicated to environmental consciousness.
Bengaluru-based musician is only the fourth Indian to win a Grammy award and the youngest from India. He won his first Grammy Award in 2015 for his album ‘Winds of Samsara’. The album featured 120 artists and 50 instruments from around the world. Even though a lot of Kej’s work was not physically released in India, his compositions remained strongly Indian. In 2022, his album ‘Divine Tides’ won him a second Grammy. It was a tribute to nature and the resilience of human beings.
However, he has become the only Indian to win 3 Grammy awards.
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Just over a month after his Grammy win, Kej walked the Cannes red carpet in the same outfit. The idea behind it was to normalize repeating clothes.
Grammy is the music industry’s highest honor and ceremony in the most awaited musical night of the year.
For the same album, he won the Grammy last year in the best new age album category.
