5 things to know about Bengaluru-based Ricky Kej as he wins third Grammy Award
1 min read . Updated: 06 Feb 2023, 10:44 AM IST
PremiumKej has created music for over 3,000 ad jingles and Kannada films as well as releasing more than a dozen studio albums. He also composed the music for the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony.
Bengaluru-based musician Ricky Kej won his third Grammy award on Monday - the fourth Indian to ever win the prestigious musical accolade. The composer is also India's youngest awardee as well as being the ‘only living Indian with a hattrick’. The US-born artiste shared the award with The Police drummer Stewart Copeland for his album 'Divine Tides'.
Five things to know about Ricky Kej:
1. Hailing from Punjabi and Marwari roots, Kej was born in the US and moved to Bengaluru at the age of eight. While he holds a degree in degree in dentistry, music had been his clear career choice from the get go. He had joined a progressive rock band - Angel Dust - while attending university and eventually moved on to set up his own studio.
2. According to an old interview with The Hindu, his father Janaki Das had been an actor, Olympic cyclist and freedom fighter.
3. Kej has created music for over 3,000 ad jingles and Kannada films as well as releasing more than a dozen studio albums. He also composed the music for the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony. Interestingly, most of his albums received a physically release in the US but not in India.
4. He won his first Grammy in 2015 in the Best New Age Album category for 'Winds of Samsara'. The project had debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard New Age Albums Chart - a first for any person of Indian origin. More recently in 2022, Kej won a second Grammy under the same category for his collaborative work with Copeland. He has also worked on several other Grammy winning or albums in earlier years.
5. Kej has championed several causes over the years and was announced as an 'UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador' in December last year. He has been featured on several global lists honour 'leaders' and 'heroes' and is part of the school curriculum for ISCE English text books. Kej is also a professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies.
Also read: Bengaluru based Ricky Kej wins third Grammy award, dedicates trophy to India
