Armeen Musa, a popular Bangladeshi singer and songwriter, revealed in a Facebook post yesterday that she and her choir unit, the Ghaashphoring Choir, are boycotting tobacco companies and will not work on any projects funded by them.

The choir director of Ghaashphoring and the first Bangladeshi artiste to be nominated for the Grammy Awards stated that the decision came from a moral standpoint.

"Never officially announced, but a few years ago my solo act and Ghaashphoring Choir fully boycotted tobacco companies and we will not work on any projects with their funding either. It's not easy in our industry that I know, but if this encourages anyone to do so as well, thus shared," Armeen Musa wrote in her Facebook post.

Further talking to UNB, the artiste said that she made the decision two years ago but just recently decided to go public, considering that this decision-making might encourage others as well.

"I admit that I had been wanting to make and announce this decision for six to seven years but could not proceed. However, one day, at a show where people smoked in front of the stage, I just didn't feel good anymore. It made me visually see the disregard and disrespect not just for music but for people and their well-being — and I stopped that very day," she said.

Read more

‘Awaaz Utha’ rapper Hannan to release first solo album

A popular artiste in the country and the first Bangladeshi student in the Berklee Indian Ensemble, Armeen garnered critical acclaim for songs including "Bhromor Koiyo Giya", "Lona Deyal" and more. She is the founder of the Ghaashphoring Choir, which is acclaimed for its collaboration with Coke Studio Bangla and performances in several of its popular tracks including "Bonobibi" and "Deora".

She and her mother Dr Nashid Kamal, granddaughter of Bengali folk legend Abbasuddin Ahmed, were jointly nominated for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Global Music Album for the duo's song "Jaago Piya", which was featured on the Berklee Indian Ensemble's debut album "Shuruaat".