The Head of Strategic Futures at OpenAI, Dean W. Ball, caused a stir on X after sharing his lifelong admiration for Pakistani qawwali legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
He recommended an album featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, describing it as one of the easiest ways for new listeners to get into the legendary qawwal’s music.
Ball compared discovering the album to recommending Pink Floyd’s iconic The Dark Side of the Moon, saying it works as an obvious starting point before listeners explore deeper into Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s recordings.
“It is somewhat like recommending ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ to someone, but this album is probably the most user friendly introduction to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,” Ball wrote.
He recommended “Ali Maula Ali Dam Dam” and “Haq Ali Ali” as starting points, while adding that “No one can resist the charm of the first track. ‘Allah whooooo’.”
Along with the post, Ball shared a picture of a CD titled Best of Shahenshan-e-Qawalan Part 1. The text on the CD describes it as containing edited versions of some of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s greatest qawalis.
Ball also suggested that listeners who want to explore the great singer further should turn to live recordings from Paris, Yokohama and Birmingham.
He described a “Jam band aspect” to Nusrat’s music and said that his preferred recordings depend on which live performances a listener connects with.
He named “Ali Ali Haq” as a reference tune and said that the song stands out across all three concerts, calling it “Especially pianistic” in Birmingham, “Especially dramatic” in Yokohama and “Especially chest-thumping” in Paris.
When a user commented that the recommendation felt like a deep cut and a far cry from Dark Side of the Moon, while calling NFAK one of the greatest singer in 20th century Ball replied, “What I mean is it’s like dark side among NFAK fans, but totally true. One of my favorites.”
Several users praised Ball’s music taste, with one writing, “Dean W Ball knows ball.”
One user wrote, “Congrats Dean. You have evolved,” while another reacted to the recommendation by saying, “Crazy world we live in…. This guy works at OpenAI.”
One user joked, “OpenAIs head of strategy discovered NFAK and is singing Ali Haq haq! Hogai na Eid-e-Zehra ? ;)”
Ball replied to the comment directly, stating that his father introduced him to the musician and that Ball loved Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan since childhood.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, known as the King of Qawwali, gained international recognition through live international tours, record collaborations and soundtrack contributions throughout the late 20th century.
