Nasrat Sharqi is a singer from Afghanistan. With his keen talents and technological savvy he programmed a Yamaha workstation keyboard with Afghani taals or rhythms. As time went on, with newer technology and the introduction of MIDI, he introduced the Roland R8 drum machine which is still used by Afghan singers today. This drum machine along, with its ethnic tabla card, increased the precision and audio visualization of a full Afghan band controlled by one man. He was also responsible for introducing the Technics line of keyboards to the Afghan music scene. He quickly became the most popular Afghan singer in America. he was constantly performing at events in California, Texas, New York, Maryland and Virginia as well as Canada. His love and devotion to music led him to create dozens of songs which remain hits till this day, such as "Gadi wan", "Jaan-0-Jaanan em Naroo" and "Ay Dilbaram". Sharqi was a singer who sang with a unique and soft melodious voice. His ability to maintain a note for very long periods of time was a testament to his superb talent and practice. He also mastered the art of moving smoothly and powerfully from a low note and octave quickly to a very high note and octave. This style was used by only one other Afghan singer, the legendary Ahmad Zahir. He was also known for being the king of rhythms. He had a great amount of knowledge with percussion instruments so that his beats were programmed very realistically and attractively for the listener. The demand for his music was very high and at times impossible to satisfy. His productive and generous career abruptly came to a stop in late summer 1994 when he arrived home from a multi-state tour. He complained of pains in his chest and soon after collapsed and had a devastating stroke. His heart gave up on him and paramedics quickly arrived to perform CPR. They managed to get his heart pumping again and he went to hospital. He remained in a coma for three months. His elder mother sat by his bedside along with his best friend/brother Siddiq Alim. After waking from his coma, Sharqi suffered from serious brain damage. A few days after leaving the hospital he became dizzy and collapsed, hitting his head on the pavement. This led him to go back to the hospital. This accident resulted in a blood clot in his brain and destroyed his short-term memory capabilities and affected his basic motor skills. He dedicated his life to sharing his golden voice and musical talents. He had gone nights and nights without sleep and constantly traveled by car, gig after gig, state after state, night after night. In the end, this took a huge toll on his body. Today, Sharqi is alive, contrary to rumors that his stroke was tragic. He lives with his mother in Arlington, Virginia. He is but a memory of the musical legend and icon that so many Afghans grew up listening to in the 1980s and 1990s. He is too sick to play keyboards or sing. His brain damage is permanent and there is very little hope of him making a full recovery.
