Zeshan’s Story

Zeshan B’s breakout album Vetted was released in April 2017 to commercial and critical acclaim with the album debuting at #8 on Billboard's Top 10 Albums (World Music) and peaking at #1 on iTunes’ World Music chart. The album also garnered praise from Rolling Stone, NPR, ABC, NBC, PBS, Salon, Democracy Now and the Times of India. 

In August of 2017, Zeshan made his US television debut with a stirring rendition of his hit single Crying in the Streets on CBS’s Late Night w/ Stephen Colbert. This was followed by a PBS News Hour special entitled Groovin’ for Change.

Since then, he has made appearances at iconic venues and festivals such as Lincoln Center, Bonnaroo, Sundance, Electric Forest, House of Blues, Kennedy Center, and the Blue Note. Zeshan has also performed for two US Presidents--Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama--with the latter performance taking place at the White House’s historic inaugural Eid Celebration in 2016. 

In 2020, Zeshan released his anthemic single, Brown Power with a music video including cameos from Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Dr. Cornel West, Hasan Minhaj, and many others. The song was used by President Biden's 2020 campaign surrogates to garner Muslim votes in battleground states such as Michigan.This was followed by the release of his critically acclaimed album “Melismatic”. In addition to his 2nd Colbert show performance, Zeshan appeared alongside his wife Dr. Alexandra Roybal  on MSNBC Morning Joe to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on minorities and musicians. 

In 2021, Zeshan teamed up with Stephen Colbert, Ben Stiller, Sara Bareilles, and others for a music video of Billy Joel’s classic anthem New York State of Mind which featured on CNN, CBS Sunday Morning, NY Times, Colbert Show and the NY Homecoming Concert.

In 2022 and 2023, Zeshan completed artist residencies both at the Doris Duke Shangri-La Museum in Honolulu and at Lincoln Center.

Zeshan’s newest album O Say, Can You See? – an orchestral soul record – was premiered by NPR in July of 2024. Hailed by MSNBC & Variety as a “classic, gospel-infused R&B [album} with passionate lyrics about American social justice – O Say, Can You See? was executive produced by Zeshan’s friend Preet Bharara, the former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Most recently, Zeshan has performed for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival..