Wikipedia

Zack Knight

Zack Knight (born 22 November 1991) is a British-Pakistani singer and songwriter.[1][2][3] Known by the stage name Zeekay until 2011. He has released songs including "Bom Diggy", "Ya Baba", "Galtiyan", "Nakhre", " Rula Diya", and "Enemy".

Zack Knight
Also known asZeekay (until 2011)
Born (1991-11-22) 22 November 1991 (age 33)
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Genres
OccupationsSinger, Songwriter
Years active2011–past
Labels
Websiteiamzackknight.uk

Life and career

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Knight was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, to a Pakistani Punjabi mother and a father of African descent. He moved to Haywards Heath, West Sussex, in 1999, studying at Oathall Community College. He describes his music as having an R&B infused style with a crossover sound[4] gotten from Bollywood and Middle-Eastern influences. He cites Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, and Usher as his main inspirations.[5] Knight produces, composes, and engineers his own music.[6] He is multilingual, writing lyrics in English, Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi and incorporating elements of Arabic and Bengali.

2007–10: The Zeekay years

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Using the stage name Zeekay or Zee Kay, Knight began his career primarily as a songwriter for such artists as Tinie Tempah, Ginuwine, Stylo G, IYAZ, and various X Factor contestants. In 2007, he wrote the single "Baby (Dil Deewana)" for the US R&B artist Ginuwine. Shortly afterwards, he started producing R&B and hip-hop singles. His debut single, "My Moment" (produced by Pcru, Flipnotez), released in 2008, reached #3 in the Myspace R&B charts.[7] This success led to a production deal with "Mr Skills", creator of Big Brova's, with whom he had been working on his debut album.[8] From here, Knight produced several other singles across the span of 2 years, including "In Denial" (which he performed at various Live shows), "Love U Right" ft Tinie Tempah, "Save It", and "Inspiration".[9][10]

Knight performed in concerts with Taio Cruz, Mario, and Jessie J in live concerts and shows.[11] At the same time, he was studying to obtain a degree in economics. Knight postponed his studies to concentrate on his musical aspirations, though he did eventually graduate. After 2010, he updated his stage name from Zeekay to his real name, Zack Knight, which he still uses today.[12]

2011–14: Re-branding, covers and albums

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After 2010, Knight, now operating without his stage name/alias, produced several singles and albums. As a result of his re-branding, he began working with different artists and producers. His musical style also changed, shifting focus from a hip-hop inspired sound to a pop music influence.[13] He attained regional and national support for his debut single, "All Over Again", in 2012, and his second single, "Who I Am", was featured as one of iTunes "New & Noteworthy" picks of the month. This was then followed by his third single, "When I'm Gone."[14][15] (These three singles were later incorporated into his 2016 album, On Repeat.) He was also active in producing his own covers and remixes of popular songs on his YouTube channel.[16] During this period, Knight produced two further albums, "Poison In My Sleep" (2014),[17] and "On Repeat" (2016, but with songs dating back to 2011–12).[18]

2014–present

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In 2014, Knight signed a deal with T-Series. Under this record label, he made several singles, including "Dheere", "Nakhre", "Enemy", "Looking For Love", and "Tere Naam", most of which topped the BBC Asian Network Charts. He worked with various artists within the BBC Asian Network Industry, including Raxstar and Jasmin Walia. He also collaborated with artists outside the United Kingdom, including rapper Badshah, playback singer Mohammad Irfan, and American YouTube personality Adam Saleh. He was appointed BBC Music Ambassador in 2017. In 2018, both of his UK headline tours sold out.[citation needed]

During this period, Knight also wrote and produced "Bom Diggy" featuring Jasmin Walia, amassing over 1.3 billion views on YouTube (as of August 2025).[19] This track appeared in the Bollywood comedy Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018) and was accompanied by two Top 5 peaking singles in the UK R&B iTunes charts ("Ya Baba", "Tears"), one Top 10 UK Dance iTunes chart ("Love Controller"), three Consecutive Number ones on the BBC Asian Network Download Chart ("Nakhre", "Lamhe", "Enemy"),[20][21][22] and ten top Top 5 singles in the World/Asian Charts.

Knight's musical production ranges from independent creations to remixes, mashups, and medleys of other songs. His remixes typically combine various Bollywood songs with English R&B,[23] acoustic-type covers remixed with popular songs, or his own music.[24][25][26]

On 28 February 2021, in collaboration with Jernade Miah and Kayes Rashid, Knight released a new song named "Para Rum Pa" on YouTube. The song reached over 200k+ views on its release day, and over 1M views within 2 weeks.[27]

On 14 October 2021, Knight released a 3-track album titled 'Dear Dad' in memory of his father, who died in August 2021. His most recent album, 'iamzackknight', was released in 2022. His latest cover is Kahani Suno 2.0 and Bollywood Medley 9.

In 2022, Knight collaborated with Nora Fatehi for the song "Dirty Little Secret".[28]

Discography

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Singles

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Title Year Featuring Label Ref.
"Runaway Now" 2013 Prestige Records
"Smoke & Mirrors"
"Pyaas" 2014 Khiza Hi-Tech Music Ltd
"Tere Naal" Khiza, Soni J
"Dheere" Khiza, Kumar Sanu T-Series
"Makin 'em Mad" Shad Star ?
"Who You Are" Kirk Norcross ?
"Superhuman Lovers" Juvey, Erlando Quantize Music
"Women" 2015 Shide Boss Merci Records
"Lamhe" Hi-Tech Music Ltd
"Green Eyes" SCALES Mixmash Records
"Snap" Quantize Music
"MVP" Jernade Miah ?
"Looking for Love (Main Dhoondne)" Arijit Singh T-Series [29]
"Nakhre" [30]
"Main Aur Tum"
"Queen" Raxstar
"Your Name (Tujhe Bhula Diya)" Mohit Chauhan ?
"Tears" Adam Saleh Naz Promotions
"Dum Dee Dum" 2016 Jasmin Walia T-Series [31]
"Ishq Mubarak (Refix)"
(for Tum Bin II) 		Arijit Singh [32]
"Enemy" [33]
"Tere Naam" [34]
"BomBae" Fuse ODG, Badshah Off Da Ground
"Ya Baba" Rami Beatz Quantize Music [35]
"Chahat"
"Love Controller" Dayne S Revolve Records [36]
"General" 2017 Joe Killington Revolve Records [37]
"Cry for Me" [38]
"Bom Diggy" Jasmin Walia Saavn [39]
"Gimme That" Adam Saleh Naz Promotions
"Galtiyan" Quantize Music [40]
"Bom Diggy Diggy"
(for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety) 		2018 Jasmin Walia T-Series [41]
"Till I Met You" Revolve Records [42]
"Need Your Love" Nicolina ?
"Instagram Famous" Adam Saleh Naz Promotions
"Thumka" Ayesha Mughal Revolve Records [43]
"Bills"
"Gotta Go" 2019 Revolve Records
"Angel"
"Tumhari Jagga"
"Dua" 2020 Revolve Records
"Dil Diya Laya"
"Crash and Burn" Adam Saleh
"Beautiful To Me"
"Adhura"
"Para Rum Pa" 2021 Jernade Miah Revolve Records
"Armani" Amar Sandhu
"Ego"
"Stand With You"
"Yaar Tu" 2022 Revolve Records
"Dirty Little Secret" Nora Fatehi Nora Fatehi

Awards

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Year Award Name
2015 Best Breakthrough Act, Brit Asia TV Music Awards[44]
2015 Pakistan Music Media Awards[45]
2017 Best Urban Asian Act, Brit Asia TV Music Awards[46]
2018 Best Music Director, International Indian Film Academy[47]
2018 Album of the Year, Mirchi Music Awards, IN[48]

References

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  1. ^ Zack Knight readies debut single. Music-News.com (5 February 2012). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. ^ Benkovic, Andrew. "Zack Knight: Taking Risks, Touring, and 'Makin Em Mad'". Huffingpost. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Jasmine Walia's new single with Zack Knight 'Sahara' crosses 1.2 million views". RadioAndMusic.com. IndianTelevision.com. 2 May 2018.
  4. ^ "iamzackknight - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. ^ "New Music Showcase - Zack Knight". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Get ready to groove on Zack Knight-Jasmin Walia's 'Bom Diggy'". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  7. ^ "ZeeKay - My Moment". Desi-Box.com. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Exclusive 'Zee Kay' Interview". Bhangra Website. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Zeekay biography". artistwiki.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  10. ^ "ZeeKay (Zack Knight) All Songs - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  11. ^ "iamzackknight - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Zack Knight clears the air about his name". Desi-Box.com. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  13. ^ Admin (19 September 2015). "The talented Zack Knight's bollywood medley". British Muslim Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  14. ^ Admin (19 September 2015). "The talented Zack Knight's bollywood medley". British Muslim Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Zack Knight releases 'When I'm Gone' | Asian Sunday Newspaper". 30 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  16. ^ "iamzackknight - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Poison In My Sleep LP/Album - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  18. ^ "On Repeat - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Bom Diggy Diggy (VIDEO) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Nakhre". ITUNES. 18 May 2015.
  21. ^ "Lamhe". ITUNES.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ "Enemy". ITUNES. 27 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Bollywood Medleys - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Acoustic Renditions - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Covers - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Live Sessions (BBC Asian Network) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  27. ^ Zack Knight | Jernade Miah - Para Rum Pa (Official Video), 28 February 2021, retrieved 1 March 2021
  28. ^ "Nora Fatehi's dance on 'Dirty Little Secret' takes YouTube by storm; hits 5 million mark". Daily Times. 13 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Looking For Love (Main Dhoondne)". iTunes. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  30. ^ "Nakhre - Single". iTunes. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  31. ^ "Dum Dee Dum - Single by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia". iTunes. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  32. ^ "Ishq Mubarak Refix". YouTube. 11 November 2016.
  33. ^ "Enemy - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  34. ^ "Tere Naam - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  35. ^ "Ya Baba (feat. Rami Beatz) - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  36. ^ "Love Controller (feat. Dayne S) - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  37. ^ "General - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 26 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  38. ^ "Cry For Me - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 23 April 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  39. ^ "Bom Diggy - Single by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia". iTunes. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  40. ^ "Galtiyan - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  41. ^ "Bom Diggy Diggy (From "Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety") - Single by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia". iTunes. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  42. ^ "Till I Met You - Single by Zack Knight". iTunes. 13 February 2018. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  43. ^ "Zack Knight Thumka Song". YouTube. 3 August 2018.
  44. ^ Laws, Roz (7 October 2015). "Who won at the BritAsia TV World Music Awards 2015?". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  45. ^ Laws, Roz (5 September 2015). "Zack knight @ Pakistan music media awards 2015". Birmingham Mailyoutube. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  46. ^ "BritAsia TV World Music Awards 2017 celebrated". New Asian Post. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  47. ^ "Best Music Director". www.imdb.com.
  48. ^ "Album of the year". www.imdb.com.
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