{"id":18583,"date":"2022-10-21T08:35:53","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T13:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=18583"},"modified":"2025-11-19T15:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:10:08","slug":"sparsh-shah-checking-a-berklee-degree-off-his-list-of-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/sparsh-shah-checking-a-berklee-degree-off-his-list-of-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Sparsh Shah: Checking a Berklee Degree off His List of Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-viral-success-and-berklee-education-are-shaping-the-musical-legacy-of-sparsh-shah\">How Viral Success and Berklee Education Are Shaping the Musical Legacy of Sparsh Shah<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sparsh Shah uploaded a cover of Eminem\u2019s \u201cNot Afraid\u201d to YouTube in 2016, when he was just 13 years old. A student of Hindustani classical music, Sparsh incorporated Indian influences into the song to create a genre he coined called \u201craga rap.\u201d The cover went viral and was shared by artists such as Akon, Aloe Blacc, Chris Brown, and Jay Sean. To date, the video has more than 18 million views.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne day I was just trying to find the chords on the piano for the song, and once I did just out of the blue came this alap, or that beginning section in Indian classical music,\u201d says Sparsh, who is now 19 years old. \u201cThat\u2019s how the cover became kind of a unique thing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eminem - &quot;Not Afraid&quot; Clean Cover by Sparsh Shah (PURHYTHM)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CqwzlMUt9oM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe> \n<\/div><figcaption>Sparsh Shah\u2019s viral video covering Eminem\u2019s \u201cNot Afraid\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The lyrics to \u201cI\u2019m Not Afraid\u201d took on a new meaning when sung by Sparsh, who has osteogenesis imperfecta, a disease that makes his bones extremely fragile and brittle. In his lifetime, he\u2019s had 150 fractures that required eight rods and 22 screws to mend. With the platform he acquired from his viral video, Sparsh has traveled the world, performing, giving motivational speeches, and helping raise more than <a href=\"https:\/\/sparshshah.com\/philanthropy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"$2 million for charity (opens in a new tab)\">$2 million for charity<\/a>. Now Sparsh is checking another dream off his list by earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/music-degrees\/undergraduate\/interdisciplinary-music-studies-create-your-own-major?pid=8023&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-article-promotion\" target=\"_blank\">Interdisciplinary Music Studies<\/a> at Berklee Online.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing at Berklee, I think it\u2019s amazing because of two big things,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cOne is being able to learn so many things from so many amazing instructors. And two that there\u2019s so much community here. A lot of people are like, \u2018Oh, you don\u2019t really need to go to college to be a great artist.\u2019 But at the same time you can\u2019t find this kind of community anywhere else but in a place like Berklee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-sparsh-s-musical-journey-began\">How Sparsh\u2019s Musical Journey Began<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sparsh became interested in music at a very young age. He remembers his parents, Hiren and Jigish Shah, would play songs from the huge library on their iPod, and they would also listen to pop radio in the car.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would be in my car seat and I\u2019m facing the other direction, but they were hearing me hum,\u201d he says. \u201cThen at one point I started correcting them when they were singing off key. I think that\u2019s when they said they realized, \u2018Okay, this kid has something special in terms of music.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hiren and Jigish enrolled Sparsh in Hindustani classical vocal lessons at the age of six. At age 11, he won the prestigious <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9hVk0JuDivo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Young Voice of NYC competition<\/a>, where he was named the 2015 Youth Ambassador for St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital. In middle school, he joined the school choir and picked up keyboard. It was around this time that he discovered Eminem and there was only one problem\u2014Eminem uses some colorful language.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI joke with people that I got punished for saying \u2018heck\u2019 when I was little,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cSo I went up to my mom and dad and I was like, \u2018Okay look, I want to cover this song. I want to make sure that both kids and adults can hear this so I wanna make it clean.\u2019\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How a 13 year old changed &#039;Impossible&#039; to &#039;I&#039;m Possible&#039; | Sparsh Shah | TEDxGateway\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bC0hlK7WGcM?start=454&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sparsh giving a TEDx Talk in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is how Sparsh came up with his artist name \u201cPurhythm,\u201d which combines \u201cpure\u201d and \u201crhythm.\u201d In his 2017 TEDx Talk, Sparsh explains \u201cI\u2019m clean, no curses, but I\u2019m all about the rhythm.\u201d In this talk, he went on to list the goals that he wished to achieve. In hindsight, he predicted many of his completed accomplishments, and laid the groundwork for objectives that are currently in progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-performing-for-billions\">Performing For Billions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/sparsh_shah_article_images_2022_2.jpg\" alt=\"Sparsh performing on Kaun Banega Crorepati? \" class=\"wp-image-18591\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first dream was to perform in front of 1 billion people, a goal that he has since tripled. In 2018, Sparsh performed on the TV show <em>Kaun Banega Crorepati?<\/em>, which is the Indian version of <em>Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? <\/em>On the show, he was interviewed by host and Bollywood legend, Shri Amitabh Bachchan and the episode was broadcasted to about 185 countries around the world, reaching at least 1 billion people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sparsh Shah-The Legend with A.B.\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KLU4WxTb-RE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sparsh performing on <em>Kaun Banega Crorepati?<\/em> and being interviewed by Bollywood legend Shri Amitabh Bachchan. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sparsh upped the ante on this goal, aiming to perform for 2 billion viewers. A year later, he did just that. In 2019, he performed the Indian National Anthem at the <em>Howdy Modi!<\/em> event at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, where 50,000 gathered to honor Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was absolutely surreal,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cIt was my biggest in-person event\u2014there were 50,000 people in the stadium. Almost every seat was filled and seeing everyone, the whole crowd, it was just mind blowing. I think about a day or two before the event, one of the organizers said \u2018Oh yeah, 2 billion people are going to watch this on TV and on the internet.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018What?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Houston: 16-Year-Old Sparsh Shah Sings National Anthem At &#039;Howdy, Modi&#039; Event\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H-HuFeKUU_c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sparsh singing the Indian national anthem for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump at the 2019 <em>Howdy Modi!<\/em> event. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-writing-his-debut-album\">Writing His Debut Album<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having performed now for 3 billion viewers between his in-person and broadcasted audiences, next on Sparsh\u2019s list is to complete his bachelor\u2019s degree from Berklee, release an album of original music, and earn a Grammy award. Now in his second year of his program, Sparsh is in the process of hitting two more of his milestones at the same time.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy biggest musical goal right now is to put out a debut album,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cMost of the songs that I\u2019ve been creating through Berklee are with that in mind. The production and songwriting courses, I think out of everything have been the most helpful, because it helps to build my creative assets. You come out with new songs and those songs are the biggest thing that a musician can have: your own music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/songwriting?pid=8023&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-article-promotion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">STUDY SONGWRITING AT BERKLEE ONLINE<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sparsh has been doing a lot of songwriting and stockpiling songs for his album, which he would like to release by the time he graduates Berklee. He says that music and songwriting have always been a way of processing both physical and mental pain.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEspecially when I was younger and I would break bones almost all the time, throwing on music definitely helped me cope,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cGoing through those times and being able to put my own experiences on paper really liberated me too. I don\u2019t just have to be a passive participant in music. I could create, I could tell my story. And that\u2019s why I would want to put my own music out there now more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&quot;Turn Around&quot; Lyric Video of an Original Love Song by Sparsh Shah - Purhythm\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OYY01Va6iO8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sparsh\u2019s original song \u201cTurn Around\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-breaking-a-guinness-world-record\">Breaking a Guinness World Record<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been more than a year since Sparsh has had any fractures and he hopes to keep that streak going. In fact he\u2019s been feeling so good that in July 2022, he broke a <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/guinnessworldrecords.com\/news\/2022\/10\/teen-with-brittle-bone-disease-achieves-longest-raised-leg-hold-ss-720395\" target=\"_blank\">Guinness World Record<\/a> for the longest raised leg hold, at two hours. His doctor recommended he do leg raises to strengthen his core, and Sparsh realized he could hold this position much longer than the average person.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started at a minute or two minutes, and every time I would keep going up one minute, building endurance,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cI got to the point where on average I was able to do an hour every day. It\u2019s been a part of a big health and fitness journey that I\u2019ve been on.\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CjimAcDpI1H\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CjimAcDpI1H\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CjimAcDpI1H\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Sparsh Shah (PURHYTHM) (@shahsparsh)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Sparsh has added Guinness World Record holder to his list of identifiers, along with singer, songwriter, philanthropist, and motivational speaker. And because of his expertise in motivational speaking, he has some words of wisdom for his fellow Berklee Online students:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNever give up on yourself and your potential,\u201d says Sparsh. \u201cIf you have a vision, stick to it, because your vision, what you can bring to the table, nobody else can. We all have the same 12 notes. We all may have the same words to draw from when we write songs. But at the same time, the way we put those notes together, the way we put those words together, nobody else can do that but you.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/sparshshah.com\/songs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Stream Sparsh Shah\u2019s music now!<\/a><\/em><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sparsh Shah\u2019s cover of Eminem\u2019s \u201cNot Afraid\u201d went viral when he was just 13 years old. Now at 19, Sparsh has traveled the world as a singer, songwriter, motivational speaker, philanthropist, and Guinness World Record holder. He talks about earning his bachelor\u2019s degree at Berklee Online. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":18590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9564,9566,9560,32,9573],"tags":[9032,9033,6267,8616,9025,9034,9026,688,8464,9031,9027,9024,9030,9028,9029],"class_list":["post-18583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-features-articles","category-songwriting-articles","category-spotlight","category-student-stories","category-voice-articles","tag-akon","tag-aloe-blacc","tag-chris-brown","tag-eminem","tag-guinness-world-record","tag-hindustani-classical","tag-howdy-modi","tag-interdisciplinary-music-studies","tag-jay-sean","tag-not-afraid","tag-shri-amitabh-bachchan","tag-sparsh-shah","tag-st-jude","tag-ted-talk","tag-tedx"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - 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