Kabir Rafi

Kabir Rafi was born to an Indian army soldier Shaik Abdul Khader in Vishakapatnam, India. He lived in and then travelled to various cities in India including Gujarat (Bhuj), Bengaluru, Assam (Silchar) and Mumbai before settling in Hyderabad. His family has a military background, with his great-grandfather who was a former "freedom fighter." Rafi's grandfather and father also served in the Indian army where the latter acted as a subedar major. His father's appreciation of playback singer Mohammed Rafi, particularly during his time in military service, led him to name his son in honour of the artist.

Rafi received his education from the Kendriya Vidyalaya Central school. He then earned his bachelor's degree in hotel management from the Regency College of Culinary Arts in 2009 and became an Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate at Malla Reddy College of Engineering and Technology. He then worked with the Justdial Internet technology company for 2 years on a contract basis as a video vendor.

Rafi's interest in composing music began in his childhood. Rafi started performing at the age of 12 in various musical stage shows and learned Hindustani classical music as a vocalist and a tabla player, following the encouragement of his mother. When his father was transferred to Mumbai by the Indian military, Rafi started his musical career, mainly as a soundtrack recordist & singer for music directors including Dilip Sen. He later left Mumbai for two years, living in his uncle's home and struggling to find employment, after attempting to enter the entertainment industry by acting in small roles under Balaji Telefilms Ltd, singing several jingles for commercials and dubbing songs. In 2006, Rafi's father was transferred a second time from Mumbai to Hyderabad. He insisted that Rafi join him and focus on his studies and suggested he further his musical career by auditioning for a position in the Telugu film industry (informally known as "Tollywood") in Hyderabad.

In Hyderabad, Rafi was given several jobs in the production of film soundtracks for various film and music directors. He also worked as a vocalist. The composer and singer Chakri allegedly encouraged Rafi early in his career. In 2009, Rafi collaborated with composer Jeevan Thomas for four years in music production.

From 2011 to 2015, Rafi was placed under observation^[vague] and worked as a member of the team led by music director Jeevan Thomas in the soundtrack production of the movies Kuberulu,^[12] First love (2013) and Yavvanam Oka Fantasy (2015). He was also presented with the opportunity to record tracks in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi as playback singer for a few movies.

Rafi gave stage performances as singer for numerous events. In 2014, he completed his first movie, Manasu Palike Maya Prema, and released the audio track of the feature.^[13][14] In 2016, his independent film Parinayam was released. The audio of his second feature film, Komali,^{[15][16][17][18]} was released in 2017 in Kannada. As of 2025, Rafi completed over 200 projects since 2015,^[19] for short films, independent films, web series, feature films, and commercials. Several of his productions have gained critical acclaim, such as: Mana Mugguri Love Story,^[6][7][8] Mrs Subbalaxmi,^[9] Konchan Istam Chaala Kastam, I Hate You, Aa Gang Repu (Part 1 and 2), Maa Naana Kosam, Pilli Kalla Papa, Oye Nandu, and Atu itu nuvvey. Some of his most popular short films include: She, Musalman, Papa, Anandmaaye, Chotu, and Karmama.

Rafi's upcoming projects yet to be released between 2025 and 2026 include Akara and Love Again.