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Among other honorary titles bestowed upon him, Nusrat was called Shahenshah-e-Qawwali, meaning The Emperor of Qawwali. Nusrat’s first public performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organised by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan. His first major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured restrained use of Nusrat’s sargam improvisations and attracted a large number of listeners.

Nusrat reached out to Western audiences through his collaborations with Canadian musician, Michael Brook and his work with Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder in 1995 on the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. He went on to gain popularity in the West through his contributions to the soundtracks of ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ and ‘Natural Born Killers’, together with his friendship with Peter Gabriel.

After his death the song, ‘Solemn Prayer’ on which Nusrat provided vocals was used by Peter Gabriel in his album and in the soundtrack to the film Blood Diamond.