Arab-American Music Producers
By: Anthony Bayyouk / Arab America Contributing Writer
Did you know that some of your favorite songs are produced by Arab Americans? From Michael Jackson to Britney Spears, Arab Americans have produced thousands of songs that go platinum. This list consists of five of the biggest Arab-American music producers. The purpose of this list is to give appreciation to the people behind the scene making the magic happen. The artists below include Palestinians, Lebanese, and Moroccans.
Rami Yacoub:
Rami Yacoub is first up on our list. Yacoub comes from Swedish- Palestinian roots. His specialties include writing and producing music. Rami was born in Sweden and immigrated to the United States. His career really took off about two decades ago. In the early 2000s, He co-wrote “Oops…I Did It Again” and “Stronger” for Britney Spears, and “Shape Of My Heart” for the Backstreet Boys. He also co-wrote the big hit “ What Makes You Beautiful” for the boy band One Direction. Then in 2014, Yacoub co-wrote & produced Ariana Grande’s hit “One Last Time,” from her multi-platinum album. Yacoub continues to write and produce songs that are hitting number one on the charts.
Fredwreck:
Farid Nasser better known as Fredwreck is a Palestinian- American music producer and songwriter. Fredwreck is a Grammy-award winning music artist and producer. Fredwreck made it big when he started to produce for Dr. Dre. He has also produced for Eminem, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, and Hilary Duff. The launch of MTV Arabia in 2007 brought FredWreck to his roots in the Middle East, where he co-hosted (Hip HopNa) a hip hop talent search across Arabia.
Ghazi Shami:
Ghazi Shami is a Palestinian-American music producer who has started his own producing company called EMPIRE. EMPIRE is based in San Francisco California. Shami has worked with some of the biggest artists in the nation including Tyga, Offset, XXXTention, Fat Joe, Kendrick Lemar, Igga Azalea, French Montana, Snoop Dog, 50 cent, and many many others. Shami and EMPIRE has been nominated for an Emmy and continues to produce record-breaking music.
Red One:
Nadir Khayat, better known by his stage name Red-One is a Moroccan-Swedish music producer. Red One has been nominated for ten Grammys and has one three of them. Which include best dance/electronic album 2010, best dance recording 2010, and best pop vocal album 2011. He was also the number one producer of Build-Board top 100. Red One has opened his own producing company named Red One’s Records. Some notable people Red One has worked which include Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, One Direction, Usher, And many others.
Noah “40” Shebib
Noah Shebib is a Lebanese music producer best known for his work with Drake producing all of the artist’s albums. Both Shebib and Drake were born in Canada and might have to do with why they are so close. Shebib comes from a family of actors/actresses. Shabib himself even did a little acting when he was a kid. Shebib started off as a DJ and moved on to movie producing. Shebib has worked with Drake, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and many more.
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