Given Name: Hassan Naeem
Born: May 27, 1990
Al Badiya (Central Region)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Genre: R&B/Hip-Hop
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Hassan was born in 1990 in the capital city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to parents Naeem Tariq and Najma Sultana, and is the youngest of his four siblings. He spent the first six years of his life in the central region of Al Badiya during the Persian Gulf War when, in 1996, his family finally moved from the Middle East to the suburban city of Cambridge, Ontario in Canada in search for better education and opportunities. Before moving to Canada, Hassan developed an early interest in music, as he would often sing in tune with various classical and/or pop culture songs. Without an array of musicians in the family to look up to, Hassan created his own path into music. At a young age, like any other child, singing was only a pastime hobby for him. Though, soon enough, the aura of music surrounding him created a passion within him which is now bestowed with his soothing, yet versatile voice.
Like most immigrants in a new country, his family faced numerous problems, and struggled their way through to a better future. During this time, at a tender, young age, Hassan was being exposed to and living through a time which gave him the experience of a lifetime, which is often reflected in the music he writes.
In 2000, Hassan moved to Mississauga, Ontario with his family for his sibling`s post-graduate education. At this time, his older brothers had introduced him to the art of freestyling which gave Hassan a jump start to his career as a music artist. Hassan was encouraged to join a rap battling website called OpenMic (now called GoldMic). At first, this was only a hobby, but constant battling and addiction to the new atmosphere of hip-hop earned him a renowned spot on the website. The popularity of his gritty and grunge lyrics ranked him in the top 50 emcees out of over 10,000 members. This further nurtured his music skills, causing him to become equally curious in the world of poetry, as well as music.
The genre of Hassan’s music has significantly changed overtime. While growing up in two completely different localities, Hassan faced the likes of personal and family problems which led to the maturation of his lyrics. Gaining inspiration from the events in his life, Hassan is easily able to connect to a mass audience with his earnest and heartfelt lyrics.
At the time Hassan was writing poetry, he focused his concentration to singing and music composition. While he was constantly switching vocal coaches (Indian classical to Modern pop to R&B), he developed a unique style of singing that blends a bit of each different genre; modern pop, R&B, and classical Indian. Hassan now trains with nationally known vocal program, Brett Manning`s Singing Success (others such as Taylor Swift, Hayley Williams [Paramore] Keithe Urban have also lived by the training provided by this program).
Hassan`s growing versatility in musical abilities is his shining point. While he has the capability to write the lyrics, produce the song, supply the vocals AND compose the music, every single sound you hear on his songs most of the time would have been created by him.
Furthermore, Hassan has done numerous amounts of shows at an array of venues that include nightclubs and University pubs to Canada’s hippest music club – The Rivoli where the likes of The Frantics, Adele, Sean Cullen and the infamous Dark Shows among others have performed.
Hassan is quickly becoming global and has been quoted as the “way ahead of his competition” – Ron Lopata (VP of A&R at Warner Music Canada). His upcoming works with many of Canada’s top aspiring producers will be sure to build a stronger following.
Hassan is currently attending University of Toronto for an undergraduate in Communication, Culture and Information Technology studies while pursuing his musical career.
