Wassim "Sal" Slaiby

Wassim "Sal" Slaiby (Arabic: وسيم صليبي; born 1979) is a Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, music manager, and record executive who also goes by Sal.[1] He is the current CEO of the XO record label and is the manager of the label's primary artist, The Weeknd. He is also a partner in the Maverick Management consortium, working under the name SAL&CO/Maverick. In addition to The Weeknd, Slaiby also manages artists French Montana, Belly, Massari, and Sabrina Claudio (among others) and producer-songwriters DaHeala, Metro Boomin, London On Da Track, Rex Kudo, DannyBoyStyles, Breyan Isaac, Ben Billions, and others. He was a co-founder of the CP Music Group, as well. Slaiby is married to Rima Fakih Slaiby and the couple has three children.

Wassim "Sal" Slaiby
BornNovember 17, 1979
Lebanon
Other namesSal
Occupation
Years active2002–present
Employer
Known for
Board member of
  • Global Citizen
  • HXOUSE
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 2016)
Children3

Early life

Slaiby was born in Lebanon in 1979. He escaped the Lebanese Civil War conflict and immigrated to Canada at age 15 without his family.[2] He initially lived in Montreal before moving to Ottawa in his late teens.[3] While in Ottawa, he met the rapper, Belly, who convinced him to get into the music business.[4]

Personal life

In 2016, Slaiby married Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih, in a ceremony at The Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerké, Lebanon. Fakih was the first Arab-American crowned Miss USA.[5] The wedding was attended by numerous celebrities, including The Weeknd, French Montana, Haifa Wehbe, and Wael Kfoury and was presided over by Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Boutros al-Rahi.[6] The couple have three children, and they reside in Los Angeles.[7] Slaiby is a Maronite Christian and, in 2017, was invited to visit the Pope who blessed his newborn daughter.[2]

Career

In 2002,[8] Slaiby co-founded Capital Prophets Records with Belly,[4] which would go on to be known as the CP Music Group.[9] Rapper Belly and singer Massari were the first artists signed to the new record label by Slaiby.[10] Massari's 2005 self-titled album was certified Gold in Canada and garnered a Juno Award nomination. Belly's 2007 album, The Revolution, won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year.[8]

In late 2012 around the time The Weeknd released his album Trilogy, Slaiby began co-managing the singer with Amir "Cash" Esmailian.[3] By 2014, his CP Music Group had also added producers DaHeala and DannyBoyStyles to the roster.[9] In 2015, Slaiby became the CEO of The Weeknd's XO record label.[3] The Weeknd would go on to win two Grammy Awards in 2016 for work on his 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness.[4] In May 2016, Slaiby partnered with Guy Oseary's Maverick Management consortium, bringing his roster of The Weeknd, Belly, French Montana, and Massari into that fold.[11] He also brought along producer-songwriters, DaHeala, DannyBoyStyles, Breyan Isaac, and Ben Billions. Slaiby began operating as SAL&CO/Maverick at that time, as well. He also manages other artists including London On Da Track, Ali Gatie, Harry Fraud, and Metro Boomin.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

In December 2017, Slaiby joined the Lebanon-based music streaming service, Anghami, as the head of international partnerships.[18] He also joined the advisory board of Global Citizen in the same year.[19] In 2018, he helped bring Shakira to the Cedars International Festival in Lebanon[20] and also joined the board of the XO-backed artist collective, HXOUSE.[21]

In April 2019, Slaiby was invited as a guest speaker to the Brilliant Minds 2019 edition where he was among a panel of speakers that included Barack Obama, Even Spiegel, and Hartmut Neven.[22]

Honors and recognition
  • 2015 - 40 under 40’s Top Young Power Players[23]
  • 2017 - Billboard Power 100 (No.52) [24]
  • 2018 - Billboard Power 100 (No.53) [25]

Philanthropy

In 2017, Slaiby and French Montana helped build the Suubi Hospital in Uganda in conjunction with Global Citizen and Mama Hope. In February 2018, he joined the advisory board of Global Citizen.[26] In November 2018, he canceled his annual birthday party as a result of the deadly wildfires in California and urged his followers in an Instagram post to donate to the Los Angeles Fire Department and the California Community Foundation's Wildfire Relief Fund.[1]

In 2020, Slaiby began helping to raise money for explosion that occurred in Beirut.[27]

gollark: To get.
gollark: That's impossible.
gollark: Hmm, interesting.
gollark: I'll just work on the offline one now. But I need a mildly witty and yet stupid name.
gollark: IncDec doesn't follow the templating standard, so I can't hook that.

References
  1. Glicksman, Josh (15 November 2018). "XO Records CEO Wassim 'SAL' Slaiby Cancels Annual Birthday Party Due to California Wildfires". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. Bliss, Karen (11 July 2017). "My Visit With the Pope: The Weeknd Manager SAL Talks Vatican Visit (Photos)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  3. Bliss, Karen (6 November 2015). "Meet The Weeknd's Managers: Amir 'Cash' Esmailian and Tony Sal on Breaking Through, Top Influences and More". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  4. Saxberg, Lynn (16 February 2016). "The Weeknd's success has a strong Ottawa connection". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  5. "Rima Fakih and Wassim Salibi's wedding". Today's Outlook. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  6. "Lebanese Manager of The Weeknd Just Made It On Billboard Power 100 List". The961. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  7. Bliss, Karen (15 November 2018). "The Weeknd, French Montana Manager Scraps Annual Bash in Wake of California Fires". Variety. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  8. "Tony Sal: Building a Music Empire". HipHopCanada. 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  9. Young, Kevin (20 August 2014). "CP Music Group celebrates 10th anniversary". SOCAN Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  10. Chung, Matthew (16 June 2007). "Meet the new Godfather". Toronto Star. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  11. "The Weeknd Co-Manager SAL Joins Guy Oseary's Maverick: Exclusive". Billboard. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  12. Bliss, Karen (26 May 2016). "The Weeknd Co-Manager SAL Joins Guy Oseary's Maverick: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  13. "No. 52. Wassim "Sal" Slaiby | Power 100". Billboard. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  14. "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - GATIE BAR THE DOOR". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  15. "CAA Signs Singer/Songwriter Ali Gatie". www.pollstar.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  16. "Pollstar Live! Coverage 2020: SAL&CO's Artist Manager Dina Sahim Pays It Forward". www.pollstar.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  17. Halperin, Shirley; Halperin, Shirley (2019-08-27). "Music Moguls of the Year: The Weeknd Manager Sal Slaiby Swears He'll Be 'The Greatest Immigrant' Trump Ever Saw". Variety. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  18. Stutz, Colin (19 December 2017). "Wassim 'Sal' Slaiby Teams With Anghami to Head International Partnerships: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  19. "Wassim 'Sal' Slaiby Joins Global Citizen Advisory Board". Billboard. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  20. "Shakira to perform in Lebanon during Cedars International Festival". Lebanese Examiner. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  21. Rattan, Chris (24 May 2018). "The Weeknd's XO crew discuss new creative incubator Hxouse". Now. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  22. "Wassim SAL Slaiby : guest speaker in the Brilliant Minds 2019 edition – EntaWayn.com | By Viken Tchaparian". Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  23. "40 Under 40: Music's Top Young Power Players Revealed". Billboard. 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  24. "No. 52. Wassim "Sal" Slaiby | Power 100". Billboard. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  25. "No. 53: Wassim 'SAL' Slaiby | Power 100". Billboard. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  26. "Wassim 'Sal' Slaiby Joins Global Citizen Advisory Board". Billboard. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  27. "XO Records, Mika, Global Citizen Rally Support, Aid for Lebanon". Retrieved 11 August 2020.
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