Wassim Joseph Slaiby (; born November 16, 1979), better known as Sal (usually stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

), is a Lebanese-Canadian music industry executive, talent manager, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

XO Records XO (also known as XO Records) is a Canadian record label founded by singer the Weeknd, his managers Wassim Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, and his creative director La Mar Taylor. Slaiby also serves as the label's CEO. As of 2012, it operates ...

, and the co-manager of the label's primary artist, singer

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

. He also manages other artists on the label, including singer

Black Atlass Alexander Fleming (born March 19, 1994), professionally known as Black Atlass, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and model. His song, Paris, debuted in a Louis Vuitton campaign, and was also featured in a Saint Laurent fragrance ad. He was previou ...

and rappers

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

and Nav. In addition, Slaiby is the founder and CEO of Universal Arabic Music, in partnership with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. Slaiby is also the founder of his management company SALXCO, through which he also manages artists such as

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

Bebe Rexha Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

Sean "Diddy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

, M.I.A.,

Swedish House Mafia Swedish House Mafia (SHM) is a Swedish house music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJ Poll 2011, and have been ...

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Sabrina Claudio Sabrina Claudio (born September 19, 1996) is an American singer and songwriter. In late 2016, Claudio uploaded several songs to SoundCloud, before compiling a select collection as part of her debut extended play, ''Confidently Lost'', which was ...

Christine and the Queens Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier (; born 1 June 1988), known professionally as Christine and the Queens and Redcar, or occasionally simply Chris, is a French singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Nantes, he started learning piano at the age o ...

and Nasri. He also manages producers and songwriters, including Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville,

DannyBoyStyles Danny Schofield, known professionally as DannyBoyStyles (and previously known as Styles), is a Grammy award-winning record producer, engineer, songwriter, and composer. He produced all ten tracks on the Weeknd's album ''Kiss Land'' and won a Gram ...

Metro Boomin Leland Tyler Wayne (born September 16, 1993), professionally known as Metro Boomin, is an American record producer, record executive, beatmaker, and DJ. He is known for his dark production style and its influence on modern hip hop and trap. R ...

Breyan Isaac Breyan Isaac (born May 24, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist based in Daytona Beach, Florida. He has written, produced, and performed on songs by a number of artists including, David Guetta, Flo Rida, Pitbull, Wiz Kha ...

London On Da Track London Tyler Holmes (born March 27, 1991), known professionally as London on da Track, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow Atlanta rapper Young Thug and has also worked with Kodak Black, ...

Rob Knox Robert Arthur Knox (21 August 1989 – 24 May 2008) was an English actor who portrayed the character of Marcus Belby in the film ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', and had signed to appear in the film '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Ha ...

Harry Fraud Rory William Quigley (born January 26, 1987), known professionally as Harry Fraud, is an American record producer. Primarily a hip hop producer, Fraud began producing at an early age and began interning at a recording studio after graduating hig ...

, and Fabian Marasciullo. Slaiby was the co-founder of

CP Music Group CP Music Group is a collaborative music label and management team for a roster of artists, songwriters and producers. It co-founded in 2002 as Capital Prophets Records by Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur Wassim "SAL" Slaiby and Palestinian-Canadian ...

, as well as a partner in the

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

consortium.

Early life

Wassim Joseph Slaiby was born in

Ghazir Ghazir ( ar, غزير) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located north of Beirut. It has an average elevation of 380 meters above sea level and a total land area of . The tow ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

on November 16, 1979. His father passed away when he was ten years old. He escaped the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

conflict and immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

without family when he was fifteen years old. He initially lived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

before moving to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in his late teens.

Career

2002–2011: CP Music Group

Slaiby began his music industry career after meeting and seeing a young fellow immigrant rapper

freestyle rapping on an Ottawa street in 2002. Slaiby started managing Belly, with whom he co-founded Capital Prophets Records, which would go on to be known as the CP Music Group. Slaiby also hired Amir "Cash" Esmailian, who was a close friend of Belly, as the head of street promotion for the label. Rapper Belly and singer

Massari Sari Abboud ( ar, ساري عبّود; born December 10, 1980), better known by his stage name Massari ( ), is a Lebanese Canadian R&B pop recording artist. His music combines Middle Eastern culture with western culture. He started his musical c ...

were the first artists signed to the new record label by Slaiby. Massari's 2005 self-titled album was certified Gold in Canada and garnered a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination. Belly's 2007 album, '' The Revolution'', won the

Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year The Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year was introduced in 1991, and awarded for the best rap album in Canada. It was formerly known as Best Rap Recording from 1993 to 2002. Before 1999, because of the relatively limited commercial visibility o ...

. Within six years, CP Music Group had become the dominant independent hip-hop and R&B label in Canada.

2011–present: XO Records, SALXCO and Universal Arabic Music

In 2011, Slaiby met and began co-managing the singer

with Esmailian, and co-founded

with the artist and his creative director

La Mar Taylor La Mar C. Taylor (born September 17, 1990) is a Canadian artist, creative director, and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of XO Records, and the creative director for the label's primary artist, singer the Weeknd. He is also the co-founder of t ...

. Through the label, the Weeknd released his first three mixtapes; ''

House of Balloons ''House of Balloons'' is the debut mixtape by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on March 21, 2011, by the artist's own record label XO. The mixtape was released for free on the Weeknd's website and was the subject of increased media d ...

'', ''

Thursday Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...

'', and ''

Echoes of Silence ''Echoes of Silence'' is the third mixtape by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on December 21, 2011, by XO. Like his debut mixtape ''House of Balloons'' and his second mixtape ''Thursday'', the Weeknd collaborated with musician Illangelo; wh ...

'', which were produced in-house by

Illangelo Carlo Montagnese (born July 29, 1987), known professionally as Illangelo, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, musician and mixing engineer from Calgary, Alberta, who came to attention as long-time collaborator of the Weeknd. A Grammy Awa ...

. In 2012, XO Records was assumed by

as a subsidiary label following the Weeknd signing with

. In 2013, Slaiby added

DaHeala Jason Quenneville (born February 23, 1982), professionally known as DaHeala ( ), is a Canadian record producer and songwriter managed by SAL&CO. He has produced for artists such as the Weeknd, Halsey, Lil Uzi Vert, and Belly, among others. He wa ...

and

as in-house producers and songwriters. Slaiby became the label's CEO in 2015. In 2011, Slaiby founded his own artist and talent management company SALXCO, and later sold the CP Music Group to

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...

. In May 2016, he partnered with

Guy Oseary Guy Harley Oseary ( he, גיא עוזרי; born October 3, 1972) is an Israeli-American talent manager and writer. His clients include Madonna, U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Biography Guy Oseary was born on October 3, 1972, in Jerusale ...

's Maverick consortium. Through SALXCO, Slaiby manages the artists signed to XO Records, including singer

and rapper Nav, and other artists and producers such as

, Diddy,

Ali Gatie Ali Gatie (born May 31, 1997) is an Iraqi–Canadian singer and songwriter managed by SAL&CO. In 2019, his song " It's You" achieved worldwide success, charting on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching the top 30 in Australia, Canada, Irelan ...

and

. On April 6, 2021, Universal Music Group and Republic Records announced the launch of the new record label Universal Arabic Music, with Slaiby serving as its founder and CEO.

Other ventures

In December 2017, Slaiby joined the Lebanon-based music streaming service,

Anghami Anghami ( ar, أنغامي, anɣāmī) is the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world. It launched in November 2011 in Lebanon, providing unlimited Arabic and international music to stream and down ...

, as the head of international partnerships. In 2018, he joined the board of HXOUSE, an incubator founded by

, Belly and the Weeknd consisting of a 30,000-square-foot space facility located near Toronto's waterfront that provides studio rooms and offers equipment needed for recording, designing, and producing at a low cost for young artists. In the same year, he helped bring

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

to the Cedars International Festival in Lebanon. In 2019, Slaiby became an investor of the music-focused social video platform

Triller The trillers are a group of passerine birds belonging to the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae partially making up the genus '' Lalage''. Their name come from the loud trilling calls of the males. There are about 12 species that usually exist i ...

. In April 2019, he was invited as a guest speaker to the Brilliant Minds, an annual conference created by

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

founder

Daniel Ek Daniel Ek (born 21 February 1983) is a Swedish billionaire entrepreneur and technologist. He is the co-founder and CEO of music streaming service Spotify. Early life and education Ek grew up in the Rågsved district of Stockholm, Sweden. He gra ...

, where he was among a panel of speakers that included former US President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, businessman Even Spiegel, and scientist

Hartmut Neven Hartmut Neven (born 1964) is a scientist working in quantum computing, computer vision, robotics and computational neuroscience. He is best known for his work in face and object recognition and his contributions to quantum machine learning. He is ...

Philanthropy

In 2017, Slaiby and French Montana helped build the Suubi Hospital in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

in conjunction with

Global Citizen Global citizenship is the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives ...

and Mama Hope. In February 2018, he joined the advisory board of the international organization Global Citizen. In November 2018, he canceled his annual birthday party as a result of the deadly

wildfires in California A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

and urged his followers in an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post to donate to the

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, fire cause determination, fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous materials mitigation, and technical rescue services to the city of Los Angeles ...

and the

California Community Foundation The California Community Foundation (CCF) is a philanthropic organization located in Los Angeles, California. Foundation Center, an independent nonprofit organization, ranks it among the top 100 foundations in the nation by asset size and total ...

's Wildfire Relief Fund. In response to the

2020 Beirut explosion On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and United States dollar, US$15 billion in property damage, as well as lea ...

, Slaiby, alongside his wife

Rima Fakih Rima Fakih Slaiby ( ar, ريما فقيه; born September 22, 1985) is a Lebanese American model, philanthropist, former professional wrestler and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2010. Having previously been crowned Miss Mich ...

, started a campaign called ''#GlobalAidForLebanon'', in collaboration with

and the

United Nations World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

. The fundraiser has raised over 2 million dollars to provide assistance to those affected.

Personal life

On May 15, 2016, Slaiby married Lebanese model, philanthropist and

Miss USA 2010 Miss USA 2010 was the 59th Miss USA pageant, held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2010 which was broadcast live on NBC. Kristen Dalton of North Carolina, crowned her succ ...

in a ceremony at The Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerké, Lebanon. The wedding was attended by numerous celebrities, including The Weeknd, French Montana,

Haifa Wehbe Haifa Wehbe ( ar, هيفاء وهبي ) is a Lebanese people, Lebanese-Egyptians, Egyptian singer and actress. She has released seven studio albums, and made her acting debut in the 2008 Pepsi-produced film ''Sea of Stars''. In 2006, Wehbe was ...

, and

Wael Kfoury Michel Émile Kfoury ( ar, ميشال اميل كفوري; born September 14, 1974), known by his stage name Wael Kfoury (), is a Lebanese singer, Wael Kfoury is called the king of romance and the common nightingale and perfect . Wael has many son ...

and was presided over by

Maronite Patriarch This is a list of the Maronite patriarchs of Antioch and all the East, the primate of the Maronite Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Starting with Paul Peter Massad in 1854, after becoming patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchat ...

Bechara Boutros al-Rahi Bechara Boutros al-Rahi (or Raï; syr, ܡܪܢ ܡܪܝ ܒܫܐܪܐ ܦܛܪܘܣ ܐܠܪܐܥܝ; ar, بشارة بطرس الراعي, Mor Bishārah Buṭrus al-Rāʿī; la, Béchara Petrus Raï) (born on 25 February 1940) is the 77th Maronite Patri ...

. The couple have three children together; Rima, Joseph, and Amira. They reside in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Slaiby is a

Maronite Christian Lebanese Maronite Christians ( ar, المسيحية المارونية في لبنان; syc, ܡܫܝܚܝ̈ܐ ܡܪ̈ܘܢܝܐ ܕܠܒܢܢ) are adherents of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, which is the largest Christian denomination in the country ...

and, in 2017, was invited to visit the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

who blessed his newborn daughter.

Honors and recognition

* 2015 – 40 under 40's Top Young Power Players * 2017 – ''Billboard'' Power 100 (no.52) * 2018 – ''Billboard'' Power 100 (no.53) *2020 – ''Variety'''s Manager of the Year *2021 – ''Billboard'' International Power Player

References

External links

SAL&CO official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaiby, Wassim Sal 1979 births Living people Lebanese emigrants to Canada Canadian Maronites XO (record label) Canadian music industry executives Canadian music managers Canadian businesspeople Canadian philanthropists The Weeknd