Growing up in Satwa, Dubai, life had its own rhythm. My father would give me a bit of money and send me off to the neighbourhood record shop to pick up music for him — back in the days when cassette tapes ruled the scene, long before CDs arrived. It became our little routine. Every few days, I would walk down, hand over the cash, and bring back whatever he wanted. 
At first, I wasn’t chasing music for myself; I was just the delivery boy. But spending so much time in that shop, surrounded by shelves of tapes, I couldn’t help but start listening. My father’s taste was wide — Arab legends like Abu Baker Salim and Ali Bahar, alongside Bob Marley’s reggae and the magic of Michael Jackson. Little by little, I found myself drawn into the same sounds he loved.
Then came the day that changed everything. I walked in with a friend, ready to buy another tape for my dad. And there it was — Snoop Dogg’s album cover staring back at me. The artwork hit me instantly: raw, cool, rebellious. It looked like nothing I had ever seen before, and I wanted it badly. The only problem? I didn’t have enough money for it.

So… I did what some kids might do (and I wouldn’t exactly recommend it) — I stole the tape. Not my proudest moment, but that single act flipped a switch in my life. Because the moment I pressed play, it was over. The sound, the attitude, the energy — it pulled me straight into hip-hop and never let go. The tape was then returned back, though!
Looking back, music has always been around me, thanks to my dad. But it was that Snoop tape — lifted from a little record shop in Satwa — that truly lit the fire. And that is how a kid from Dubai found his way into hip-hop.— Mohammad Jafar