Hi, I'm Nayef.

I was born in South Carolina, grew up in Saudi Arabia, and went to college in Omaha on a scholarship from the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education to study accounting, then graduated and had an existential career crisis. A job at Slowdown music venue led me to Saddle Creek Records, where the venerable Jeff Beck(not the guitarist) taught me royalties by hand, one statement at a time.

The team at Saddle Creek were basically an extension of my family when I lived in Omaha, and a lot of what I care about in this work comes from the people I learned it from. The music mattered to everybody I worked with. So did the people making it.

In New York, I went on to work at independent labels, Roc Nation and Bravado, and found that I loved understanding a deal, figuring out why a statement didn't make sense, and explaining it to somebody who'd been trying to get an answer.

I came home to Saudi Arabia in 2024, for my family and to be part of the cultural renaissance happening here. After years working in music abroad, I want to help build the industries I care about at home.

I'm based in Riyadh, working on royalties and label finance, and helping with my family's olive oil business up north. My late uncle's oil won best in the country, and I will happily derail a conversation to tell you about it.

Mentored over several months in applied AI by Harry Berg, former applied AI operator and advisor to government and private companies. What I've built with it is on the Systems I'm building page.

Anyways, I've said for years that I want to be a bridge between an artist and them realizing their dreams. This is the part I know how to do.

p.s. My favorite things include dancing, bike riding, music, and the sun.