Hussain “Spek” Yoosuf, a former member of Canadian hip hop band Dream Warriors, has become one of the go to people when it comes to doing business in the Middle East.

Spek runs PopArabia, an independent music company founded in 2011 and supported by the Abu Dhabi initiative, twofour54. He has launched three years ago ESMAA, a new UAE-based music Rights Management Entity (RME) to facilitate music licensing in the Gulf region.

In addition, Spek works with Reservoir Media, the NASDAQ-listed music company, as EVP of International and Emerging Markets, sourcing talent and acquiring catalogues across the region. In 2022, they acquired Lebanese label and music publishing company Voice of Beirut and signed Moroccan hip-hop artist 7liwa to a worldwide recording and publishing deal.