Amir Esmailian facts for kids

Amir Esmailian (born December 28, 1983), also known as Cash or Cash XO, is a music executive, talent manager, and record producer from Iran and Canada. He is famous for helping start XO Records. He also helps manage the popular Canadian singer, the Weeknd, who is another founder of the label.

Early Life and School

Amir Esmailian was born in Tehran, Iran, on December 28, 1983. This was during the Iran–Iraq War. To escape the war, his family moved to Ottawa, Canada, in 1988.

When he was growing up, Esmailian lived near Belly, who would later become a famous rapper and join XO Records. They often went to recording studios together. Amir got his nickname, "Cash," when he was a child from his friend Hawk Marley, who also later became part of XO. His very first job was at age 12, making Canadian Football League trading cards. He finished high school at Merivale High School in Ottawa.

Music Career

In 2002, Amir's friend, the rapper Belly, signed with a music label called Capital Prophets. The label's owner, Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, also hired Amir to lead street promotions for the company. When Amir was 19, in 2003, he started traveling with his friend, rapper Juelz Santana, on his music tours. In 2007, Amir began helping Sal manage Belly's career. This led him to Florida to help Belly become known in the club music scene.

While living in Miami in 2011, Amir's friend, Hawk Marley, sent him some songs by a singer named the Weeknd. At that time, the Weeknd was not very well known. Amir then drove to Toronto, Canada, and started managing the Weeknd's career.

In 2012, Amir, Sal Slaiby, and the Weeknd created the XO record label. They partnered with Republic Records to release music. Through this partnership, the Weeknd released several successful albums. These included Trilogy (2012), Kiss Land (2013), and Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). The album Beauty Behind the Madness won two Grammy Awards.

In 2015, Amir Esmailian and Sal Slaiby were recognized by Billboard magazine. They were named to the "40 Under 40: Music's Young Power Players" list. Amir was also very important in the release of Starboy in 2016. This album was the Weeknd's third studio album. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also sold enough copies to be certified triple platinum and won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2018. On March 20, 2020, XO and Republic Records released the Weeknd's fourth studio album, After Hours. This album also debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and quickly became platinum. In March 2020, After Hours set a new record for the most pre-adds on Apple Music, with over 1.02 million users.

In 2016, Amir Esmailian found a rapper and producer from Toronto named Nav. He signed Nav to XO Records and became his co-manager. In February 2017, Nav released his first mixtape, Nav. Amir and Nav were the main producers for this project. Amir also helped produce Nav and Metro Boomin's mixtape, Perfect Timing, which came out in July 2017.

In May 2018, Nav released his first studio album, Reckless. Amir Esmailian was an executive producer for this album alongside Nav. Amir also received songwriting credit for the song "Friends" on the Carters' album Everything is Love in June 2018. He continued to be an executive producer for Nav's second album, Bad Habits, released in March 2019. This album also reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart. In May 2020, Amir, Nav, and the Weeknd again produced Nav's third album, Good Intentions, and its special edition, Brown Boy 2. Good Intentions also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Amir is also credited as a producer for seven songs and a songwriter for nine songs on that album. In November 2020, he was an executive producer for Nav's mixtape, Emergency Tsunami.