Amir Esmailian facts for kids

Amir Esmailian (Persian: امیر اسماعیلیان; born December 28, 1983), also known as Cash and Cash XO, is an Iranian-Canadian music executive. He helps manage artists and produce music. He is a co-founder of XO Records. He also helps manage the label's main artist, the Weeknd. Amir Esmailian has produced albums and songs for artists like Nav (who he also manages) and the Carters.

Early Life and Education

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

Growing up, Esmailian lived near future rapper and XO artist, Belly. They often went to recording studios together. He got his nickname, "Cash," as a child from his friend and future XO member, Hawk Marley. His first job was at age 12, making Canadian Football League trading cards. He graduated from Merivale High School in Ottawa.

Music Career Highlights

In 2002, Esmailian's friend, rapper Belly, signed with Wassim "Sal" Slaiby's Capital Prophets label. This label later became the CP Music Group. Slaiby also hired Esmailian to lead street promotions for the label. At 19, in 2003, Esmailian started traveling with his friend, rapper Juelz Santana, on his music tours. In 2007, he began helping Sal manage Belly. This led him to Florida to help Belly become popular in clubs.

Founding XO Records

While living in Miami in 2011, Esmailian's friend, Hawk Marley, sent him some songs by a then-unknown singer named the Weeknd. Esmailian then drove to Toronto, Canada, and began managing the Weeknd.

In 2012, Esmailian, Slaiby, and the Weeknd started the XO record label. They partnered with Republic Records. Through this partnership, the Weeknd released several successful albums. These included Trilogy (2012), Kiss Land (2013), and Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). Beauty Behind the Madness won two Grammy Awards.

In 2015, Billboard magazine recognized Esmailian and Slaiby. They were named to Billboard's "40 Under 40: Music's Young Power Players" list. Esmailian also played a key role in the 2016 release of Starboy. This album was the Weeknd's third studio album. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also earned triple platinum certification and won a Grammy Award 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 and received platinum certification. In March 2020, After Hours set a new record for the most global pre-adds in Apple Music history, with over 1.02 million users.

Working with Nav

In 2016, Esmailian discovered Nav, a rapper and producer from Toronto. He signed Nav to XO and became his co-manager. In February 2017, Nav released his first mixtape, Nav. Esmailian and Nav were the executive producers for this project. Esmailian also executive produced Perfect Timing, a mixtape by Nav and Metro Boomin, released in July of that year.

In May 2018, Nav released his first studio album, Reckless. Esmailian executive produced this album with Nav. In June 2018, Esmailian received songwriting credit for "Friends" on the Carters' Everything is Love album. Nav had co-produced an instrumental version of this song.

Esmailian also earned executive producer credits for Nav's second studio album, Bad Habits, released in March 2019. This album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. In May 2020, Esmailian, Nav, and the Weeknd executive produced Nav's third album, Good Intentions, and its deluxe version, Brown Boy 2. Good Intentions also debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Esmailian is credited as a producer for seven songs and a songwriter for nine songs on this album. In November 2020, he was an executive producer for Nav's mixtape, Emergency Tsunami, alongside Wheezy.

Other Ventures

In April 2019, Esmailian played 21 unreleased songs on the Weeknd's Beats 1 radio show, Memento Mori. These songs featured artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Gunna, Nav, 21 Savage, Offset, Gucci Mane, and Future. In 2020, Esmailian launched his own Champagne brand called Noirblanc.

Songwriting and Production Discography