Biography
Prolific in multiple roles as composer, vocalist, musical director, and multi-disciplinary creator, Tariq al-Sabir crafts and delivers work across an expansive range of styles that stretch from soul and pop into classical and musical theater realms.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, al-Sabir started writing music during his elementary years after his mother immersed him and his siblings in "everything." Throughout his school days he produced songs and sang constantly, first drawing from rap before shifting toward soul and pop, with Stevie Wonder emerging as his most admired figure. A scholarship to Johns Hopkins' Peabody Institute arrived while he was still in middle school; membership in the Booker T. Washington Boys' Choir soon followed, leading to his selection, as part of DoMaJe, to perform the theme "Way Down in the Hole" for the fourth season of the Baltimore-set HBO series The Wire during his early teens. Admission to the Baltimore High School for the Arts came next, where he assembled a gospel ensemble that appeared at local venues and composed the musical Another Man's Treasure, which earned the 2006 Centerstage Young Playwrights Award. He later concentrated on Voice at the Peabody Institute and eventually joined its faculty as an instructor.
One of al-Sabir's ambitious pieces, the "social media song cycle" #Unwanted, received its premiere at the Shed in N.Y.C. in 2019. That same year he took part in the L.A. Philharmonic's staging of Meredith Monk's opera Atlas. Additional appearances placed him as a featured soloist within both orchestral and jazz contexts, while collaborations extended to figures such as classical violinist Hilary Hahn, '80s pop-soul superstar Billy Ocean, and Christian singer Sandi Patty. His recorded solo debut arrived in 2024 via the EP Unlike Yesterday Today I'm Ready, helmed by producer Dev Hynes, which highlighted his distinctive "experimental soul" approach that merges multiple Black music traditions with forward-thinking electronic production.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, al-Sabir started writing music during his elementary years after his mother immersed him and his siblings in "everything." Throughout his school days he produced songs and sang constantly, first drawing from rap before shifting toward soul and pop, with Stevie Wonder emerging as his most admired figure. A scholarship to Johns Hopkins' Peabody Institute arrived while he was still in middle school; membership in the Booker T. Washington Boys' Choir soon followed, leading to his selection, as part of DoMaJe, to perform the theme "Way Down in the Hole" for the fourth season of the Baltimore-set HBO series The Wire during his early teens. Admission to the Baltimore High School for the Arts came next, where he assembled a gospel ensemble that appeared at local venues and composed the musical Another Man's Treasure, which earned the 2006 Centerstage Young Playwrights Award. He later concentrated on Voice at the Peabody Institute and eventually joined its faculty as an instructor.
One of al-Sabir's ambitious pieces, the "social media song cycle" #Unwanted, received its premiere at the Shed in N.Y.C. in 2019. That same year he took part in the L.A. Philharmonic's staging of Meredith Monk's opera Atlas. Additional appearances placed him as a featured soloist within both orchestral and jazz contexts, while collaborations extended to figures such as classical violinist Hilary Hahn, '80s pop-soul superstar Billy Ocean, and Christian singer Sandi Patty. His recorded solo debut arrived in 2024 via the EP Unlike Yesterday Today I'm Ready, helmed by producer Dev Hynes, which highlighted his distinctive "experimental soul" approach that merges multiple Black music traditions with forward-thinking electronic production.
Albums
Singles
