F1rstman

F1rstman, real name Hassan Syed, was born in 1992 in Lahore, Pakistan, and moved to The Hague at the age of three. As a child he learned percussion and performed with the theater and percussion group Fata Morgana. At eleven, he was cast in one of the Simba roles in Joop van den Ende's production of "The Lion King" at the Circustheater in Scheveningen, an early sign of his exceptional stage presence. His brother later gave him access to a recording studio, launching his music career. F1rstman crafted a distinctive sound blending Reggaeton and Latin music with Western hip-hop, R&B, and Arabic and Asian melody lines. His best-known tracks include "Round & Round" (feat. Lil Kleine & Bollebof), "Jini" with Oualid, "Overal" with DJ Youss-F and Boef, and "Betasten" with Team Rush Hour and Gio. The Bollywood remix of "Round & Round" surpassed one million video views within its first three weeks. The mega-hit "Dance" brought together British Desi legends. In 2023 he launched an ambitious two-year release project comprising four EPs, the first of which, "Grounded", dropped in mid-2023. F1rstman has performed at the LatinVillage Festival, Ostend Beach Festival, Bevrijdingsfestival Den Haag, and London Mela, cementing his status as one of the defining voices of the European Desi scene.