Tony Sal

Wassim "Sal" Slaiby (Arabic: وسيم صليبي) or at times Saliby born in Lebanon in 1979 is a Lebanese-Canadian entrepreneur and music manager better known as Tony Sal. Operating under the name SAL&CO/Maverick, the 36-year-old, who emigrated from Lebanon to Canada, maintains his Los Angeles and Toronto-based staff and brings with him a roster that includes The Weeknd (co-managed by Amir “Cash” Esmailian), Belly, French Montana, NAV and Massari, as well as producer-songwriters DaHeala, Dannyboy, Ben Billions and Breyan Isaac. He married Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010 in May 2016.

Career

Born in Lebanon, he immigrated to Canada. He resided first in Montreal, and then in Ottawa in his late teens and eventually to Toronto. At age 15, he convinced his friend's mother to give him the keys to the family's closed restaurant space, where after quick renovations, he turned it into a venue for small high school parties with an in-house DJ.^[1] After meeting Palestinian-Canadian rapper Ahmad Balshe known as Belly and with encouragement from him, co-founded in 2002 Capital Prophets Records renamed later CP Records. Belly was the first artist signed to Capital Prophets Records. Belly went on to win the Juno award in 2008 for "Rap Recording of the Year". As CEO of the label, Sal also signed promising Canadian artists, notably Massari. He was also credited with various music production and songwriting. The company eventually moved from Ottawa to Toronto and operates since 2014 as CP Music Group.

After meeting Canadian artist of Ethiopian origin Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye in the late 2010s, better known as The Weeknd, Sal co-managed the artist alongside Iranian-American producer Amir "Cash" Esmailian.^[1] The Weeknd went on to be nominated for seven awards for the 58th Grammy Awards and reaping two Grammy Awards and was nominated for an Academy Award.^[2] Sal funneled his entrepreneurial knowhow into launching Tesfaye's career, and establishing The Weeknd's own record label XO where Sal operates as CEO of XO/Sal & Co. Billboard reported that Maverick Management, the Live Nation consortium managed by Guy Oseary, is looking to add Tony Sal to its roster after his success with The Weeknd.^[3]

Personal life

Slaiby, a Maronite Christian became engaged to Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010 with Fakih making it official in an online message on 23 October 2015.^[4] Fakih is the first Muslim and naturalized Miss USA crowned. A Shia Muslim of Lebanese descent, Fakih converted to Christianity in April 2016^[5] and was baptized. The couple got married on 15 May 2016 in the Maronite Patriarchal Church in Bkerke, Lebanon, in a marriage ceremony presided by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi in the presence of many celebrities. In 2017, Sal and Fakih had their first child, Rima, a daughter.

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