Suhel Nafar is the Head of WANA (West Asia, North Africa and the diaspora) at EMPIRE, the leading independent label, distributor, and publisher based in the US. At EMPIRE, he spearheaded the establishment of the first division in the US dedicated to fostering the growth of the local music scene in WANA. In addition to his executive role, Nafar is the Music Supervisor for the award-winning Netflix show, *Mo*. In 2024, Billboard magazine selected Nafar for both the Indie and International Power Player.
In 2018, Suhel Nafar played a pivotal role at Spotify as the Global Lead of Arab Music & Culture. He was instrumental in building and launching Spotify in West Asia and North Africa, including an initiative of international curation for major cultures worldwide. Nafar also built Spotify's Arab Culture Hub and its international programming strategy, curating over 120 playlists, including flagship playlists such as Yalla, Arab X, Shisha Lounge, Habibi Gang Gang and Global X.
In 2016, he helped launch the Complex Snapchat Discover channel, the fastest-growing platform in the history of Complex Networks. In the 1990s, Nafar co-founded DAM, the first Arab Hip-Hop group out of West Asia.
Beyond his work in music, Suhel Nafar has also worked in film and was an artist-in-residence at New York University in 2016.