Northern Dial Artist Profile

TARiiiQ

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Edmonton MC, DJ and producer TARiiiQ, born Tariq Bakir, built his music around the traditions of conscious hip-hop while keeping the production palette deliberately open. Originally from Palestine and based in Edmonton, he first developed as a DJ before moving deeper into rapping and production, drawing on boom-bap, jazz textures and the foundational language of hip-hop.

Since beginning his recording catalogue in 2019, TARiiiQ has expanded beyond traditionalist rap into trap, downtempo, lo-fi and psychedelic production. His 2024 full-length work and subsequent releases helped push his catalogue past half a million collective streams, while performances with a full band have taken him to venues and festivals including Edmonton’s Starlite Room, North Country Fair, JazzFest, Starbelly Jam and Shambhala.

Activism is central to his writing rather than an occasional theme. TARiiiQ has used hip-hop to address occupation, violence and Palestinian identity while also celebrating culture and community. Within Canadian rap, that gives his work a distinct role: he connects Edmonton’s independent scene to a wider political hip-hop tradition and treats production versatility as a vehicle for message rather than a substitute for it.