Ksar Saïd, 1980
Karim Gharbi was born on October 13, 1980, in the Ksar Saïd district on the outskirts of Tunis, Tunisia. It was a modest neighborhood — the kind of place where dreams often stayed dreams, where the daily grind left little room for ambition beyond survival.
His father worked as a taxi driver, navigating the busy streets of Tunis from dawn to dusk to provide for his family. It was from this man — patient, hardworking, resilient — that Karim learned his first lessons about perseverance.
"The streets of Ksar Saïd taught me everything — hunger, hustle, and hope. I never forgot where I came from."
The Call of Music
Growing up in 1980s and early 1990s Tunisia, Karim discovered hip-hop through cassette tapes and radio waves that carried the sounds of American rap across the Mediterranean. The raw energy, the storytelling, the rebellion — it spoke to him in ways nothing else could.
By his early teens, Karim knew what he wanted to do. Music wasn't just entertainment; it was a lifeline, a way out, a voice for the voiceless. But Tunisia in the 1990s offered limited opportunities for aspiring artists. If he wanted to make it, he would have to leave.
1995: The Paris Decision
At just 15 years old, Karim made a decision that would change his life forever. He left Tunisia for Paris, France — alone, with little more than determination and an unshakeable belief in his talent. It was a leap of faith that most teenagers wouldn't dare to take.
Paris in the mid-1990s was the epicenter of French hip-hop, a scene that was exploding with artists like IAM, NTM, and MC Solaar. For a young Tunisian with fire in his heart and lyrics in his head, it was the perfect proving ground.
