Wegz Named on Forbes Middle East's "30 Under 30" List for 2023

Egyptian rapper Wegz has been featured in Forbes Middle East's 2023 list of “30 Under 30” under the Entertainment category.

Ahmed Ali, known as “Wegz,” is one of the distinguished rappers in Egypt and the Arab world.

He began his music career in 2017 by releasing a few tracks including “Batalo Fake” featuring Hesham Raptor, and “Barbeque”.

The rapper has also collaborated with several musicians such as Molotof, DJ Totti, L5VAV, Fishawy, and Savage Plug. His song “ElBakht” was Egypt's and the region's top-streamed song, followed by “B3oda Ya Belady” and “Keify Keda,” coming in fourth and tenth in Egypt, respectively.

"ElBakht" was also the most streamed Arabic song on Anghami in 2022, with 45 million plays across 11 MENA countries, breaking the record for the highest number of streams ever recorded in a single year.

In 2022, the rapper was named Spotify’s most-streamed Arab artist in MENA and Egypt's most-streamed artist for the third year in a row. 

The the 30 Under 30 Class of 2023 features inspirational young leaders, dreamers, creatives, and athletes who are at the forefront of driving change in the MENA region, expanding their influence into untapped areas. 

This year, the list features 120 entries across four categories, with 30 entries each, shedding light on the individuals who are leading the way in the social impact and green energy field, disrupting the financial market, shattering barriers in arts and sports, and harnessing the cutting-edge technologies to create groundbreaking inventions and medicines.

The 2023 list features 145 individuals representing 22 nationalities. Egyptians feature the most, with 44 individuals, followed by 15 Saudis, 14 Lebanese, 13 Emiratis, and 10 Jordanians.

They are based across 20 countries. Of the 145 individuals, 43 are based in the U.A.E., 36 in Egypt, 14 in Saudi Arabia, nine in Lebanon, and six in Jordan. The average age of all individuals on the list is around 26.6 years old, with the youngest being just 15 years old.

While each category has 30 entries, the Commerce & Finance category has the highest number of individuals with 44, followed by Science & Technology and Social Impact with 34 each, and Entertainment with 33 individuals.