Rebstar

Last updated

Rebstar
Rebstar at Songs of Hope 2019.jpg
Rebstar at the 2019 Songs of Hope
Background information
Born
Rebin Shah

(1988-10-04) October 4, 1988 (age 37)
Malmö, Sweden
Genres
  • Hip hop
  • pop
  • R&B
Occupations
  • Music executive
  • recording artist
  • songwriter
  • producer
Years active2008–present
Labels Today Is Vintage
Website todayisvintage.com

Rebin Shah (born 4 October 1988), known professionally as Rebstar, is a Swedish music executive, recording artist and entrepreneur. [1] He is the founder of the entertainment company Today Is Vintage [2] and Creative Director for the World Childhood Foundation, founded by Queen Silvia. [3]

Contents

Shah and Today Is Vintage have been described as leading Sweden’s hip hop export, referring to their rise as part of a “Swedish invasion.” [4] [5] [6] [7]

Early life

Rebin Shah was born in Malmö, Sweden, on 4 October 1988. He is the only child of a Persian mother and a Kurdish father and grew up in the district of Rosengård. [8] [9] He attended an international elementary school and later moved to Scotland to study law at the University of Aberdeen, [10] before returning to Sweden to pursue a career in music. [11] [12]

Music career

2008–2011: Early career

Rebstar began releasing music in late 2008 with his debut single “Without You,” produced by T-Minus and featuring Trey Songz. [13] . The track received national radio play in Sweden. In the same year, he founded the independent label 2fresh Records, which released his early material and collaborations. [14] [15] [16]

His debut mixtape, Arrival, was released on 4 October 2010, followed by Arrival 2.0 on 3 May 2011. [17] [18] In 2011, an unreleased track titled “Good Life,” produced by Boi-1da and featuring Drake and Rock City, surfaced. [19]

2012-2013: Bad Karma and Today Is Vintage

In March 2012, Rebstar released the mixtape Bad Karma.[citation needed] Later that year, he was featured on Kállay Saunders’ single Tonight, which charted in Hungary. [20] [21]

Shah founded Today Is Vintage in 2012, initially as an independent record label. [22] [23] Saunders became the label’s first signing and released the single "My Baby" through the imprint later that year. [24] [25]

In 2013, Shah partnered with Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan to launch Vintage Initiativet, a nonprofit program supporting young musicians in Malmö. [4] [26] That same year, he appeared on Saunders’ single “Play My Song.” [27]

2014–2016: You Know Nothing About Love and Girls Like Nicole

In 2014, Rebstar released the single “Safe Safe (040 Zlatan Mix),” referencing Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]

He continued releasing music throughout 2015, including “Thing About You” and “Reputation.” [33] [34] [35] [36] His EP You Know Nothing About Love was released in November 2015, [37] followed by the album Girls Like Nicole in June 2016. [36] During this period, Shah also began developing Gambian artist Saint, who later signed to Today Is Vintage. [38]

2017: The Swedish Invasion and Don't Stress Me

In 2016, Today Is Vintage signed Swedish artist LE SINNER, whose debut single “Paris” reached No. 1 on Spotify’s Viral Charts in the United States. [39] [40] In September 2017, Rebstar released the single “Don’t Stress Me.” [41]

2019: Rosengård

Rebstar released his third album, "Rosengård", in April 2019. [42] The album’s title refers to the Malmö district where Shah grew up and features a childhood photograph of him on the cover. It was executive produced by Megan Callahan, whom Shah married later that year. [43]

Executive career

Shah founded Today Is Vintage in 2012 as an independent record label before expanding it into an entertainment company spanning music, publishing, artist management, and later film and television. [44] [45] The company initially developed artists in Sweden before broadening its operations internationally.

In 2018, Shah relocated Today Is Vintage’s headquarters to New York City, establishing the company’s presence in the United States and expanding its work with artists, producers, and partners across the music and media industries.

In 2020, Shah launched The Cloud Sessions, an international music collaboration program connecting artists and producers from Sweden and the United States. The project has been produced in partnership with Export Music Sweden, the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, D.C., and the Clive Davis Institute at New York University. [46] [47]

In 2025, Shah co-founded Today Is Vintage Pictures, the company’s film and television division, which develops original scripted projects.

In addition to his work with Today Is Vintage, Shah has served as a pro bono Creative Director of the World Childhood Foundation, contributing to the organization’s creative strategy and communications. [48] [49]

Personal life

Shah is married to writer Megan Callahan-Shah, a writer for Saturday Night Live. [50] The couple married in June 2019.

Discography

Mixtapes

EP

Album

Singles

Collaborations

References

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  2. "Your Favorite Playlists Are Making Stars and Hits Out of Streams". 2 January 2018. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  3. "Malmörapparen Rebstar tar chefsjobb i New York". 11 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Stjärna på kärlekstrubbel - Kultur & Nöjen - Sydsvenskan - Nyheter dygnet runt". Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Rebstar's Remix of Nomad's "Fakka Me Mej" is a Lyrical Attack on Pretty Much Everything". Noisey.vice.com. 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. "Hey, You're Cool! Rebstar". Mass Appeal. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  8. "MUSIC: Swedish Hip-Hop Star- Rebstar- in Concert". Swedenabroad.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  9. Rundfunk, Sophie Kernbichl, Bayerischer (9 January 2017). "Tracks der Woche #02/17: Bilderbuch, SOHN, Mighty Oaks, Rebstar, Nick & June | BR.de" (in German). Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. Cusumano, Katherine. "Swedish Rapper Rebstar Talks Mixing Music, Entrepreneurship and Breakfast". Forbes . Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  11. "Metropol nu tisdag 19/1 om Rebstar och galor - Metropol med Sanna Brå…". Archived from the original on 10 September 2012.
  12. Malmöhus, P4 (13 July 2015). "Malmörappare debuterar på MTV - P4 Malmöhus". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. "Home". Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  14. Arbsjö, Karin (8 February 2010). "Stjärna på kärlekstrubbel". Sydsvenskan. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
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  20. "Archívum - Slágerlisták - MAHASZ - Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Mahasz.hu. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
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  28. "Premiere: Rebstar ft. Lazee, Saint, Lilleman, The C.I.T.Y - "Safe Safe (040 Zlatan Remix)" [VIDEO] - STASHED". thestashed.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  29. "PSG : Pour le rappeur Rebstar, Zlatan " représente l'espoir "". Foot-sur7.fr. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  30. "Malmö-PSG: "Zlatan Ibrahimovic a changé la mentalité des Suédois sur son quartier"". 20minutes.fr. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  31. "Se rapparens hyllning till Rosengård och Zlatan Ibrahimović". Nyheter24.se. 1 October 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
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  33. ""Vi har Avicii och H&M, men fortfarande ingen stor svensk rappare i USA"". Dagens Nyheter. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
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  37. "Video: Rebstar – Reputation". Youheardthatnew.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
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  39. "Le Sinner: Jag vet att jag kommer att vara en av de största artisterna i världen om några år". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
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  42. "Premiere: Rebstar Is Leading The Rosengård Revolution In New 'EMERGENCY' Single". BET.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  43. Strauss, Alix (28 June 2019). "For a 'Saturday Night Live' Writer, a Permanent Musical Guest". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  44. Strauss, Alix (28 June 2019). "For a 'Saturday Night Live' Writer, a Permanent Musical Guest". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
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  48. "Awards Ceremony 2021". Nordic International Film Festival. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
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