Text Maya Abuali

DJ Fouz is the Gulf’s unofficial meme lord and bedroom DJ. At just 18, this Kuwaiti talent has managed to turn his corner of the internet into a chaotic, campy carnival of Gulf youth culture. The memes? Hilarious and unhinged enough to have you sending to the group chat without anxious remorse. The SoundCloud mixes? A full-blown journey from your grandmother’s wedding playlist to the underground club scene you didn’t know you needed. DJ Fouz exists here—at this absurd intersection of art and satire—masterfully remixing iconic Arab tracks with mainstream bangers.

But why is the admin of a meme account on the D100? To that we say: who better? Memes have this uncanny ability to capture the zeitgeist—and they hold more cultural weight than they’re given credit for. They cut through the noise, collapsing the most complex social, political, or existential themes into bite-sized, relatable snapshots. They can birth new slang—cause insane language barriers—revive forgotten pop culture relics and flip entire narratives on their heads. Wading through carefully curated content, it’s the memes that provide the rawest reflection of the human inner world. They provide a space where subcultures thrive, identities are explored, humour becomes a weapon, a shield, and a love language all at once. And to hold the power to create and anthologise memes? That’s to be the ultimate storyteller of our digital age.

If you can do the inner work of dismantling ideas of what you thought music should be, and learn to be comfortable with complete, unabashed anarchy, DJ Fouz’s SoundCloud will hit the spot. Think: Spongebob Squarepants meets Hussain Al Jassmi meets Pink Pantheress meets Vine boom sound. It’s so chaotic that when SoundCloud starts advertising you’ll think it’s part of the song. You don’t want to like it but you do. One minute, he’s hitting you with a remix of a classic Kuwaiti track; the next, the track is serving a meme that feels like an inside joke between you, your cousins, and everyone else online at 2AM.

DJ Fouz is reimagining the occupation and proving you don’t need a club residency to make waves. His mixes have ended up on runways and DJ sets everywhere; they’ve even served as a backdrop for Trashy Clothing’s 2023 Spring/Summer collection show ‘Desert Delights.’ It’s his mix of irreverence and innovation that speaks to a generation that’s tired of being told how to express itself and is ready to create its own rules. DJ Fouz is an archive, a moment, and an unapologetic celebration of what it means to be young, Arab, and not taking yourself too seriously.

Oh, and here’s a segment of our interview with him because it’s too good not to share:

What inspired you to start doing what you do?

Couple’s counsellor دريع فوزية made me do it.

What changes are you hoping to drive with your work?

I don’t drive.

What fuels your creative process?

Honestly, I’m 24 hours on the clock watching Tfeeesh videos on TikTok, it keeps me motivated at times.

How do you hope to see Southwest Asia and North Africa’s creative and cultural scene evolve in the next few years?

Not taking itself too seriously, but also taking itself seriously.

What would you like to see yourself ultimately achieving with your practice?

I feel like I’ve accidentally achieved everything I wanted. Now, for a change, I wouldn’t mind being cancelled…

What upcoming projects are you working on?