Arif started making music with the Norwegian crew BAWS, but broke out to start a successful career on his own in 2012.
Born and raised in Oslo, Norway, Arif began rapping under the moniker Phil T. Rich. He was one of the founding members of BAWS when the crew came together in 2009, but by 2012 he had struck out on his own with the EP 'Kom Så Tok Færdiih', discarding the name Phil T. Rich in favour of simply Arif.
The EP won him the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's 'newcomer' award, Untouched Artist of the Year, and led to a major label signing with EMI/Warner Music Group. He released the follow-up, his first album 'Aldri & Alltid', through the label later that year in 2013. April 2015 saw the release of his second album, 'HighEnd / Asphalt', garnering strong sales and picking up the 2015 Spellemannprisen in the urban category.
Arif had further awards success with 2017's 'Meg & Deg Mot Alle', which was nominated for Spellemannprisen in the best album category, for best single with 'Alene' and for best music video with 'Himmelen'.
