A boy fled Iraq in the arms of his mother when he was just two years old. Their journey took them through Moscow before finally arriving in New Zealand, where Zaidoon Nasir would grow up navigating the dualities of life between cultures. Settling in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, he embraced video games and US hip hop like so many of his new peers. Little did he know that within that sense of belonging he would also be confronted with what it meant to be different - in skin, in hair, in heritage. A truth that would eventually drive him to find his voice through art and music.
That voice became WHO SHOT SCOTT, an artist and music producer unafraid to fuse raw vulnerability with sonic explosivity. Over five EPs, he has crafted a fearless, genre-blurring sound, part alternative hip-hop, part punk energy, part electronic experimentation, celebrated internationally for its “filthy and frantic” urgency and emotional depth. Rolling Stone Australia named him one of the Top 8 New Zealand artists tipped to take over, truly cementing his reputation as a disruptive new force in the scene.
His single ‘LONERS ANTHEM’ spent four weeks at #1 on the NZ College Radio Network charts and was voted the most beloved track of 2022. His work has been playlisted by MTV and streaming editorials, synced across television, gaming, and advertising, and championed by radio throughout New Zealand, Australia, the US, UK, and Europe. EPs ‘MERCY III’ and ‘BRAIN (SIDE A)’ both broke into the North American College Radio charts, expanding his reach even further and exemplifying the fact that his stories are felt universally.
Recent milestones include two APRA Silver Scroll award nominations, an international sync in the trailer for Borderlands 4, and a successful Japan tour. He has opened for genre heavyweights Snoop Dogg and Yung Gravy, performed at WOMAD, Rhythm & Vines, Soundsplash, SXSW Sydney, BIGSOUND, and Music Matters Singapore. With over 300,000 monthly Spotify listeners and a dedicated cult following across the US, Canada, Central Europe, UK, and Australia, WHO SHOT SCOTT continues to build momentum as one of Aotearoa’s most dynamic voices.
Every song carries the weight of his journey, turning past shame into pride, alienation into human connection, and pain into power.
