ABOUT

Pioneering Lebanese Australian DJ, radio presenter and event curator, MzRizk has always had a powerful affinity with music. Raised on a seemingly incongruous yet wholly satisfying sonic diet of Arabic, Boogie, Jazz, Heavy Metal, House, Techno, Hip Hop and just about anything from Rick Dees American Top 40, MzRizk is a self taught, community emboldened, creative chameleon.

 

Cutting her teeth with bedroom recordings of her own imaginative radio show, a then child Rizky fell irrevocably in love with the idea of sharing the joy of music with her family, her community and the world. Before too long, the autodidactic DJ MzRizk was born and in 2001 she emerged as Melbourne’s latest DJ initiate, catalysing the beginning of an abundant career that would span the rest of her life. Now, five years into her renowned community radio show Boogie Beat Suite on PBS 106.7FM and with two decades of worldwide DJing under her belt, no one would dare mention the Australian DJ scene without dropping Rizky’s name.

 

Internationally acclaimed acts like MF Doom (RIP), Badbadnotgood, The Internet, Moses Sumney, Common, Jurassic 5, Public Enemy, Sampa The Great, Jill Scott, Maxwell, Evelyn Champagne King, Snarky Puppy, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Alsarah & The Nubatones and countless more are commonplace amongst the hugely impressive list of artists MzRizk has opened for and the unstoppable DJ sees no future where this list ceases to expand exponentially.

 

MzRizk has played Glastonbury twice in the past decade and has travelled the world with her music, bringing her eclectic sets to Radio Beirut in Lebanon, Soul In The Horn, Mobile Mondays and Yallah! in New York, the Woo Hah Hip Hop Festival in Tilburg and Soundwave Croatia. Back home, her devoted Australian fans have followed Rizky’s DJ journey from Big Day Out Boiler Room (2012) to Sugar Mountain (2018), plus standout festival slots at Soulfest (2014), WOMADelaide’s Artist After Party (2015), Splendour In The Grass with Sampa The Great (2017), Groovin’ The Moo (2017), Piknic Électronik (2018), Golden Plains (2018), Laneway (2019, 2020), A Festival Called Panama (2020) and Strawberry Fields (2022); each set sending the crowd into a frenzy with her nuanced and mad respected selections. Other sporting, arts and cultural events like the Australian Open, NGV Friday Nights, Melbourne International Film Festival, Darwin Festival, Perth Fringe Festival and Women of the World Festival have all been graced by MzRizk’s unrivalled artistry.

 

In tandem with her prolific DJ performances, MzRizk is a highly sought-after event producer and curator who uses her platform to advocate for MENA (Middle Eastern and North African), SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African), LGBTQIA+ communities and their intersections. The hip hop, jazz, soul and funk savant has made a lasting impact on the communities she so proudly represents, as one of the scene’s most intuitive and knowledgeable selectors.

 

MzRizk thrives on leading collaborative work that bridges the gap between music, culture, art, fashion and film. Spearheading ongoing projects and community-focussed events such as Rizky's Block Party, Habibi – Middle Eastern Music Party, Hip Hop High Tea and HALO Vocal Ensemble has catapulted MzRizk to the epicentre of Melbourne’s rich and diverse cultural conglomerate. It is from this exact vantage point, that Rizky draws organic and enduring connections with multidisciplinary industry leaders into her orbit. These connections have seen MzRizk being booked for over five years straight to DJ the City of Melbourne’s NYE celebrations and curate their coveted fireworks soundtrack in 2020, as well as design the sound for the Adelaide Fringe award-winning theatre show DIRT and Multicultural Arts Victoria's TAKEBACK! among others.

 

In 2020 MzRizk presented and DJ’d multiple venue launch events at the opening week of the Biennale of Sydney, with her sound and installation piece exhibited at the National Art School and Carriageworks. An incredible milestone achievement, the three hour celebratory journey of classic and contemporary Arabic music paid homage to Lebanon and the Lebanese hospitality she so passionately lives and breathes.

 

In her two-decade long career MzRizk has garnered widespread acclaim as Melbourne’s leading champion of underrepresented music, and one of the city’s most respected cultural connectors. Bringing people together in unity through her wildly eclectic sets is what MzRizk does best, and no matter how refined her palette, she is constantly evolving, learning, growing, shifting with the times and being discovered by new generations of music lovers. That is the sign of a true artist.