Metro Boomin makes history as first producer to perform at the Great Pyramids in Egypt

Metro Boomin has made history as the first producer to perform at the Great Pyramids, the Pyramids of Khafre and Menakure, and the Great Sphinx in Egypt.

The pyramid complex has hosted several events, including the 1978 Grateful Dead three-gig series that was recorded for Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978. An estimated 100,000 fans also saw Shakira perform at the complex in 2007.

According to Complex, hip-hop producer Metro Boomin played a set of his hit songs for a crowd of thousands at the Great Pyramids complex in Giza on April 30. The performance comes after his album with Future, We Don’t Trust You, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in March. The sequel, We Still Don’t Trust You, also debuted at No. 1 the following month, according to Complex.

Metro Boomin partnered with Billboard Arabia for the Egypt visit, which also included a meeting with the royal Abdeen Palace officials in Cairo.

“From Missouri to the Middle East, Metro Boomin’s music transcends borders and generations—BBillboard Arabia sits down with Metro Boomin at the Great Pyramids of Giza to discuss his experience in the Middle East, his chart-topping collaborative albums with Future, ‘We Don’t Trust You’ and ‘We Still Don’t Trust You’,” Billboard Arabia captioned an Instagram post.

Metro Boomin started producing music when he was 13, but his career began in 2010 when he was 16 years old. The St. Louis native would travel to Atlanta to work with fellow producer Tay Beats, who took an interest in Metro’s production talent from afar. In Atlanta, he also worked with OJ da Juiceman.

“He introduced me to Gucci Mane, and me and Future made our first song together when I was probably in eleventh or twelfth grade,” Metro Boomin said.

Crucial to his success as a producer were politicking and networking, he said. “There are probably a hundred people in Atlanta that make beats, but if you don’t know how to maneuver and talk to people and make people like you, none of that matters,” he noted.

Metro Boomin enrolled at the prestigious Morehouse University after high school, intending to study business. However, demand for him resulted in him taking a semester break, but quitting school was not a choice for him at the time.

“I’m very close to my mom. We text every day. At first she was mad,” he said, but she eventually came around. “She said, ‘I support what you want to do. You’re doing what you love and taking care of yourself and your family.’”

However, after struggling to balance academics and his musical pursuits, he felt it was best to drop out and fully dedicate himself to music.

“Music was really where my heart was and where I wanted to pour everything into,” he said. “I didn’t want to put my mom and dad into debt on top of that, so once I dropped out, I went 1,000% with the music, all day, every day.”

Since then, his investment has paid off. He has produced two studio albums: one in 2018 titled Not All Heroes Wear Capes, and the second in 2022 titled Heroes & Villains. He also has several collaborative albums.