Raised in a loving single-mother household, Tarek Jrhider spent his youth immersed in music and Casablanca’s burgeoning skate scene. Surrounded by the hard realities of life on the streets, skateboarding gave him a sense of security and belonging.

Soon after moving to Seoul at the age of 25, Jrhider connected with the local skateboarding community, which he now describes as his home away from home. Then, after suffering what was initially thought to be a minor skating injury, hospital visits and further tests led to an eventual diagnosis of stage four cancer in March 2020. As the life-changing news coincided with the peak of the global coronavirus pandemic, Jrhider was unable to return home to receive treatment due to the Morrocan government closing its borders. As a result, a GoFundMe campaign helped him to raise the money required to start his treatment in Korea.

We commissioned Jrhider to curate the latest Friends of Friends mixtape. “I wanted to create a morning mixtape, one that offers a window into my world by bundling together ambient and downtempo sounds, intertwined with groovy bass lines and djembe and darbuka percussion,” he says. “Listening to these exotic, yet familiar sounds is an intimate experience that somehow evokes feelings of nostalgia for me.” 

Have a listen to Jridher’s mix below, or find out more about him in our extended interview. Photographed by skater and close friend Jin Yob Kim, Jrhider gives us an intimate glimpse into his everyday life and personal journey battling cancer in the midst of a pandemic.

Tarek Jrhider is a Casablanca-born, Seoul-based DJ and skater. After being diagnosed with stage four cancer last year. Unable to return home to Morrocco due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jrhider has been raising money to help support his treatment in Korea. If you would like to offer your support, you can find his GoFundMe page here.