Umar Valu

Umar Valu is a London-based artist, producer and creative, and the creator of Halal Beats, a project that makes songs and soundtracks using only two elements: the human voice and the traditional daf percussion{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. His channel's description presents him as a leading figure and pioneer in the rise of "halal sound", creating tracks blended with faith for a new generation{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. Streaming-platform credits give his full name as Umar Haji Valu, the composer of the Halal Beats songs{cite:source/shazam-halal-beats}.

Halal Beats emerged in 2020{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. In Apple's "in the artist's words" text, he describes one of his earliest musical memories: sitting in his room as a child, "recreating film soundtracks on a tiny keyboard", amazed at how music could make you feel so much without words, and he says that is where his love of cinematic sounds and storytelling began{cite:source/shazam-halal-beats}. Apple Music's artist data gives his hometown as Harrow, London, England{cite:source/shazam-halal-beats}.

His tracks are released in paired versions, "Vocals only" and "Vocals and Daf", among them the songs "Rose of Sahra", "The Last Ayah", "Beat Your Nafs", "Frozen" and "Waiting"{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. Streaming credits from 2022 already name him as composer, as on the single "My Hijab"{cite:source/shazam-halal-beats}. The project is built for reuse by others: his sounds are made to serve as background audio for video creators who prefer not to use instrumental music, and his website routes the sale of beats to a companion licensing site, Halal Soundtracks{cite:source/halal-beats-website}. He registered the brand formally: the United States HALAL BEATS trademark was filed in his name, "Valu, Umar Haji", in October 2024 and registered in July 2025, and the United Kingdom HALAL SOUNDTRACKS mark is owned by Umar Haji Valu{cite:source/trademark-halal-beats}.

His YouTube channel (@HalalBeatsWorld) had about 221,000 subscribers in a platform count taken in October 2026; platform figures change constantly{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. The channel's description says that millions of videos have been created using his sounds, generating over 30 billion views and more than 150 million streams worldwide; these are the project's own published figures{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. His website publishes the same scale of reach: over 31 billion views, more than 150 million streams, listeners in over 210 countries and more than ten million fans{cite:source/halal-beats-website}.

This section records the positions attributed to the subject and others' positions on him, each cited to its source; they are not the museum's verdict.

His stated position is built into the project's method: a soundtrack can be made with the voice and the daf alone, so that creators who avoid musical instruments still have faith-blended audio for their work{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}. His trademark filings describe the recorded goods and clothing as "halal in nature"{cite:source/trademark-halal-beats}. None of the available sources attributes a school or movement affiliation to him, so no school is recorded for him in this record{cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}{cite:source/shazam-halal-beats}.

• His YouTube channel (@HalalBeatsWorld){cite:source/youtube-halal-beats}
• His official website (halalbeats.com){cite:source/halal-beats-website}
• Shazam (Apple) artist page, Halal Beats{cite:source/shazam-halal-beats}
• Trademark register entries: HALAL BEATS (USPTO Serial 98799566) and HALAL SOUNDTRACKS (UK00004129624){cite:source/trademark-halal-beats}