Aref (Aref Arefkia) was born in Tehran, Iran on August 10, 1941 and was one of the first Iranian pop artists of his time. Aref’s introduction to music came in part by his azari mother and by listening to Radio Baku as a child. Radio Baku played exceptional azari and western music as well as all the famous European operas. At a time when the only kind of popular music was in "Tasnif" style, Aref introduced Western melodies with romantic lyrics to Iran in the 1960's.