Fresh off the back of a wildly successful debut headline tour of the United Kingdom and heavily buzzed showcase appearances at The Great Escape in Brighton, Auckland-based alternative hip-hop artist and producer WHO SHOT SCOTT (Zaidoon Nasir) returns to deliver his most definitive statement yet. Landing on June 5th, 2026, ‘I’M YOUR ALIEN’ arrives as the explosive focus single accompanying the drop of his long-awaited debut album, HAIRY.
‘I’M YOUR ALIEN’ is a fierce, unapologetic alternative hip-hop and rock fusion. Driven by massive, banging drums and anchored by a monumental hook, the track showcases the Iraqi-born, Aotearoa-raised producer’s signature formula: raw, chaotic energy paired with razor-sharp sonic vulnerability.
But beneath the track’s frantic, high-octane production lies the beating heart of HAIRY–a profound, deeply personal reclamation project of Nasir’s high school years (ages 13 to 18). Having fled war-torn Iraq with his mother at just two years old, Nasir’s adolescence in New Zealand was heavily shaped by what it meant to be different. The album title itself stems from the intense ridicule he faced for having body hair at school – a memory he has masterfully repurposed into a symbol of defiance, irony and strength. With ‘I’M YOUR ALIEN’, Nasir turns the lens directly onto the psychological isolation of being treated like an outsider by the very peers he sought connection with.
“To me, this song is the ultimate acceptance of being ‘other’,” shares Nasir. “I had so many experiences in high school where it felt like I was being made out to be the school joke. Even “friends” who would come over to my house were really only doing it to gather more information to bully me on–whether it was my unfinished demos, my Arabic household, or just my general vibe. They made me feel very different, and like there was something wrong with me for things that were a really beautiful part of my growing up and things I found solace in, too. This song is me finally looking at their critiques and agreeing, but with a huge caveat: full ownership of being ‘alien’, full ownership of being ‘other’, and being proud of that, because that otherness is exactly why I’ve been able to create the art that I love.”
The release marks a monumental peak in what is rapidly becoming a breakout global year for WHO SHOT SCOTT. Following two APRA Silver Scroll nominations, a successful tour of Japan, and landing a massive global sync placement on the trailer for Borderlands 4, Nasir’s relentless international momentum is undeniable. Rather than chasing a polished, “music industry optimized” persona, his work leans entirely into raw edges and uncompromising honesty – a specificity that Rolling Stone Australia noted when naming him one of the top artists tipped to take over.
Following his triumphant stint in the UK, WHO SHOT SCOTT is set to keep breaking international ground on his own terms, with upcoming appearances scheduled for the NXNE festival in Toronto, Canada, this June.
Bold, unashamed, and sonically massive, ‘I’M YOUR ALIEN’ is a middle finger to conformity and a triumphant anthem for anyone who has ever been made to feel like they don’t belong.
‘I’M YOUR ALIEN’ and the debut album HAIRY are out everywhere on June 5th, 2026.
‘I’M YOUR ALIEN’ is accompanied by a music video directed by longtime collaborator Connor Pritchard.
WHO SHOT SCOTT – I’M YOUR ALIEN (Official Video)
I’M YOUR ALIEN BY WHO SHOT SCOTT, MADE WITH SUPPORT FROM NZ ON AIR
ABOUT WHO SHOT SCOTT:
A boy fled Iraq in the arms of his mother when he was just two years old. Their journey took them through Moscow before finally arriving in New Zealand, where Zaidoon Nasir would grow up navigating the dualities of life between cultures. Settling in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, he embraced video games and US hip hop like so many of his new peers. Little did he know that within that sense of belonging he would also be confronted with what it meant to be different – in skin, in hair, in heritage. A truth that would eventually drive him to find his voice through art and music.
That voice became WHO SHOT SCOTT, an artist and music producer unafraid to fuse raw vulnerability with sonic explosivity. Over five EPs, he has crafted a fearless, genre-blurring sound, part alternative hip-hop, part punk energy, part electronic experimentation, celebrated internationally for its “filthy and frantic” urgency and emotional depth.
Rolling Stone Australia named him one of the Top 8 New Zealand artists tipped to take over, truly cementing his reputation as a disruptive new force in the scene.
His single ‘LONERS ANTHEM’ spent four weeks at #1 on the NZ College Radio Network charts and was voted the most beloved track of 2022. His work has been playlisted by MTV and streaming editorials, synced across television, gaming, and advertising, and championed by radio throughout New Zealand, Australia, the US, UK, and Europe. EPs ‘MERCY III’ and ‘BRAIN (SIDE A)’ both broke into the North American College Radio charts, expanding his reach even further and exemplifying the fact that his stories are felt universally.
Recent milestones include two APRA Silver Scroll award nominations, an international sync in the trailer for Borderlands 4, and a successful Japan tour. He has opened for genre heavyweights Snoop Dogg and Yung Gravy, performed at WOMAD, Rhythm & Vines, Soundsplash, SXSW Sydney, BIGSOUND, and Music Matters Singapore. With over 300,000 monthly Spotify listeners and a dedicated cult following across the US, Canada, Central Europe, UK, and Australia, WHO SHOT SCOTT continues to build momentum as one of Aotearoa’s most dynamic voices.
Every song carries the weight of his journey, turning past shame into pride, alienation into human connection, and pain into power.
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