Salim is a native of Oakland, California. After working in a mortuary for 5 years and an out patient clinic for bi-polars, schitzophrenics and manic depressives for another 5, he decided to pursue a career in writing and directing. Salim started as a staff writer for Showtime's award-winning "Soulfood" and quickly worked his way up to series Executive Producer, on top of directing and writing several episodes. He has worked as a Director on several other episodic TV series, including last year's two-part season finale of UPN's "Girlfriends." Salim Akil is set to direct The CW's new series entitled: "The Game", a "Girlfriends" spin off.