Elnur Karimov was born on 11 September 1981 in Baku. His father, Umbay Karimov, worked at Bus Depot No. 2 in Baku. His mother, Solmaz Karimova, worked as a proofreader at the Azerneshr publishing house from 1969. From the age of 3, together with his brother and sister, he took part in dance classes and, in particular, drum lessons at the Yuri Gagarin Pioneers'' Palace. In 1986, at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Yuri Gagarin Pioneers'' Palace at the Heydar Aliyev Palace, he performed a solo drum piece, "Chirtma Gaytaghi". From 1988 he was invited, as the youngest drummer, to join the ensemble of the "Sailors'' Club" Palace of Culture. In 1989 he took part in the "Days of Azerbaijani Culture" held in the cities of Krasnovodsk and Shevchenko. In 1989, thanks to his special talent, he was admitted without examination to the Art Gymnasium by decision of Afsar Javanshirov, its then head. There he received lessons in various arts, including "string instruments", "wind instruments", "vocal" and "acting". During his studies at the gymnasium he played Shahriyar in the "Shahriyar" anniversary production, Fuzuli in the "Muhammad Fuzuli" anniversary production, "Rustam bey" in Sultan Majid Ganizade''s play "Khor-Khor" staged by Mammadkamal Kazimov, and "Gochu Askar" in Uzeyir Hajibayov''s operetta "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun" staged by Anvar Abluj. The production of "O Olmasin, Bu Olsun" performed by the gymnasium''s students is preserved in AzTV''s golden archive. During his studies at the gymnasium he also practised Kung Fu To''A and became capital champion in the sport.
