6m
3 May 2018

Michael Dapaah on Big Shaq, politics, growing up in Croydon, and what prison taught him

It started out as a parody of today’s grime and hip hop artists and has since become a viral hit around the world, referenced by protesters in Zimbabwe and even Jeremy Corbyn.

Big Shaq is the creation of comedian Michael Dapaah and his hit Man’s Not Hot has clocked up an astonishing quarter of a billion views on YouTube. What started out as a joke has become anything but.

Jasmine Dotiwala went to meet him in Croydon where he grew up.