WHO IS BIG SHAQ
How the world fell in love with Michael Dapaah’s absurd “The Ting Goes” freestyle
The British comedian explains turning his “Man’s Not Hot” meme into a mega-hit.
In U.K rap and grime, appearing on radio station BBC 1XTRA’s Fire In The Booth is a rite of passage. MCs like Stormzy and Bugzy Malone have racked up millions of YouTube views for their heatedfreestyles on the segment, which is hosted by London scene mainstay Charlie Sloth. But an appearance this August from London comedian Michael Dapaah — in character as aspiring MC Roadman Shaq — has become Sloth’s show most beloved moment to date, going viral in a way that few U.K. rap memes haveAfter Dapaah’s appearance on the show, his tongue-in-cheek chorus, “Man’s not hot/ Take off your jacket,” started to be heard everywhere in the U.K., from school playgrounds to club cloakrooms. One iconic line particularly delighted the masses in its silliness: “The ting goes skrrrahh/ Pap pap ka ka ka/ Skibiki pap pap/ And a pu pu pudrrrr boom/ Skya/ du du ku ku dun dun/ poom poom.” In the months since, the internet has produced countless memes and jokes that revolve around Shaq’s hilarious bars, and the vaguely familiar absurdity of the sounds that he’s making.
Originally, the character was one of the hard-hustling characters that Dapaah plays in the addictive #SWIL (Somewhere In London) web series, which he also writes and produces. But “Man’s Not Hot” has introduced Dapaah to a far broader audience, and at the time of this article’s publication, his 1XTRA appearance has over 10 million views across Facebook and YouTube.
Dapaah has kept the momentum going. Seeing the way DJs had been dropping his skit into their sets — as well as the raucous crowd reaction that would typically follow — he released the freestyle as an official single under the more bossed-up moniker Big Shaq, and cracked the U.K. Top 40 this fall. This October, Dapaah unveiled a lighthearted video for the track, where Shaq and his crew flex in their heavy jackets on Miami beach. In a cameo filmed at the BET Awards, DJ Khaled proclaims Dapaah’s character a “legend.”
People love the idea of supporting a perceived underdog, and in Michael Dapaah, a hardworking 26-year-old from inner-city London, they found one. In a recent conversation with The FADER by phone, the comedian seemed as determined as his character, but in a far more believable way. Friendly and open, and using words like “thankful” and “grateful” often, Michael Dapaah spoke about idolizing Oprah, his hopes for future collaborations, and why Big Shaq is, like him, just a black boy with a dream.
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