The 26-year-old Londoner was already popular in what might be called his day job as a comedian and actor. He plays a pair of rappers, MC Quakez and Roadman Shaq, as part of his comedy performances.
These characters appeared on Charlie Sloth’s Fire In The Booth show on BBC 1Xtra. Roadman Shaq’s rendition of Man’s Not Hot took the Internet by storm. The clip went viral and prompted Michael to make a studio recording of the song.
He also changed the name of his character from Roadman Shaq to Big Shaq. This was not well received by former basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal. Standing more than seven feet tall, Mr. O’Neal reckoned there was room in the world for just one ‘Big Shaq’ and that was him. Having previously released some rap recordings, Shaq returned to the studio to fire off a diss track against Michael’s character.
How serious this rap beef might be is open to doubt. Although Michael’s chart success is as real as any other artist, Man’s Not Hot is a comedy song.
In his character of Big Shaq, Michael explained how the song came about: “Basically everywhere I go I wear my puffa jacket, you know what I’m saying? So it’s like, it’s just me telling my story.
“It doesn’t matter where I am, what I do, whether I’m in the sauna, whether I’m on the beach, whether I’m with my girl at the spa, man’s never hot. Man can be in the Sahara desert but I’m still going to wear my jacket. It’s that simple. It’s not really a story, it’s a lifestyle.”
Apart from shared Ghanaian roots, Michael’s real life and that of his rap characters could hardly be more different. He comes from a solid and comfortable family background. His father is a doctor. Having taken an interest in performing since childhood, Michael attended London’s Brunel University from where he graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts and Acting.
Rather than a career on stage or television, Michael chose to work online. He appeared in a web situation-comedy, Meet The Adebanjos, before producing his own show, I’m So Dapaah. After starring in another online comedy, Them Three, he began collaborating with director and film-maker Mark Brown. They worked together on a YouTube mockumentary series, Somewhere In London.
“That’s where Roadman Shaq came from,” said Michael, now as himself. “I’d enjoyed TV shows like Little Britain and wanted to play a group of different characters in one show. I created all the characters for Somewhere In London and each episode follows them on their journey trying to improve their lives.
“Roadman Shaq is someone who dropped out of school to live on the streets smoking and selling weed. But he is always trying to find something positive to do to come off the streets. That’s what his journey is about.”
The Roadman/Big Shaq character should certainly be off the streets now. Man’s Not Hot has become popular throughout the world. Michael has also found himself with some famous fans. Waka Flocka Flame, Lil Yachty and DJ Khaled actually appear in the Man’s Not Hot video. But Canadian superstar Drake has been a fan since long before the song went viral.
“I couldn’t believe it when Drake started following me,” Michael smiled. “He’d seen the Somewhere In London shows. I made contact to say how I really appreciated the love he was showing me. He said he thought the show was hilarious. I’ve hit him up a few more times since then and he’s always so positive.
“Big Shaq would love to do a track with Drake. It might happen if he ever wants a comedic interlude on one of his albums.”
The incredible success of Man’s Not Hot has taken Michael by surprise.
“I never expected anything this big. There has been so much demand for interviews, personal appearances and for me to perform the song live. The audience response is amazing when I do perform live. They say the lyrics with me.
“The Somewhere In London viewing audience has also exploded. We’ve always done pretty well with around 300,000 viewers per episode. But the figures are now way beyond anything I could have expected.
“I know Big Shaq is responsible for the extra viewers but people get to know all the other characters when they see the show. I don’t want Big Shaq to become too dominant and ride the character until the wheels fall off. I don’t want people to only know me for Big Shaq. But the Man’s Not Hot man is hot at the moment so we’ll have to see how things go.”
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Salvador Sobral
Best wishes to Salvador Sobral, winner of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. The 27-year-old Portuguese singer recently underwent a life-saving heart transplant. Initial reports suggest he is doing well but it will be a long process of recovery.
Salvador’s heart problems were known when he competed in Eurovision. Indeed, his sister Luisa, who wrote his winning song, Amar Pelos Dois, had to stand in for Salvador at the first rehearsal. His fragile health forced him to rest before performing in the semi-finals.
As his heart weakened, Salvador had to interrupt, and very possibly end, his career. At a free farewell concert in Estoril on September 8, he told fans the time had come for him to deliver his body to medical science.
He entered hospital after the show and spent three months being kept alive artificially. A viable heart became available in October but Salvador was too weak at that time to undergo surgery. Thankfully, he was given a second chance.
Amar Pelos Dois was a big hit throughout much of Europe. Salvador’s performance during the Eurovision final can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qotooj7ODCM
Jessica Mauboy
It may be six months before the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is staged at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. But the event is already beginning to take shape with a number of countries having announced their participating artists. Austria even has their song, Nobody But You, which will be performed by Cesar Sampson.
Australia has participated for the last three years. A rebroadcast of the show on Australian television had always been popular. Despite the live show taking place during the very early morning, Australia wanted to compete.
They initially provided an interval act for the second semi-final in 2014. The artist was Jessica Mauboy who performed her song, Sea Of Flags. Having had this taste of the contest, Jessica is delighted to have been named as Australia’s participant for 2018.
She first found fame as a teenager finishing runner-up to singer/songwriter Damien Leith in the fourth season of Australian Idol. Jessica has since gone on to achieve great success both as a singer and actress.
Her most recent hit single was Falling which reached number 11 on the Australian chart. The song video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-JLf7dhMpY
Although Jessica has had nine top ten hits, only one held pole position. This was her 2008 song, Burn. The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9edIBvlrlg
Johnny Marr and Maxine Peake
Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has enlisted the vocal assistance of actress Maxine Peake to create an album of music and spoken word performance.
Their work may appear to be just like any conventional rap track. But this is definitely not the case. Unlike rappers, Maxine’s speech is anything but musical. She speaks as an actress but her words are backed by Johnny’s music.
This combination works superbly on The Priest, their first track released as a single. The spoken word lyrics are taken from the writings of Joe Gallagher which chronicle his harrowing experiences of being homeless. His work was originally published in The Big Issue, a magazine sold on the streets by homeless people.
In addition to creating the music, Johnny also co-directed the accompanying video. Shot in Manchester, it is much more like a five-minute short film than a music video. It features actress Molly Windsor as the homeless person. Molly recently appeared with Maxine in the BBC television drama, Three Girls. She now mouths Maxine’s recorded words.
The video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9N1gulWafE