You may remember a little song called ‘Man’s Not Hot’. It had 320 million views on YouTube; remained in the UK charts for 25 weeks; Drake, Liam Gallagher, and even the British Parliament knew about it, so we’d hope you would too. Sung by Big Shaq, the viral creation was in fact the work of actor, comedian, and musician Michael Dapaah.
Rising to fame with his popular YouTube mockumentary series SWIL (Somewhere in London), Michael is a vibrant comedic presence with an eye for just what Generation Z want and need. We meet the playful young star to find how he became a meme, and why the Internet is so valuable in 2019. So let Michael Dapaah be your Internet Guide…
What would you like to see more of online? What about less of?
More love and light shone on positive things on the internet. Less cyberbullying, I think it’s dangerous for the younger generation growing up living their lives through a screen and not being able to differentiate what’s real-life or just fake news.
What or who is the best account you follow? The worst?
Best accounts are Will Smith, Gary Vee, Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Drake & Kylie Jenner. Worst is any food account that isn’t healthy, I’m on a strict diet at the moment and those pages have me under serious pressure.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve read about yourself online?
That I was in the Illuminati.
What’s your favourite meme?
‘The ting goes Skraa’, that meme contributed to changing my life.
What’s your earliest memory of the Internet?
Using dial up internet at my auntie’s house & MSN Messenger.
Is the Internet a good or bad thing for music?
I think it’s a great thing for music, it gives everyone an opportunity to put their talents out there at a cheap cost. A level playing field kind of.
How many followers represent success?
You can’t really put a number on it whatever you’ve set yourself a target for. I also feel like it doesn’t really determine success, I know some really successful people who haven’t even got social media or don’t even use it.
Finally…what’s going on in your life?
New EVERYTHING! We’ve got SWIL 2 out now, I’ve got new music on the way and whole bunch of new content in the works. You’ll just have to wait and see on that, but trust me, it’s exciting stuff.
