"Man's Not Hot" is a
comedy hip hop
Comedy hip-hop or comedy rap is a subgenre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music designed to be amusing or comedic, compared to artists who incorporate humor into their more serious, purist hip-hop styles.
Satirical hip-hop is a variant of comedy hip-hop d ...
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...
by British comedian
Michael Dapaah, in character as the fictional
UK drill
UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. While being sonically distinct from Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous ...
rapper Big Shaq. It samples an instrumental by GottiOnEm and Mazza, which was first used on 86's "Lurk" and later on "Let's Lurk" by
67 featuring
Giggs. The song saw commercial success, peaking at number three on the
UK Singles Chart. The song has been certified platinum in the United Kingdom by the
BPI, indicating 600,000 combined sales and streams.
The music video has gained over 429 million views on YouTube as of June 2024.
Background and release
On 10 May 2017,
Michael Dapaah uploaded a sketch to his
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
featuring his character Roadman Shaq "
freestyling" to the instrumental of "Lurk" by UK drill group 86 (also used on the 2016 song "Let's Lurk" by UK drill group
67 and rapper
Giggs).
On 19 July, an extended version of the freestyle appeared in episode six of the first series of his mockumentary ''SWIL'', when he performed it in front of 67 as Roadman Shaq.
On 29 August, Dapaah went on
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...
as both his characters MC Quakez and Roadman Shaq for the
Charlie Sloth
Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon (born 20 August 1981), known professionally as Charlie Sloth, is a British DJ, hype man, producer and TV presenter.
Early life YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
and resulting in the creation of many
internet meme
An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
s. In response to the unprecedented popularity of the segment, Dapaah changed his character's name to "Big Shaq" and converted the freestyle into a commercial single called "Man's Not Hot", released on
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
on 22 September.
The song was covered by American hip hop band
The Roots
The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...
on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', when retired American basketball player
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...
appeared as a guest on 10 October 2017. On 16 October, O'Neal released a
diss track
A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...
criticising Dapaah for calling himself "Big Shaq".
On 15 December 2017, ''Man's Not Hot (The Remixes)'', an album comprising remixes of the song by various artists, was released,
alongside a "Christmas edition" of the song.
An "MC Mix" of the song, featuring British rappers
Lethal Bizzle
Maxwell Owusu Ansah (born 14 September 1984), known by his stage name Lethal Bizzle, is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, of Ghanaian origin. He emerged in 2002 as a grime MC as part of More Fire Crew, with their grime single "Oi!" c ...
,
Chip
Chip may refer to:
Food
* Chip (snack), thinly sliced and deep-fried gastro item
** Potato chips (US) or crisp (UK)
* Chips (fried potato strips) (UK) or french fries (US) (common as a takeout side)
* Game chips, thin chip/French fries
* Choco ...
,
Krept & Konan
Krept and Konan is a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo Valentine "Krept" Johnson BEM (born 4 February 1990, Gipsy Hill) and Karl Dominic "Konan" Wilson BEM (born 3 September 1989, Thornton Heath), the son of Delroy Wilson ...
and
Jme, was released on 29 December.
In June 2018, the song trended in
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
.
Critical reception
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' listed "Man's Not Hot" at number 93 on their list of the 100 best songs of 2017, opining that it "joins in a tradition of songs (e.g.
the Darkness' "
I Believe in a Thing Called Love
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is a song by English rock band the Darkness, released as the third single from their debut studio album, '' Permission to Land''. When released as a single in September 2003, it peaked at number two on the ...
") that so expertly lampoon their chosen genre they become part of its firmament."
Remix
American rapper
Futuristic released his remix of the song on 13 January 2018.
Music video
Dapaah released the music video for "Man's Not Hot" on 26 October 2017. It begins with a phone call from someone called Asznee, who is later revealed to be entertainer
Chunkz. It then features Dapaah rapping the song in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, wearing his trademark jacket. The video features cameos from American rappers
Waka Flocka Flame
Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. He first became known for his 2009 single "O Let's Do It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and led him to ...
,
Lil Yachty
Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...
,
Jim Jones
James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...
, Dutch rap group
Broederliefde and American producer
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
, who calls Dapaah's character a "legend".
Commercial use
In 2022,
Peloton
In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...
used the song for a holiday commercial.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{authority control
2017 songs
2017 singles
Internet memes introduced in 2017
Island Records singles
Viral videos
British hip-hop songs
British novelty songs
Comedy hip-hop songs
UK drill songs
2017 YouTube videos
Music videos shot in Toronto
2017 in Internet culture