"Man's Not Hot" is a

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 wi ...

by British comedian Michael Dapaah, released under the name 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 UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song has been certified platinum in the United Kingdom by the BPI, indicating 600,000 combined sales and streams. The music video has also gained over 400 million views on YouTube.

Background and release

On 10 May 2017, Dapaah uploaded a sketch to his Instagram featuring his character Roadman Shaq "freestyling" to the instrumental of "Lurk" originally used by UK drill group 86, and more popularly the 2016 song "Let's Lurk", by UK drill group 67 and rapper Giggs. On 19 July 2017, Dapaah's freestyle, slightly extended, appeared on episode 6 of the first series of his mockumentary ''SWIL'', when he performed it in front of 67 as Roadman Shaq. On 29 August 2017, 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 Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon was born on 20 August 1981. He was raised in the London Boroug ...

-hosted "Fire in the Booth" segment. He performed the freestyle, again slightly extended, and it went viral on the internet, gaining millions of views on YouTube and resulting in the creation of many

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

s. In response to the unprecedented popularity, Dapaah changed his character's name to "Big Shaq" and converted his 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 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...

. The song was released on 22 September 2017. The song was covered by American hip hop band

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's '' The Tonight Show Starring Jimm ...

on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh in ...

'', when retired American basketball player

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the great ...

appeared as a guest on 10 October 2017. On 16 October 2017, O'Neal released a

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') 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 feud between the t ...

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. Two weeks later, 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 Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

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 Wils ...

and Jme, was released on 29 December 2017. In June 2018, the song trended in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Critical reception

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' listed "Man's Not Hot" at number 93 on their list of best songs of 2017, opining that it "joins in a tradition of songs ..that so expertly lampoon their chosen genre they become part of its firmament."

Remix

American rapper

Futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

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 Amin Mohamed ( ar, امين محمد; born 21 February 1996), better known as Chunkz, is an English YouTube personality, host, entertainer and former musician. , his YouTube channel has over 2 million subscribers and 142 million video views. ...

. It then alternates between Dapaah rapping in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

, 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. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles " O Let ...

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Boat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer. He first gained recognition on the internet in 2015 for his singles " One Night" and "Minnesota" (featuring ...

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...

, 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, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

, who calls Dapaah's character a "legend".

Commercial use

In 2022

Peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...

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 Comedy rap songs Novelty songs UK drill songs 2017 YouTube videos