"Man's Not Hot" is a novelty song 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 cod ...

as both his characters MC Quakez and Roadman Shaq for the Charlie Sloth-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, anoth ...

. 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 Jimmy F ...

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 incar ...

'', 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 greates ...

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 ...

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, Chip,

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 Wilso ...

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'' 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 YouTuber, YouTube personality, host, entertainer and former musician. , his YouTube channel has over 2 million subscribers and 142 million vid ...

. It then alternates between Dapaah rapping in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, 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's ...

, Lil Yachty, Jim Jones, Dutch rap group

Broederliefde Broederliefde are a Dutch hip-hop group, originating from Rotterdam. The group is composed of five rappers: Emms (Emerson Akachar), Jerr (Jerzy Rocha Livramento), Sjaf (Javiensley Dams), Edson (Edson Cesar) and Mella (Melvin Silberie). In 2016, ...

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 WEDR, 99 Ja ...

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

Commercial use

In 2022 Peloton 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