Sheikh Haikel Sheikh Salim Bajrai ( ar, شيخ هيكل شيخ سليم ', born 10 October 1975) is a Singaporean

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, actor and radio personality. He won the talent competition

Asia Bagus ''Asia Bagus!'' was a star-search program created by Fuji Television spanning from 1991 until 2000 to promote young up-and-coming performing artists in Asia. The show broadcast once a week throughout Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, ...

in 1991. As a multi media personality with numerous stints in radio, television, film, and stage, he has produced three studio albums and numerous single track albums to date. He now runs a music school in Kuala Lumpur where they teach varied genres of music including, Hip Hop, Classical and Rock.

Early life and education

He attended Saint Patrick's School and has a BA in Performing Arts and Psychology from the

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

Career

Acting

Sheikh Haikel first appeared on the big screen in the iconic Singaporean film, ''

Army Daze ''Army Daze'' is a 1996 Singaporean comedy film based on the 1987 theatre play of the same name by Singaporean writer Michael Chiang. Distributed by Cathay Asia Films and directed by Ong Keng Sen, the film portrays a group of 18-year-old Singaporea ...

''. ''Army Daze'' made a return to the theatre in 2006 under the direction of Beatrice Chia and Goh Boon Teck, with Sheikh retaining the role of Johari Salleh. His next performance was as Jeff in the joint Singaporean-Malaysian film ''City Sharks'' in 2003 which he starred in alongside Nicholas Lee and Hans Isaac. He has starred in many sitcoms in TV such as 3 Rooms and The Donnie Lee Show. He also guest starred various times on the critically successful Singaporean sitcom, '' Under One Roof''. He has also hosted ESPN's ''Football Crazy'' and is currently the host of

Okto Okto is a daily children's program block on Mediacorp's Channel 5. The block airs daily during 5's morning and midafternoon time slots. It is also a weekend Mandarin children's program block on Mediacorp's Channel 8. It airs every weekend fro ...

's ''Knockout''.

Radio

In 2004, complaints were made to Singapore's

Media Development Authority The Media Development Authority (abbreviation: MDA) was a statutory board of the Singapore Government, under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). History MDA was formed on 1 January 2003 by the merger of Singapore Broadcasting ...

that he and his then co-host

Daniel Ong Daniel Ong Ming Yu (; born 27 December 1975) is a Singaporean businessman, radio DJ and television host. He is the co-founder of Twelve Cupcakes, a Singapore-based cupcake chain. He also entered the eateries business with ''Mischief American ...

made lewd remarks on air when a teenage male listener called in for advice on how to attract a girl he liked. As a result of these complaints, Ong was suspended from on-air duties while Sheikh was asked to leave. MediaCorp Radio's 987FM was cautioned and fined S$30,000. Sheikh Haikel was a DJ for the local broadcast channel 98.7FM,Mohandas, Vimita & Koor, Joyce (2008)
Hot Breakfast on 91.3FM
, Channel NewsAsia, 6 June 2008, retrieved 12 July 2011 and on the Breakfast Show on channel 91.3FM in 2008.

Music

Sheikh's music is rooted in rap. He became interested in it at the age of nine, when his mother bought a

Run DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

tape for him by accident, having mistaken it for a The Pips tape. Sheikh won the ''

'' Grand Championship as part of the rap duo Construction Sight in 1991. Construction Sight is credited as "Singapore's first ever rap group". His first two solo albums ''For Sure'' and ''For Sure Too'' led him to win Best Local English Song at the Compass Awards in 2002 and 2004 for the hit single, ''Witulah''. His third album ''10.10.10'' was released on the same date of his 35th birthday, 10 October 2010. He performed a series of songs at the ''President's Star Charity'' 2012.

Business

In February 2017, seven years after convincing the founders of Fatboys The Burger Bar - together with his wife

Anna Belle Francis Anna Belle Francis (born 1978) is a Singaporean entertainer and singer of Eurasian ethnicity. First emerging into the entertainment scene as a young child, Francis has a prolific portfolio, having recorded many songs and produced and starred in man ...

, friends, inclusive Singaporean deejay duo ‘The Muttons - launched FatPapas Burgers and Shakes; which is marketed as a

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...

subsidiary of the aforementioned Fatboys.

Personal life

Sheikh Haikel is a Singaporean of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

Yemeni Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

descent. He has one sister. He is married to Singaporean actress

. They have three children – Triqka (born 2003), Abbra (born 2004) and their most recent, Sheikh Juz (born 2014) In November 2010, Sheikh started a feud with Korean boy band

U-KISS U-KISS ( ko, 유키스; ja, ユーキス) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2008. Their name is an acronym, standing for Ubiquitous Korean International Idol Super Star. The group's current lineup is composed of Soohyun, Hoon, Kiseop and ...

as they allegedly bullied him backstage at a concert in Bedok Reservoir. After the event, Sheikh posted on Twitter, "U- Kiss my ass!!!". Although he did not elaborate on what ignited the feud, he also tweeted: "All u-kiss fans were to icbusy to notice anything else. I was to icbusy trying to get u-kiss on stage." After another few tweets targeted towards U-KISS and their fans, Sheikh apologised for his banter on Twitter.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''For Sure'' (2002) * ''For Sure Too'' (2003) * ''10.10.10'' (2010) * ''Eh Lah'' (2011; one track album promoting his upcoming album, Check, Check, 1–2, 1–2) * ''Check, Check, 1–2, 1–2'' (TBA)

Singles

* "Witulah" (With u lah) (Peaked at No. 1 on Malaysian music charts)

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haikel, Sheikh Living people Singaporean people of Arab descent Singaporean people of Malay descent 20th-century Singaporean male singers 1975 births Queensland University of Technology alumni Singaporean rappers Singaporean Muslims 21st-century Singaporean male singers