Live’s Omar Shahid caught up with the internet sensation Humza Arshad aka Hamza Badman, who has amassed million of views on YouTube for his comedy sketch ‘Diary Of A Badman’ to find out about his nationwide tour.
Humza is now the most famous British Pakistani comedian. His sketch chronicles ‘the life of a self-styled Badman with seriously good looks’ as he attempts to impress girls, survive marriage offers via Skype and escape the wrath of his rolling pin-wielding mum.
Azme Alishan, a Pakistani campaign that aims to shift perceptions about the country and its culture, is organising the tour.
The tour will feature Humza treating fans to unseen footage from his YouTube series as well as live versions of Humza favourites such as the comedy track “Jam that Hype” and the Badman VS Mum rap battle. Humza will also be joined on stage by the rest of the Badman crew, including singers JP (aka Dexter) and Kalum as well as Yogi and Asif.
The tour starts on November 24 in Bradford.
Omar: How does it feel to be taking your tour nationwide?
Humza: Yeah I’m very excited. I’m just looking forward to it. In certain areas I genuinely didn’t believe people knew about me. But there are people from all walks of life and all the fans are different; from the way they talk and the way they walk and they all accept you. There’s a lot of good energy.
Omar: And tell me what the motivation was behind this?
Humza: Money init. Cars or something. Might get my mum a new kitchen so she can make less daal. No, seriously, I’ve been asked to do this tour for a long time but I’ve been reluctant but its a great way to give back to the fans. But the buzz you get from it will be completely different to just sitting in my room making a video.
Omar: Why do you think your act has exploded and done so well?
Humza: To be fair, its probably because of my looks. You can’t be ugly and famous. I genuinely believe it’s the looks. But if you want a serious answer, I owe it to God. He’s given me this opportunity. Nothing to do with talent. I’ve been given this… to use my fame and position in a responsible way not just to entertain but to make people smile and hopefully learn something from it.
Omar: Its not just Muslims who watch your videos, why do you think it appeals to so many people?
Humza: I think people can appreciate the humour and there is a message behind it, a moral behind it, it’s not entertainment there’s an extra added value. You don’t have to be a Muslim to respect your mum or women or not finding violence as the answer and I think people can relate to that.
Omar: Do you feel comedy is the best way to ‘break the ice’ when portraying Islam?
Humza: I don’t think comedy is the best way to portray Islam. But it’s definitely one way to teach morals and values. I’ve tried to provide entertainment with a good message, but allow people to learn from it. The most powerful thing is it engages everyone. I’ve had people from everywhere saying they like my videos: Mexico, Kenya, China, Singapore, Poland… actually I made up Poland. But in America and Pakistan you expect a fan base. People from different countries tweeting me saying ‘I really like your video and you’ve got a massive fan base here.’ I’m like: Do you lot even speak English? Comedy is so powerful; it’s a great way to engage people.
Omar: What is the real message behind your videos and what is your reason for doing it?
Humza: What I think I’m capable of is making people laugh and smile. I’m crap at everything else but I can make a fool out of myself. If I get their attention I want to give back. I want to do something positive. For Diary Of A Badman, I wanted to give something back and spread a good, positive light on Islam. Most people don’t realise we are normal human beings as well. We have the same morals and etiquettes as they do. We’re stereotyped. A lot of the Muslim community, especially the youngsters, get led astray but even if one person might get inspired and go out and do his own research then it’s all worth it. I was in Birmingham and this guy told me he went off the rails and started drugs joined a gang, and he said when he saw Diary Of A Badman, it touched him so much he wanted to change. Now he is studying law. I think the most rewarding thing is when people say ‘I watched your video and now I respect Islam’ or ‘thank you for giving me a better picture of Islam’. Even atheists are saying ‘I’m looking into Islam now’. At least a handful of people have reverted because of it. It’s just that tickle. If you go full on then people will lose interest. You don’t want to feel you’re manipulating them, jut give them a little advice. It’s up to them to make the choice. It doesn’t have to be about converting people. If people are happy with their faith that’s fair enough but go back and treat your mum with more respect at least. Sorry for such a long answer blad.
Omar: Do you ever get any negative reception for your videos?
Humza: One thing I’ve learnt is that no matter how hard you try, you can’t please everyone. I’ve had negative feedback . The first mean comment I got, I was really upset, my brother sat me down and said this is how to look at it: you know you’ve made it when you’ve got haters. Jay-Z is the one of the biggest rappers of all time. More fans than most people but then look at how many haters he has. These people must be ugly. As long as I make more people happy, I’ll carry on doing this.
Omar: What did that person say to upset you?
Humza: I genuinely can’t remember but it was a stupid thing. It’s jealously. You can take it two ways: you can turn a blind eye or use it to motivate you. People are very quick to judge. They need to look in their own mirror. We make mistakes. You don’t have the right to say this is wrong. You have just got to ignore it. These people are trying to bring you down. And they are the ones probably cleaning toilets. Even this 60 year old was saying to me you’re very funny. I genuinely thought it would just appeal to the youth, I’ve got so many young fans but even aunties and uncles. I went to a BBC Asian network charity football event and the amount of old people taking pictures of me. I don’t know if they were like: all these kids are doing, it so let’s look cool.
Omar: Have you always wanted to be a comedian?
Humza: Yeah definitely. I would do anything for a laugh when I was younger. Don’t want to get into details but… I was such an attention seeker. Always been naughty kid in the family, chatting too much tutti. When I was doing GCSEs I was genuinely dumb. I couldn’t do anything right, one thing I could do is make my friends laugh so I decided to use it as a career. I don’t see myself doing anything else now. From a little kid, you’re like, I want be a policeman or a fireman or a rocket scientist but from day one I wanted to be an actor. Unfortunately there are a lot of similarities between me and Badman. Certain things are over-exaggerated though.
You can find out more about Humza’s nationwide tour and buy tickets from here
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