EXCLUSIVE: YMU has made one other signing, this time bringing British comic and author Michael Dapaah into its fold.
The UK company has signed the multi-hyphenate, who’s finest identified for his viral comedy character ‘Huge Shaq,’ whose music ‘Man’s Not Sizzling’ has garnered 410 million YouTube views and over 500 million streams up to now. The one has been changed into memes, and kickstarted Dapaah’s rise as a cultural, comedic and viral determine.
Dapaah first gained consideration because the lead and creator of the massively widespread YouTube mockumentary sequence Someplace in London (SWIL), which follows the journeys of younger Londoners, together with Huge Shaq. Two seasons of the present have amassed over 15 million views.
Dapaah has additionally acted in BBC One drama Noughts + Crosses, which was an adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s bestselling novel. He has been a model ambassador and collaborator with main manufacturers comparable to Nike, Apple, Beats, Gymshark, McDonald, Uber, Google and the England soccer workforce.
“I’m excited to step into this subsequent section of my profession, partnering alongside the multidisciplinary groups over at YMU,” mentioned Dapaah. “I’m very a lot trying ahead to constructing out the following evolution of my leisure enterprise, and shaping how that appears collectively.”
For YMU, the signing comes scorching on the heels of a co-management agreement for model and presenter Leomie Anderson final week and the hire of corporate speaking and events appearances boss Georgia Milligan on Thursday.
YMU’s shoppers embody Simon Cowell and Graham Norton, although the likes of Amelia Dimoldenberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Claudia Winkleman have moved to new businesses this 12 months, and a number of agents have exited over current months. Final month, it employed LADBible exec Drew Middleton to steer digital advertising and marketing and social technique and Spotify’s Rhyanna Coleman to supervise podcasting output. Dapaah’s signing is the most recent transfer within the new-look operation that has adopted YMU getting new ownership earlier this 12 months following a restructuring program in 2023.
“We’re delighted to signal somebody of Michael’s calibre – a global, elite multi-hyphenate, pushing tradition ahead and instigating dialog throughout platform and style,” mentioned Mary Bekhait, YMU CEO. “His extraordinary skill to create firstclass content material and encourage international audiences is compelling and marks him out as a pacesetter within the modern leisure panorama. We’re very excited to associate together with his in-house workforce, led by Fola Adeyemi and propel his profession additional to even better heights.”
