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 greatest identified for his viral comedy character ‘Huge Shaq,’ whose tune ‘Man’s Not Sizzling’ has garnered 410 million YouTube views and over 500 million streams so far. 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 vastly fashionable 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 equivalent 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 wanting ahead to constructing out the subsequent evolution of my leisure enterprise, and shaping how that appears collectively.”
For YMU, the signing comes scorching on the heels of a co-management settlement for mannequin and presenter Leomie Anderson final week and the rent of company talking and occasions appearances boss Georgia Milligan on Thursday.
YMU’s purchasers embody Simon Cowell and Graham Norton, although the likes of Amelia Dimoldenberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Claudia Winkleman have moved to new companies this 12 months, and quite a few brokers have exited over current months. Final month, it employed LADBible exec Drew Middleton to guide 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 possession 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 up to date leisure panorama. We’re very excited to companion together with his in-house workforce, led by Fola Adeyemi and propel his profession additional to even better heights.”
