Fat PapiThere’s a strong chance that, over the past couple of months, you’ve found yourself acquainted with the work of Fat Papi.
The musical moniker of Auckland-based Baban Hussain, Fat Papi has been making music for a number of years, offering up his unique blend of hip hop and R&B dubbed “synthclub”.
While those might sound like fancy terms to describe a sound that has been making waves of late, Hussain explains that his music is the result of being a Kurdish New Zealander, and part of his bigger vision to build something that can exist globally while still representing where he’s from.
“Both of those things are a big part of my story,” he tells The Music. “I want to show that you can come from this side of the world, make the music you actually want to make, and have it connect anywhere.”
For most people, their introduction to Fat Papi came by way of the track Freaked Out, which arrived in June paired with production work from Perth producer prodshushy.
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It’s managed to reach some pretty impressive heights since its release, but Hussain explains that its composition was a natural one – one based around “making something we liked” instead of chasing a hit.
“Shushy sent me the beat after we had a conversation that we wanted to make a song like Back It Up, a track we released earlier in the year that we loved and connected with the audience,” he explains.
“Once I heard the production, the ideas came pretty quickly. I think that’s usually a good sign for me. When I’m not overthinking what I’m writing, and I can just react to the production, that’s when some of my favourite songs happen.”
Citing a desire to capture a feeling that was both catchy with an energy that would stick with its listener, it came about from a desire to not overcomplicate things.
“Sometimes the best thing you can do with a song is recognise what already works and not touch it too much.,” Hussain explains. “The production had its own character, so vocally I wanted to complement that rather than fight against it.”
Freaked Out was first released back on June 4th, and it’s managed to climb the charts, but at first, its release was one that felt like any other song. “I don't think anyone can predict what's happened with it,” he explains.
“When you're making music all the time, there are songs you think are going to be massive that don't connect the way you expect, and then something can take on a life of its own.
“With Freaked Out, once it was out and we started seeing how people were reacting to it, it felt different,” he adds. “People weren't just listening to it; they were making content with it, sharing it and putting their own spin on it. That's when I started thinking there might be something bigger happening.”
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♬ FREAKED OUT - Fat Papi & prodshushy
For many people, their first exposure to Freaked Out would have come about via a now-viral TikTok created by Jocelyn Meiere. Referred to as ‘Miss Diva Bob’, Meiere shared a clip soon after the track’s release in which it soundtracked her styling her bob haircut under the on-screen caption of “reasons to get a bob”.
Currently, that original video has been liked more than 6.9 million times, features over 43,000 comments, and has been saved close to 600,000 times.
Needless to say, it didn’t take long for fans to take notice. However, Hussain notes that the moment it “really became real” was when the numbers started translating outside the video sharing platform.
“You can have a viral sound, and it doesn't necessarily mean people are going to search for the actual song,” he explains. “Once we started seeing millions of streams coming in across platforms and people from completely different countries listening to it, that was when it felt like, ‘Okay, this isn't just a viral video anymore.’
“Then you start seeing the charts, the messages coming in, people in the industry reaching out, and it becomes something completely different.”
The charts have indeed been showing some love to Fat Papi and prodshushy. As it stands, the track sits at No. 69 on the ARIA charts having previously debuted at No. 42, and holds steady at No. 9 on the Hip Hop/R&B Singles Chart.
In New Zealand, the track debuted at No. 38 on the national chart on July 31st, having appeared on the Top 20 Aotearoa Singles chart two weeks prior, ultimately hitting No. 1.
Most impressively, it’s also impacted the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at No. 89 before rising one spot higher on the most recent chart. As Hussain explains, it hasn’t taken long for this exposure to change things.
“There are way more opportunities, conversations and people reaching out now,” he notes. “The biggest thing for me has probably been adjusting to how quickly everything moves. I've been making music and working towards this for a long time, and then suddenly a lot of things you imagined happening one day are all happening at once.
“I'm enjoying it, though. More than anything, it's made me want to work harder because now there's an opportunity to turn one big moment into something much bigger.”
Reflecting on the US chart success, Hussain shared a post late last month in which he reflected on the fact he was the “first ever Kurdish artist to get a Billboard hit, and second rapper from New Zealand”.
While Savage managed to hit No. 45 on the Hot 100 in 2008 with a remix of Swing, Hussain is correct in that he’s the first Kurdish artist to achieve such success.
A veritable pioneer, he’s aware that both Kurdish and New Zealand artists are both rarely represented on the international charts, and admits that while that aspect “means more to me than the numbers themselves”, there is a bit of pressure to perform despite the positive feeling such representation brings.
“Being Kurdish and being from New Zealand, you don't really grow up seeing many people with your background doing this at a global level,” he explains. “So being able to represent both is crazy to me.
“Especially with New Zealand hip hop, we know how much talent there is here, but geographically we're so far away from the rest of the industry. Sometimes it can feel like there's a ceiling on how far something from here can travel. Seeing a song we made reach the Billboard charts changes my perspective on what's actually possible.
“There's definitely pressure, but I think it's good pressure,” he continues. “I don't want Freaked Out to be the one moment people remember me for. I want people to look back at it as the song that opened the door to everything that came afterwards.
“And hopefully it makes another kid from New Zealand, or another Kurdish kid somewhere in the world, look at it and think they can do it too.”
The same can also be said for prodshushy, who admits that while there’s plenty of mind paid to Australian artists on the global charts, rarely is the attention extending beyond Sydney and Melbourne to somewhere like Perth.
“There are a lot of Aussie artists and producers that are way more talented than me,” he posits. “They just haven’t gotten their time to shine yet. And for me to have this moment where I can represent every upcoming artist in Australia, especially Western Australia, is a big privilege and honour! We out here world!
“A lot of people get surprised when they realise where I’m from, they assume I’m a producer from the US, UK, or even places like South Africa,” he adds. “So it’s a bit of a shock to them when they find out that an Aussie producer can also bring in music like this!”
Since the release and subsequent viral success of Freaked Out, it’s fair to say that things have changed. After all, the track currently boasts more than 67 million plays on Spotify alone, while the slowed down and sped up remixes have over 8.9 million and 1.5 million streams on the same platform, respectively.
Earlier today, it was announced that the pair had signed with Warner Chappell Music for worldwide representation, with John Halstead, the company’s senior A&R manager for Australia praising the musicians’ “level of originality that’s impossible to ignore”.
It’s easy to look at this story and see the big milestones, but from a first-person perspective, what’s changed?
“The biggest change is probably the scale of everything,” Hussain admits. “The conversations are different, the opportunities are bigger, and suddenly we're talking to people and being put in rooms that would've been difficult to access before.
“But creatively, I don't want it to change too much. I don't want to start making music based on trying to recreate Freaked Out. I think chasing the exact same moment again is probably the quickest way to lose what made it work in the first place.
“The goal is to use the attention to introduce people to everything else we are capable of!”
As the pair spoke to The Music, they were on their way to the US, with Hussain admitting that they’re deep in the process of “meeting people, getting in rooms, making music, and really trying to take advantage of the doors that have opened”.
But beyond that, there’s plenty of plans for the future. There’s more music on the way, he assures, while also pointing to a forthcoming Australian visit, having recently been added to the line-up of the Spilt Milk festival in December.
“I've never wanted to be an artist who has one big record and then disappears for a year trying to figure out what to do next,” Hussain admits. “I've already got music I'm excited about, and I want people to start understanding Fat Papi as an artist beyond just Freaked Out.
“Shows are definitely something we're looking at as well. Seeing where the song has travelled has made me want to actually get in front of those people and perform it.
“This moment has given us an opportunity, but for me this is really just the beginning.”
There’s been viral reach, chart success at home and abroad, and even international in-roads being made alongside some business deals being made as well. But the most pertinent question needs to be asked: is there a bob haircut on the horizon to honour this massive rise?
“After everything this song has done for me, I feel like I owe the bob community something,” Hussain laughs. “Maybe in the near future, follow the journey to find out!”
Fat Papi plays Spilt Milk in Australia this December, with tickets on sale now.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
