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Meet Fat Papi, the little-known NZ rapper catapulted to Billboard 100 fame

The Guardian UK Saturday 22 August 2026, 00:00 UTC By Eva Corlett in Wellington 1 min read
Key Points

How Baban Hussain’s online hit, remixed by Australian producer, launched the Kurdish New Zealander to global fameTwo months ago, Baban Hussain, a 22-year-old Kurdish New Zealander, was working from a self-run studio in Auckland, putting out music to a few thousand followers as little-known rapper Fat Papi. Then, as modern fairytales go, he made a viral hit that has amassed over 7.5bn views across YouTube, gained him nearly 10m new monthly listeners on Spotify, and catapulted him on to global...

How Baban Hussain’s online hit, remixed by Australian producer, launched the Kurdish New Zealander to global fame

Two months ago, Baban Hussain, a 22-year-old Kurdish New Zealander, was working from a self-run studio in Auckland, putting out music to a few thousand followers as little-known rapper Fat Papi.

Then, as modern fairytales go, he made a viral hit that has amassed over 7.5bn views across YouTube, gained him nearly 10m new monthly listeners on Spotify, and catapulted him on to global charts – including the US Billboard Hot 100.

Continue reading...
NZ (LOCATION) Baban Hussain’s (PERSON) Australian (ORG) the Kurdish New Zealander (ORG) Baban Hussain (PERSON) Kurdish (ORG) Auckland (LOCATION) Fat Papi (PERSON) YouTube (LOCATION) Spotify (ORG) US (LOCATION)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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