Mohamed Nasir Nabil Abdul Rashid bin Suleman Obineche, known as Nabil Abdulrashid (born 3 September 1985) is an English comedian, In 2010, at the age of 25, he became the youngest black comedian to perform stand-up at the

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

Early life

Abdulrashid was born in

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, England, to a medical doctor father and a politician/businesswoman mother. Abdulrashid's father studied medicine in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(now Russia), while the Soviets were training African doctors. His father married his first wife, an Afghan woman, during the Russo-Afghan War. His father then moved to England and opened up a hospital. He then moved back to Nigeria, where he met Abdulrashid's mother, before moving back to England. In 1990, Abdulrashid and his family moved to

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He travelled around the world at a young age and had a private school education. He attended

Essence International School Essence International School (EIS) is an international school in Kaduna, Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in th ...

. In 2006, he moved back to England to live in

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, London In 2012, Abdulrashid graduated with a BA in

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and

Applied theatre Applied drama (also known as applied theatre or applied performance) is an umbrella term for the use of theatrical practices and creativity that takes participants and audience members further than mainstream theatre. It is often in response to c ...

from St. Mary's University College in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Career

In 2010, at the age of 25, Abdulrashid became the youngest black comedian to perform stand-up at the

, after being crowned joint winner of the national "Which Religion Is Funniest?" competition. The competition was judged by

David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in '' The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and later for his comedy partnership w ...

and

Omid Djalili Omid Djalili (; born 30 September 1965) is a British comedian, actor, and writer. Early life and education Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in St Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents Ahmad and Parvane ...

, and the winners were chosen to perform at the premiere of their film '' The Infidel''. Abdulrashid has performed at Comedy Cafe,

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Com ...

, Jongleurs and

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Global. It broadcasts on 96.9 and 107.1 FM in Greater London, and nationally on DAB, Global Player and television platforms. It specialises in hip ho ...

Comedy Club. From 2009 to 2010, Abdulrashid wrote, acted and directed on ''The Show Sho Show'', which aired on

Channel AKA Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

. He has written for comedians on panel shows and worked on a sketch show with the producers of ''

Little Miss Jocelyn ''Little Miss Jocelyn'' is a British TV sketch comedy written by and starring Jocelyn Jee Esien. The show is made up of studio sketches and hidden camera footage in which unsuspecting members of the public become part of a sketch. The series ra ...

'' and ''

3 Non-Blondes ''3 Non-Blondes'' is a British hidden camera comedy show (and the group name given to the three comedians who star in it), distributed by the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation on the BBC Three digital network channel, first aired in 2003. ...

''. Abdulrashid has toured with his religious comedy show ''Don't Panic, I'm Islamic!'' In July 2011, he toured four UK cities in the Peace Youth and Community Trust's (PYCT) first Muslim Comedy Tour, alongside comedians

Jeff Mirza Jeffrey Mirza (born 3 February 1964) is a British stand-up comedian and actor. Early life Mirza was born as Jeffrey Mirza and brought up in East End of London, England on 3 February 1964 to Pakistani parents. His family are from the Punjab re ...

, Nazim Ali,

Humza Arshad Humza Mohammed Arshad (; born 3 June 1985) is an English actor, comedian and writer of Pakistani descent. He produces the web series '' Diary of a Bad Man'' (2010–2013) and '' Badman'' (2015–present). His homemade YouTube videos have been ...

and

Prince Abdi Prince Abdi (born 21 July 1989) is a British stand-up comedian and actor. Early life Abdi was born in Somalia and immigrated to the United Kingdom with his family in the 1980s at the age of four. He was thereafter brought up in Brixton, Londo ...

. In November 2011, he took his ''Asia vs. Africa Comedy Clash'' show to 10 cities around the United Kingdom. In May 2012, he spent two weeks using theatre to educate children in Malawi on

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

. Abdulrashid delivers a comedy workshop encouraging inner-city children to use comedy as an alternative form of expression at schools across London. In January 2013, Abdulrashid co-founded Norbury Comedy Club with Ola Gbaja, with a show due to take place every Sunday in partnership with Baba Foundation restaurant. In April 2013, Abdulrashid appeared on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's '' 4thought.tv''. In October 2014, he performed on

BBC Local Radio BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 39 stations. As of December 2024, the network broadcasts to a combined audience of 7.1 mil ...

. In July 2015, he performed at Eid Special Comedy Night at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

in London. In December 2016, he appeared on two-part

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

documentary '' Muslims Like Us''. In May 2020, Abdulrashid appeared on ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' and got a Golden Buzzer from

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B / UK Garage group Mis-Teeq, who had seven UK top 10 hits, ...

which took him straight to the semi-final. In October, after winning the judges' vote, he advanced to the final, where he finished in fourth place. Almost 1,000 people complained about his performance in the semi-final and another 2,200 about the final. They were all rejected by media watchdog

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

, who said: "The comedian's satirical take on his life experiences as a black Muslim was likely to have been within audience expectations." Since 2021, Nabil has appeared on a number of TV shows including:

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of '' Countdown'', but presented in a comedy panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...

Have I Got News For You ''Have I Got News for You'' (''HIGNFY'') is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one ...

The Last Leg ''The Last Leg'' (known during its first series as ''The Last Leg with Adam Hills'' and in Australia as ''Adam Hills: The Last Leg'') is a British late-night television humorous talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Par ...

The Big Narstie Show ''The Big Narstie Show'' was a British television chat show, presented by rapper Big Narstie with comedian Mo Gilligan as his sidekick, that debuted on Channel 4 on 29 June 2018. Big Narstie is a rapper from the grime scene and has been cited as ...

, Big Zuu's Big Eats, QI and Sorry I Didn't Know. He has twice appeared on Live At The Apollo, including once as host. In 2023, Abdulrashid was one of the seven celebrities who participated in '' Pilgrimage: The Road through Portugal,'' a

series about a multi-faith pilgrimage to Fátima. In 2024, Nabil voiced multiple characters for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' Iwájú'', an original animated series set in a futuristic

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria.

Comedy style

Abdulrashid switches from surreal to

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

in his

dichotomy A dichotomy () is a partition of a set, partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothi ...

of being a middle-class educated man yet simultaneously a street-smart urban youth while avoiding clichés when dealing with topics such as being a black Muslim in south London. He switches accent and language, speaking French,

Patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and Somali and blending them into his material.

Conviction

In 2006, Abdulrashid was convicted of fraud, after a drug importation trial against him collapsed. He was sentenced to three years, but was released after serving a 15-month prison term.

Views

In August 2011, Abdulrashid responded on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

David Starkey Dr. David Robert Starkey (born 3 January 1945) is a British historian, radio and television presenter, with views that he describes as conservative. The only child of Quaker parents, he attended Kirkbie Kendal School, Kendal Grammar School b ...

's comments on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...

'' programme, made during a discussion about the England riots, claiming that "the whites have become black" and that "a particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion". Abdulrashid spoke about the history of colonialism in Africa and how black culture should not be equated with criminality. In May 2013, Abdulrashid responded on YouTube to the

murder of Lee Rigby On the afternoon of 22 May 2013, a British Army soldier, Fusilier#United Kingdom, Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was attacked and killed by Islamic terrorism, Islamist terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale n ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

on 22 May 2013, outlining his perception of alleged media double standards and far-right wing groups using the circumstances as propaganda to justify their own views.

Personal life

Abdulrashid has

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple con ...

. He also campaigns for fighting against knife and gun crime. Abdulrashid has referred to himself as a

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

man, stating that half of his family speak

while the other half speak

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

. He grew up speaking English, Hausa, Igbo, Arabic and French. In September 2011, Abdulrashid married. His wife is

British Pakistani British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakis ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

. They have two daughters.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulrashid, Nabil 1985 births 21st-century English comedians Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham Black British male comedians Black British comedians Britain's Got Talent contestants British fraudsters British male bloggers British people convicted of fraud Comedians from the London Borough of Croydon English comedy writers English Muslims English people of Hausa descent English people of Igbo descent English stand-up comedians English video bloggers Living people Muslim male comedians People from Croydon People from Kaduna People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder English people with disabilities