Bilal Wahib

Bilal Wahib
Bilal Wahib during IFFR ceremonies in 2020
Bilal Wahib during IFFR ceremonies in 2020
Background information
Born (1999-01-20) 20 January 1999 (age 25)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • rapper
Years active2013–present

Bilal El Mehdi Wahib (born in Amsterdam, on 20 January 1999) is a Dutch actor, singer and rapper. He has appeared in several Dutch films and series like Nieuwe buren, SpangaS, Mocro Maffia and Commando's [1] and films Layla M., De Held, De libi and Paradise Drifters portrayed mainly in ethnic roles. In 2020, he won the Golden Calf for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Paradise Drifters in the role of Yousef.

Besides frequent appearances on screen, he also developed a music career with a number of singles starting in 2019. His debut charting single was from the soundtrack of the film he had a role in, De libi, resulting in the single "Vliegen".[2] His 2020 hit "Tigers" and his 2021 hit "501"[3] both topped the Dutch Single Top 100 chart and peaked at number 3 on the Dutch Top 40 charts. He was nominated to top 5 of the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Dutch Act for 2020 but did not win.

In March 2021, Wahib came under scrutiny after appearing in a controversial live stream on Instagram in which Wahib requested a 12 year old boy to show his penis in front of his audience in exchange for 17,000 euros, a request the boy acted upon. It was intended as a pun, based on the fact that in Dutch the same phrase can mean "if you can show your penis" as well as "if you can make your penis see". This resulted in Wahib being dropped from BNNVARA and his record label TopNotch.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Gidi Heesakkers (19 March 2020). "Acteur Bilal Wahib (20): 'Je moet te veel willen om er te komen. En je moet bereid zijn om er hard voor te werken'" (in Dutch). Volkskrant. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  2. ^ Milou Milou. "Acteur Bilal Wahib dropt 'De libi'-track 'Vliegen'" (in Dutch). Funx NLdate=14 June 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Bilal Wahib en Ronnie Flex nieuwe lijstaanvoerders Single Top 100" (in Dutch). Ditjes en Datjes. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Is de carrière van Bilal Wahib voorbij, of hebben we het binnenkort over slechts een ontspoorde grap?". Trouw. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Bilal Wahib blijft voorzichtig met media-optredens". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Bilal Wahib krijgt zaal niet vol na mediarel: 'Is alles wel vergeven?'". Retrieved 11 May 2022.