No, not Cat Stevens (that's Yusuf Islam), but a skinny North London Muslim who talks like a gangsta; a real-deal Ali G who sets a cracking pace with an impressive, rhythmic delivery you can’t help but get swept along with.
As a newcomer, some of the gags don’t hold up to scrutiny, with plenty of premises and ideas that seem over-familiar – he’s never, for example, going to break any new ground by telling us how difficult it is to get through US immigration. And the odd ill-judged comment about Chinese people would almost certainly be best left unsaid.
But if you go by the premise that it ain’t what you say, it’s the way that you say it, this fast-talking young spitfire wins hands-down. He is a genuinely refreshing voice, not defined solely by his faith, but a typical urban hybrid – as much informed by street culture and modern Britain as he is by his ethnic background.
On top of that, he’s an instinctively funny man, whose rap-influenced patter comes as an invigorating blast of fresh air through any gig. He grabs the attention effortlessly. And as his career progresses, let’s hope he does something equally impressive once he’s got it.
