Aamer Rahman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aamer Rahman
Born (1982-10-17) 17 October 1982 (age 41)
Saudi Arabia
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
NationalityAustralian
Years active2007–present
Genres
  • Observational comedy
  • satire
  • deadpan
  • sarcasm
Subject(s)
Spouse
Que Ali
​
(m. 2012)​
Websiteaamerrahman.tumblr.com

Aamer Rahman (Bengali: আমের রহমান; born 17 October 1982[citation needed]) is an Australian stand-up comedian of Bangladeshi descent. He is best known as one half of comedy duo Fear of a Brown Planet, along with Nazeem Hussain.

Early life and education[edit]

Rahman's parents, Rezina Rahman and Mushfiq Rahman, were both born and brought up in Bangladesh.[1] Rahman's father is an engineer.[2] After Rahman's parents got married in Bangladesh they moved to the Middle East.[3] Rahman was born in Saudi Arabia, although his family often travelled to Bangladesh.[4] He lived in Saudi Arabia until the age of six when his family moved to Australia. They then moved to Oman when he was 10 years old, before returning to Australia when he was 13 years old.[3][5][6][7] He grew up in the western and eastern suburbs of Melbourne.[8] He has a younger sister, Rasha Rahman.[9]

Rahman attended Monash University, during which he became involved in political protests around issues such as mandatory detention, refugees, and cuts to higher education.[1] He was an editor of the student newspaper, Lot's Wife, in 2002.[10] Although he graduated with a degree in law, he did not pursue a legal career.[4]

Stand-up career[edit]

Main article: Fear of a Brown Planet

2004–2008[edit]

In 2004, Rahman met Nazeem Hussain at an Islamic awards function,[11] as a result of their support for asylum seekers and for anti-racism activism.[12] They became friends and did youth work together in Melbourne.[6]

In 2007, Hussain entered Triple J's Raw Comedy Award open mic competition at the Melbourne Comedy Festival[13][14] After seeing Hussain compete, Rahman also decided to enter.[6] They beat hundreds of other hopefuls to reach the Victorian State final together. Hussain reached the Victorian final.[15] Rahman won the state final and went onto the national finals where he was voted the runner-up in a performance that was screened on ABC Television.[4][16]

Due to the success of Raw Comedy they decided to develop their five-minute stand-up routines into a one-hour show together.[14] In five years, they established their own stage show Fear of a Brown Planet and sold out around Australia.[12] Their name plays on the Public Enemy LP, Fear of a Black Planet.[13][16]

Rahman and Hussain performed their first show in 2007 and their second show in 2008. They were then given a network development deal for a year and a half.[3]

In 2008, Rahman helped out the Allah Made Me Funny tour. In April 2008,[17] Rahman and Hussain first performed Fear of a Brown Planet at Melbourne Fringe Festival.[16] Prior this, Rahman had only been on stage three times.[18]

In 2009, Rahman and Hussain were among ten writers selected for an exclusive script-writing workshop hosted by UK indie film company Warp X, Screen Australia and Madman Entertainment.[4]

2010–present[edit]

In 2010, Rahman and Hussain performed their follow up show,[4] Fear of a Brown Planet Returns[19][20] at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. In the same year, Rahman performed in the Oxfam Comedy Gala televised on Channel Ten, whilst Hussain performed in the Cracker Night of the Sydney Comedy Festival Gala, televised on The Comedy Channel.[21] In October 2010, they took part in a one-off concert with Azhar Usman, Preacher Moss and Mo Amer (Allah Made Me Funny) at the Athenaeum Theatre in Paris.[11][22]

During 2011, Rahman and Hussain performed their new show, Fear of a Brown Planet Attacks.[23] In August 2011, they performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[24][25][26] On the way home from Edinburgh they performed an impromptu show in London,[1] after a friend of theirs organised a show in Brixton[9] with two days notice.[27] In the same year, Rahman performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[28]

On 31 August 2011,[29] Fear of a Brown Planet Returns DVD and Blu-ray was released, which was recorded at the Chapel Off Chapel in Melbourne.[30] on 15 January 2011.[31] It features the "best of" material from their 2010 sell-out festival show, also entitled Fear of a Brown Planet Returns, as well as content from their debut shows.[32][33] In September 2011, Rahman started work on a one-man comedy show.[1] In December 2011[34] and December 2012, they performed on ABC2.[35]

In April 2012, Hussain and Rahman played at the second show of the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[36] In September 2012,[27] they toured the United Kingdom,[37][38][39] where they performed in cities including Manchester, Bradford, London, Birmingham and Cardiff.[27]

In April 2013, he performed his debut solo show, The Truth Hurts, at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[5][40][41][42][43]

In 2013, Rahman and Hussain performed at Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.[44] In October 2013, they performed at the Sydney Opera House.[45]

From 10 to 21 June 2014, he performed "The Truth Hurts" Soho Theatre in London.[46][47]

Rahman is a regular contributor to Political Asylum, Melbourne's topical stand-up comedy night.[48]

Comedy style[edit]

Rahman and Hussain perform alone before handing over to their comedic partner.[49] Rahman's comedy has been described as wry and subversive.[25]

Television and radio career[edit]

Rahman has written and performed for television[50] Rahman has worked on Channel 31's program Salam Cafe.[18] He has appeared regularly on ABC Radio National and Triple J, Channel Ten's Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala, The Comedy Channel's You Have Been Watching,[51] ABC1's Tractor Monkeys,[52] he has written for season one of[8] Balls of Steel Australia[38] and is currently developing projects for television.[51]

In 2011, Australian Story broadcast a documentary on the ABC about Rahman's and Hussain's lives in Australia as well as their debut performances in Edinburgh and London.[9]

In 2017, he featured in an ABC and Chemical Media film called You See Monsters, about Muslim Australian artists fighting Islamic bigotry through creativity, satire and irreverence.

Other activities[edit]

Rahman is also a part-time youth worker[11] for the Islamic Council of Victoria,[53] and a graphic designer.[4][9]

In November 2010, Rahman appeared in an advert for Oxfam Australia.[54]

Awards[edit]

In 2008, Rahman and Hussain were recipients of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Best Newcomer Award for their debut show Fear of a Brown Planet.[4][21][55]

Views[edit]

In December 2014, in his Tumblr post "White Rapper FAQ", Rahman wrote "...A white rapper like Iggy Azalea acts out signifiers which the white majority associates with black culture – hyper sexuality, senseless materialism, an obsession with drugs, money and alcohol – as well as adopting clothing, speech and music – as a costume that they can put on and discard at will. It's a cheap circus act."[56] In January 2015, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, he tweeted "As a random Muslim I'll apologise for this Paris incident if random white ppl will apologise for imperialism, drone attacks and Iggy Azalea."[57]

Personal life[edit]

Rahman is a Muslim.[14][55][58] In October 2011, he moved out of his parental home.[1] He currently lives in Glen Waverley, Victoria.[59][60] On 9 November 2012, Rahman married Que Ali.[61]

Since its inception in 2009, Rahman has been involved with RISE: Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees – the only refugee organisation in Australia that is run and governed by refugees and ex-detainees. He has been active in visiting RISE members currently in community detention and has been vocal supporters of migrant worker rights. He has developed projects in RISE's Music & Arts portfolio. He has also been involved in RISE's youth development projects including the RISE Music & Arts Festival (2010 and 2011) and RISE's Cypher Hip Hop Project (2011).[21][62] He is still involved in activism, mostly around refugees and immigration into Australia.[46]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "The Planet They're On – Transcript". ABC Online. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Fear of a Brown Planet – Workshops for Whitey". Fear of a Brown Planet. 15 February 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Kamau (August 2011). "Episode 25 pt. 3 – Aamer Rahman: Fear of a Brown Planet". Podbay.fm. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Fear of a Brown Planet". Smartartists. 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  5. ^ a b Amal (23 May 2013). ""I wouldn't do it if I wasn't angry" – Aamer Rahman". The Vine. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b c MacDonald, Leigh (29 July 2013). "Vulture Chirps with Fear of a Brown Planet". Vulture Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  7. ^ Vranjes, Emilia (13 July 2011). "Muslims in the mainstream". Perth: inMyCommunity. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Aamer Rahman : The Truth Hurts". Beat. March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d Fahmi, Asme (1 December 2011). "Fear of a Funny Muslim Returns". MuslimVillage.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  10. ^ Monash University. Students' Representative Council; Rahmna, Aamer; MacNeil-Brown, Jessie; Leslie, Catherine; Ujvari, Danielle (2002). "Masthead". Lot's wife. Vol. 42, no. 1–13. Monash Student Association. doi:10.4225/03/580d449041ae1.
  11. ^ a b c Ziffer, Daniel (14 October 2010). "Brown humour". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  12. ^ a b Barker, Arj (7 November 2011). "The Planet They're On". ABC Online. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  13. ^ a b Fahmi, Asme (30 November 2011). "Fear of a Funny Muslim". MuslimVillage.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  14. ^ a b c "Interview – Fear of a Brown Planet". Heckler. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Fear of a Brown Planet". Eurasian Sensation. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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  18. ^ a b Ziffer, Daniel (7 April 2007). "What's so funny about beards, jihad & understanding?". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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  24. ^ a b Logan, Brian (16 November 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  25. ^ Hawkins, Si (17 July 2011). "Muslim comedians perform at Edinburgh's Fringe". The National. Abu Dhabi. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  26. ^ a b c Hamilton, Davina (19 September 2012). "'Is Australia racist? In a word, yes'". The Voice Online. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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  31. ^ Lamb, Lizzie (7 November 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet Interview with Aamer Rahman". Australian Film Review. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  32. ^ "Fear of a Brown Planet Comes To Dvd". Spotlight Report. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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  34. ^ Galvin, Nick (2 December 2012). "Fear of a Brown Planet, Friday, December 2". The Age. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  35. ^ Lan, Christine. "Political Asylum's Late Night Riot". Beat. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  36. ^ "In Fear of a Brown Planet". The Times of India. India. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  37. ^ a b "WIN TICKETS: Fear of a Brown Planet". Asian Image. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  38. ^ Rahman, Aamer (8 September 2012). "Fear of a Brown Planets' Bro Aamer Rahman's letter to Prince Harry". Son of Malcolm. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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  40. ^ Razer, Helen (1 April 2013). "Aamer Rahman: The Truth Hurts". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  41. ^ Razer, Helen (1 April 2013). "Aamer Rahman: The Truth Hurts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  42. ^ Razer, Helen (1 April 2013). "Aamer Rahman: The Truth Hurts". Brisbane Times. Brisbane. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  43. ^ "Aamer Rahman The Truth Hurts". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  44. ^ Blake, Elissa (20 October 2013). "A challenging comedy about Muslims has attracted more attention than expected". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. Archived from the original on 23 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  45. ^ a b Logan, Brian (4 June 2014). "Shock value: How Aamer Rahman's 'reverse racism' joke saved his career". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  46. ^ Logan, Brian (12 June 2014). "Aamer Rahman review – laconic comic on life in Australia, a 'Nazi beach resort'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  47. ^ "Aamer Rahman". Overland literary journal. 13 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 September 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  48. ^ Lan, Christine (8 April 2011). "Fear of a Brown Planet Attacks". Beat. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  49. ^ "Interview with Hussain and Rahman, from 'Fear of a Brown Planet'". Australian Times. 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  50. ^ a b "Aamer Rahman". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  51. ^ "Tractor Monkeys – Sam Simmons, Rebecca De Unamuno, Aamer Rahman & Genevieve Morris". ABC Television. 27 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  52. ^ "Melbourne Muslims on air". The Age. Melbourne. 26 October 2006. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  53. ^ "Aamer Rahman for Oxfam Unwrapped". OxfamAustralia. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  54. ^ a b "Award Winners". Melbourne International Comedy Festivale. Archived from the original on 30 September 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  55. ^ Eddo-Lodge, Reni (23 December 2013). "Azealia Banks vs Iggy Azalea: 'Privileged white people shouldn't steal hip-hop'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  56. ^ Morrison, Aaron (8 January 2013). "Muslims Angered By Charlie Hebdo Attack Defend Religion In Social Media". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  57. ^ Hajaj, Nidal; Elliott-Cooper, Adam (24 September 2012). "Interview: Fear of a Brown Planet (Video)". Ceasefire Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  58. ^ "Nazeem Hussain and Aamer Rahman's comedy". Immigration Museum. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  59. ^ "Monash boys' success with Fear of a Brown Planet". Waverley: Waverley Leader. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  60. ^ Moore, Ali (3 October 2013). "Brian Nankervis, Nazeem Hussain, Shelley Ware". 774 ABC Melbourne. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  61. ^ Visa (1 July 2013). "(Interview) Nazeem Hussain". Poached Mag. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.

External links[edit]

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