INTERVIEW W AAQIB HUSSAIN AHEAD OF NANNY CAM IN EDINBURGH/LONDON/LIVERPOOL JUNE 2017

who are u

I am Aaqib, a 22 year old East London born Pakistani who likes to dabble in so many things he sometimes finds himself drowning.

how are you

I am ok, I have loads of forms to fill out and emails to reply to and songs to write but I’m going to see Arsenal vs Sunderland tonight instead.

what are you studying, where, n how does it make you feel?

I study Business Management at a university called BPP, and if I’m honest it makes me feel tired so I’m trying to decide if I wanna continue.

the videos you submitted to Nanny Cam (mostly of simran) are very casual and social. do you think they are art?

(i definitely think slide into ur dms like —— is art. it’s probably all art)

I don’t know if I’d personally describe them as art, but I have so many videos on my camera roll/snapchat memories of my friends and myself that evoke certain emotions and I dunno, isn’t supposed to do that or make you think about things? (Not to get fake deep) Like watching DJ Khaled tell Asahd how much he loves him via snapchat & Instagram warms my heart so I think of that as art, at the same time Florence & the Machine recent’s album had an entire screening for the videos she produced with a director which I guess is considered more traditional art in the sense each movement tells a story that’s been carefully thought about. I do think the 'slide into ur dms’ video will be my greatest art piece ever and I’ll never be able to recreate anything as magical unless Beyonce agrees to recreate the video with me.

y do we all keep tonnes of pictures and videos on the camera roll? it feels so important

It honestly stresses me out to delete things for more space

I don’t know! I keep loads of memes if I’m being honest, my friends all know if they send me a stressed/serious/angry text I’ll 100% have the correct meme to send back. I’ve started taking loads of pictures of things around me/selfies now though recently just because I like to look back on things when I don’t wanna scroll back through my Instagram which if I’m being honest I try and police to try to make everything look as good as possible. I absolutely liiiive for the really bad photos I’ve taken with my friends on a night out but I wouldn’t want them on Instagram. My auntie’s would slap me.

how do you feel that these videos of you and sim out-out, or you and friends at pre drinks, are going to be shown on big cinema-size screens in two institutions across the country alongside other videos and film productions???

It’s not a technical term but I am quite gassed at the idea of being screened alongside people who probably have such a higher level of skill than I do and make more meaningful content (which I plan to do one day soon). My mum when I told her was oddly proud and I’ve never really seen her like that about anything ‘art’ I’ve done which was trippy as hell. The fact it’s being shown at a sold out (shout out to everyone who got a ticket, love u guys) show is one thing, but also being shown outside of London? I’m gonna start wearing shades everywhere and get into random black SUVs like a Kardashian.

what is your favourite kardashian moment n why

• everyone's fav moment in Bora Bora when Kim loses her earrings and Kourtney responds by saying "Kim, there's people that are dying."
• the ICONIC "don't be fucking rude" when Kim hits Khloe with her bag after they argue about expensive cars
• also iconic the, "if you know how i feel why would you say that" when Kim is divorcing after 72 days of marriage. wasn't funny then but her face became a meme because it was so bad at the time and i love doing the entire dialogue in a dramatic way in her voice.

what do u think about the fact we have been calling you an artist?

Again, gassed. I dunno if I am an artist but I like to express myself and allow people to feel as happy/gassed/stressed/emotional as I am in the moments whenever I do make these videos or songs of whatever else it is.I hope to one day be able to actually have art I can showcase though and maybe be critiqued by you guys.

are you excited?

I’m so excited I could pee.

what songs do u listen to when youre happy

• DJ Khaled - I'm The One
• Wstrn - In2
• Chance the Rapper - No Problems
• RuPaul ft. Alaska, Detox, Katya & Roxxxy Andrews - Read U Wrote U
• Rihanna - Pour It Up
• Spice - So Mi Like It
• Little Mix - Touch / Move / Their Entire Collection
• J Hus - Did You See

what do u want your life to look like?

I want my life to be like an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, a whole load of energy in the beginning, a slow downfall and then a magnificent rise via a lip synch filled with death drops and splits. Also Keeping up with the Kardashians in the sense I go to many places doing little things.

and where do you want to be?

Ideally on a stage singing a song while my best friend Hannah plays with me. SOON COME.

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u can follow aaqib on twitter here and insta there