Bilal Wahib
Bilal El Mehdi Wahib is a Dutch actor, singer and rapper from Amsterdam. He has appeared in several Dutch films and series such as Nieuwe buren, SpangaS, Mocro Maffia and Commando's 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. He is also known for his singles "Tigers" and "501", which both peaked at number three on the Dutch Top 40 chart while topping the Dutch Single Top 100 chart.
Music career
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". His 2020 hit "Tigers" and his 2021 hit "501" 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.Controversy
In March 2021, Wahib was arrested by Amsterdam police on suspicion of manufacturing and distributing child pornography after he asked a 12-year-old boy to show his penis during Wahib's Instagram livestream 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. He was also banned for life from Instagram. In February 2022, Wahib returned to Instagram but his account was deactivated shortly after.In November 2021, the Public Prosecution Service announced that Wahib would not be prosecuted for child pornography, as it was determined that the images were not intended for sexual arousal.
Filmography
Films
- 2013: Mimoun, a friend of Ab
- 2014: De verloren zoon, as young delinquent
- 2015: Geen koningen in ons bloed, as Rafael
- 2016: Fissa, as Yous
- 2016: Layla M., as Younes, Layla's brother
- 2016: De Held, as Tarik
- 2017: Monk, as Younes
- 2017: 7 Marokkanen en Jos], as Yessin
- 2017: Broeders, as Yasin
- 2017: Malik, as Amir
- 2018: Taal is zeg maar echt mijn ding, as an up-and-coming football talent
- 2019: De libi, (English title About That Life as Bilal
- 2020: Paradise Drifters, as Yousef
- 2021: ''Meskina''
Television series
- 2013: De vloer op jr., in diverse personalities
- 2014: Brugklas, as Hamza
- 2020: Commando's, as Aza Ouazani
- 2021: Red Light, as Elarbi
Discography