Sheikh Haikel

Sheikh Haikel (born Sheikh Haikel Sheikh Salim, Arabic: شيخ هيكل شيخ سليم‎‎ Šayḫ Haykal Šayḫ Salīm, 10 October 1975) is a Singaporean rapper, actor and radio personality. He won talent competition Asia Bagus in 1991. He has performed on the radio, the stage, the big screen and on television, and has produced three studio albums and numerous single track albums to date.

He attended Saint Patrick's School and has a BA in Performing Arts and Pychology from the Queensland University of Technology.

Acting

Sheikh Haikel first appeared on the big screen in the iconic Singaporean film, Army Daze. Army Daze made a return to the theatre in 2006 under the direction of Beatrice Chia and Goh Boon Teck, with Sheikh retaining the role of Johari Salleh. His next performance was as Jeff in the joint Singaporean-Malaysian film City Sharks in 2003 which he starred in alongside Nicholas Lee and Hans Isaac.

He has starred in many sitcoms in TV such as 3 Rooms and The Donnie Lee Show. He also guest starred various times on the critically successful Singaporean sitcom, Under One Roof. He has also hosted ESPN's Football Crazy and is currently the host of Okto's Knockout.

Radio

Sheikh Haikel was a DJ for the local broadcast channel 98.7FM, and on the Breakfast Show on channel 91.3FM in 2008.

Music

Sheikh's music is rooted in rap. He became interested in it at the age of nine, when his mother bought a Run DMC tape for him by accident, having mistaken it for a The Pips tape.

Sheikh won the Asia Bagus Grand Championship as part of the rap duo Construction Sight in 1991. Construction Sight is credited as "Singapore's first ever rap group". His first two solo albums For Sure and For Sure Too led him to win Best Local English Song at the Compass Awards in 2002 and 2004 for the hit single, Witulah. His third album 10.10.10 was released on the same date of his 35th birthday, 10 October 2010. He performed a series of songs at the President's Star Charity 2012.

In 2004, complaints were made to Singapore's Media Development Authority that he and his then co-host Daniel Ong made lewd remarks on air when a teenage male listener called in for advice on how to attract a girl he liked. As a result of these complaints, Ong was suspended from on-air duties while Sheikh was asked to leave. MediaCorp Radio's 987FM was cautioned and fined S$15,000. s.

In November 2010, Sheikh started a feud with Korean boy band U-KISS as they allegedly "bullied" him backstage at a concert in Bedok Reservoir. After the event, Sheikh posted on Twitter, "U- Kiss my ass!!!". Although he did not elaborate on what ignited the feud, he also tweeted: "All u-kiss fans were to [sic] busy to notice anything else. I was to [sic] busy trying to get u-kiss on stage." After another few tweets targeted at U-KISS and their fans, Sheikh apologised for his banter on Twitter.

Sheikh Haikel is a Singaporean of Arab descent. He has one sister. He is married to Singaporean actress Anna Belle Francis. They have two children – Triqka (born 2003) and Abbra (born 2005).

Solo albums

• For Sure (2002)
• For Sure Too (2003)
• 10.10.10 (2010)
• Eh Lah (2011; one track album promoting his upcoming album, Check, Check, 1–2, 1–2)
• Check, Check, 1–2, 1–2 (TBA)

Singles

• "Witulah" (With u lah) (Peaked at No. 1 on Malaysian music charts)

• Anne Freeman (22 March 2006). "MIDEM Music Spotlight: Sheikh Haikel". Music Dish. Retrieved 11 October 2012.