Biography
Rizwan Ahmed, the London rapper performing under the hip-hop name Riz MC and recognized for his acting achievements, sparked sharp political debate throughout the U.K. immediately upon arrival when he issued the pointedly satirical single “The Post 9/11 Blues” in 2006. That same year he stepped into cinema via The Road to Guantanamo. Maintaining both pursuits, he reached prominence in the late 2010s with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor on the HBO miniseries The Night Of, joined the Star Wars ensemble in Rogue One, and entered the superhero genre through Venom. Throughout his Hollywood ascent he stayed active as a socially engaged solo artist and as a member of the multicultural hip-hop outfit Swet Shop Boys.
A second-generation Pakistani raised in north London’s Wembley neighborhood, Ahmed attended a private school in Hertfordshire outside the capital. Equally shaped by jungle and hip-hop, he entered music in his mid-teens via pirate radio sets and repeated freestyle battles. While majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Oxford University he launched the club night “Hit&Run” and performed with the twelve-piece jazz-house and electronica group Confidential Collective. After finishing his degree in 2004 he trained for a year at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, securing a role in the 2006 political film The Road to Guantanamo.
Until then his solo recordings had been limited largely to battle-rap contests, many of which he won. Friends accidentally circulated the 2006 track “Post 9/11 Blues” online, where it spread rapidly. Major outlets including MTV declined to air it, yet the ensuing coverage led independent stations and programs to add the song. Confronted with label interest he started his own imprint, Battered Records, to retain control of promotion and presentation, releasing the single officially in August 2006. He closed the year by taking Best MC at the Asian Music Awards. In 2007 he delivered the garage-rap single “People Like People,” drawn from his debut Microscope, collaborated with Asian Dub Foundation on the drum’n’bass opera Gaddafi, and starred in the miniseries Britz.
British film work carried him into the 2010s and eventual worldwide recognition. After appearing in the 2014 Sundance hit Nightcrawler he landed two roles that reached broader U.S. and international audiences. Cast as the lead in the HBO drama The Night Of, he received an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor and became the first Asian and Muslim winner in the category as well as the first South Asian man to win an acting Emmy. That same year his commitment to representation extended to the big screen when he joined the crew of Rogue One, a Star Wars story. Capping the year, Ahmed and his Swet Shop Boys partners issued the politically charged debut full-length Cashmere.
Continuing to balance both careers, he appeared in the 2018 Sony/Marvel release Venom and contributed to The Hamilton Mixtape, which reached number one on the Billboard 200. He also featured in the 2019 films Sound of Metal and Weathering with You. Opening the new decade he starred in Mogul Mowgli, another critical success that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and one month later released the concept album The Long Goodbye under his own name. Produced by Swet Shop Boys associate Redinho, the record included numerous high-profile guest appearances.
A second-generation Pakistani raised in north London’s Wembley neighborhood, Ahmed attended a private school in Hertfordshire outside the capital. Equally shaped by jungle and hip-hop, he entered music in his mid-teens via pirate radio sets and repeated freestyle battles. While majoring in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Oxford University he launched the club night “Hit&Run” and performed with the twelve-piece jazz-house and electronica group Confidential Collective. After finishing his degree in 2004 he trained for a year at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, securing a role in the 2006 political film The Road to Guantanamo.
Until then his solo recordings had been limited largely to battle-rap contests, many of which he won. Friends accidentally circulated the 2006 track “Post 9/11 Blues” online, where it spread rapidly. Major outlets including MTV declined to air it, yet the ensuing coverage led independent stations and programs to add the song. Confronted with label interest he started his own imprint, Battered Records, to retain control of promotion and presentation, releasing the single officially in August 2006. He closed the year by taking Best MC at the Asian Music Awards. In 2007 he delivered the garage-rap single “People Like People,” drawn from his debut Microscope, collaborated with Asian Dub Foundation on the drum’n’bass opera Gaddafi, and starred in the miniseries Britz.
British film work carried him into the 2010s and eventual worldwide recognition. After appearing in the 2014 Sundance hit Nightcrawler he landed two roles that reached broader U.S. and international audiences. Cast as the lead in the HBO drama The Night Of, he received an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor and became the first Asian and Muslim winner in the category as well as the first South Asian man to win an acting Emmy. That same year his commitment to representation extended to the big screen when he joined the crew of Rogue One, a Star Wars story. Capping the year, Ahmed and his Swet Shop Boys partners issued the politically charged debut full-length Cashmere.
Continuing to balance both careers, he appeared in the 2018 Sony/Marvel release Venom and contributed to The Hamilton Mixtape, which reached number one on the Billboard 200. He also featured in the 2019 films Sound of Metal and Weathering with You. Opening the new decade he starred in Mogul Mowgli, another critical success that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and one month later released the concept album The Long Goodbye under his own name. Produced by Swet Shop Boys associate Redinho, the record included numerous high-profile guest appearances.
Albums
Singles
