Imraan van Kesteren’s new video, Boeka Nights— Thriller Edition is a song about breaking your fast, sung to the tune of Michael Jackson’s 1980s hit.
The 80-second clip stars the 33-year-old, dressed in a salaah top and fez, and in it he sings about boeka time with his family — samoosas, bollas, daltjies and ander lekker koekies.
The opening lyrics are: “It’s close to maghrib, and imam’s got me waiting for bilal; food’s on the table, samoosas, bollas and it’s all halaal...”
The video is filmed in Woodstock in his own home, with the help of his 10-year-old son.
And even though Imraan kan skaars reg sing, the video has gone viral with over 130 000 views and 2 600 shares on Facebook alone.
He explains: “I started a Facebook page called Life With Iemie, making videos last year after my son introduced me to the idea.
“I thought I can also do this, and look, now we are here. I always look for the next best thing when making a video. I haven’t done a music video yet so I thought it’s Ramadaan, why not do something on our boeka nights.
“The video is my personal experience of our boeka nights. We are so excited to experience the holy month to fast and excited to boeka with our families, but we all end up eating too much and your tummy starts to rumble,” Imraan says jokingly.
Imraan says his videos have received a lot of attention, so much so a company asked him to film a video for them.
“An insurance company asked me to film a video for them on my platform and I did. They received so many good reviews they’ve asked for more.”
The characters in his lagbol clips are all family members and friends.
“My family also stars in my videos which is fun and quite a bonding experience. My son, daughter and pregnant wife believe in me and that’s what makes the videos fun to make. My wife was sceptical at first, but when she saw the response, she changed her mind,” he says.
This internet sensation says he would like to work with local stars.
“I would really like to collaborate with local artists in my videos. This would help to promote raw talent. People can also expect to see a video just before labarang. I can’t wait to get started on that,” he adds.