Big Zuu: Rediscovering Faith as a Grime Artist | GREAT MOMENTS

Summary

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Great Company with Jamie Laing

Episode: Big Zuu: Rediscovering Faith as a Grime Artist | GREAT MOMENTS

Date: May 10, 2026
Guest: Big Zuu (Zaher Hassan)

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Episode Overview

In this inspiring and candid episode, Jamie Laing sits down with rapper, TV presenter, and chef Big Zuu to discuss the power of resilience, the complexities of cultural identity, and the journey of rediscovering faith while navigating life as a grime artist. The conversation weaves through Big Zuu’s family history, his relationship with Sierra Leone and Lebanon, the grounding impact of travel “back home,” and the nuanced realities of maintaining spiritual belief in the public eye.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Big Zuu’s Identity and Family Roots

• Name Origins and Pronunciation
  • Big Zuu reveals his real name is Zaher Hassan, named after his father, but called “Zuu” due to mispronunciations by teachers.

    “My real name is Zaher Hassan. But my teachers could pronounce it, so they call me Zuhair... I was like, you know what? Call me Zuh.” (01:47, Big Zuu)

• Mother’s Strength and Family’s Migration Story
  • Zuu shares his mother’s journey fleeing Sierra Leone during pregnancy, noting her resilience in raising him alone in the UK with limited resources.

    “My mom was just a powerful woman... My mom's one of 14, like, crazy family... If the war never happened, I'd never be here.” (02:36–03:15, Big Zuu)

• Sierra Leonean and Lebanese Heritage
  • Zuu discusses pride in his mixed heritage but identifies most with Sierra Leone due to deep family and cultural ties.

    “Really my entire identity is Sierra Leone. I just happen to be mixed race. It's mad.” (03:20, Big Zuu)

2. Returning to Sierra Leone: Humility and Perspective

• Annual Visits and Cultural Contrasts
  • Big Zuu travels to Sierra Leone every December, bringing provisions and reconnecting with family—a resetting tradition for him.

    “When I go back home, so a lot of it's about... provisionals. Whereas here we eat what we want... Back home, it’s a bit different.” (03:58–04:45, Big Zuu)

• The Value of Simplicity and Appreciation
  • He describes his childhood realization of relative privilege after witnessing everyday life back home, especially through an anecdote with a Game Boy.

    “I thought my life was shit in England... But then when I went to Africa, I realized, ah, you know what? I'm all right.” (05:21–05:54, Big Zuu)

• Understanding True Wealth and Privilege
  • Basic utilities like electricity are not guaranteed in Sierra Leone, and enduring long blackouts fosters community in different ways.

    “Electricity is not a God given right... My dad had no electricity... That means no fridge... lots of things that we’re just so used to having.” (07:19–08:30, Big Zuu)

3. Resilience and Adaptability

• Contrasting Mindsets Between Countries
  • Zuu talks about how people in the UK often take modern conveniences for granted, including how minor disruptions would cause outrage.

    “If it was in England, you would be calling Scottish Power, going absolutely mental.” (09:09, Jamie Laing)

• Life Lessons from Adversity
  • The lack of modern distractions in Sierra Leone creates unique opportunities for connection and introspection.

    “All you can do is sit because it’s so hot. You just gotta sit in a balcony and just talk.” (08:30, Big Zuu)

4. Faith, Grime, and Authenticity

• Being Open with Islamic Faith
  • Big Zuu reflects on coming to terms with being publicly Muslim, especially after making the documentary Big Zuu Goes to Mecca.

    “I wasn't really open about being a Muslim... But then I did this doc... and it kind of changed my life.” (09:30, Big Zuu)

• The Tension Between Music and Religion
  • He addresses the conflict some feel between being a musician (often seen as haram) and living faithfully.

    “My name’s Zaher. I have a beard. Like, it’s clear innit. I'm one of you... But I also come from music, which is also considered haram.” (09:56, Big Zuu)

• Navigating Different Interpretations
  • The conversation touches on how Islamic teachings and cultural traditions can vary, and how interpretation plays a big role.

    “The Quran is about interpretation. The words of Allah is what we live... but hadiths... are interpretation as well.” (11:15–11:19, Big Zuu)

• Personal Growth and Acceptance
  • Zuu is honest about his imperfections but stresses the importance of sincere intention and God’s mercy.

    ”All monotheism is around that… we are flawed. But as long as your intention is pure... I feel like God will look past that. So then—if God will look past that, then you can’t really care what people think about you.” (12:55–13:35, Big Zuu)

5. Universal Value of Faith and Openness

• Faith as a Source of Gratitude
  • Jamie shares his own shift in practice—from compulsory church attendance to private gratitude and prayer.

    “Every evening and morning I pray... I pray for thanks and I'm grateful and that has definitely changed my life 100%.” (13:52, Jamie Laing)

• Distinguishing Religion from Culture
  • Zuu highlights the crucial difference between scriptural teachings and culturally inherited practices.

    “There's a difference between like religion and culture... what you grew up with. So if culturally you have these ideologies that I don't have, doesn't mean that I'm a bad person.” (14:17–14:44, Big Zuu)

• Inclusivity and Respect
  • He argues that people’s beliefs are shaped by upbringing and environment, and calls for empathy and non-judgment.

    “If someone's born in a random village and there's no religion, does that mean they're going to hell?... You have to respect that.” (15:00–16:47, Big Zuu)

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Memorable Quotes

• On privilege and perspective:

  “I thought my life was shit in England... But then when I went to Africa, I realized, ah, you know what? I'm all right.” (05:21–05:54, Big Zuu)

• On faith and authenticity:

  “I’m a grime MC... I spit bars that I grew up smoking weed and drink alcohol and talking to women. All things that are very haram, but I own those things... as long as your intention is pure... I feel like God will look past that.” (12:55–13:35, Big Zuu)

• On the difference between religion and culture:

  “There’s a difference between religion and culture... what’s in the book and what is taught, that’s different to what you grew up with.” (14:17–14:44, Big Zuu)

• On empathy for different backgrounds:

  “If someone’s born in a random village and there’s no religion, does that mean they’re going to hell?... You have to respect that.” (15:00–16:47, Big Zuu)

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Important Timestamps

• [01:47] — Zaher’s real name and family naming story
• [02:19] — Big Zuu’s mother’s journey from Sierra Leone
• [03:20] — Pride in Sierra Leonean and Lebanese heritage
• [03:46] — Annual returns to Sierra Leone and bringing provisions
• [05:21] — Humbling Game Boy experience in Sierra Leone
• [07:19] — Electricity and convenience as privilege
• [09:30] — Openness around Islamic faith after visiting Mecca
• [12:55] — Reconciling music, faith, and personal imperfection
• [13:52] — Jamie shares personal faith journey
• [14:17] — The distinction between religion and culture

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Tone & Style

The tone is conversational, humorous, and honest. Both Jamie and Zuu maintain an open, friendly rapport, balancing light anecdotes with weighty reflections. Zuu’s authenticity, humility, and warmth shine throughout.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode offers a meaningful look at embracing one’s roots, the grounding force of family and culture, and the importance of authentic faith—regardless of career or public persona. Big Zuu’s journey urges listeners to seek perspective, respect diverse paths, and nurture gratitude, while never losing touch with their real selves.

Transcript

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[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

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[Jamie Laing]

Hello, everyone, I'm Jamie Laing and this is great moments. Hey, guys. Hope you're well. Very excited for today's great moment with this absolute legend, Big zoo. He's a TV presenter who first burst onto our screens in 2019 with Big Zoo's Big Eats. And he's been serving up big energy ever since. Now, he was a joy to have on the show and I think you're really gonna enjoy this great moment with him. So if you like this episode, remember to go and click on the show notes and you can click on the full episode. And there are so many more interviews that you probably haven't listened to yet. So go and check it out. Okay, here it is. Our great moments with Big Zoo. To everyone, your name is Big Zoo.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yes, Big Zoo.

[Jamie Laing]

But what's your Christian name?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

What are you. What are you real name?

[Jamie Laing]

What's your real name?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

So my real name is Zaher. Yeah, Zaher. But my teachers could pronounce it, so they call me Zuhair. So they call me Zuhair. I was like, you know what? Call me Zuh.

[Jamie Laing]

Really?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah. But my real name is Zaher Hassan. Zaher Hassan. But I'm named after my dad.

[Jamie Laing]

Are you?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

I'm a junior.

[Jamie Laing]

Zahara San Junior. So hang. And. And this is because your story, by the way. I was just like, I was checking out everything. It's insane, man. Because your mum left. Well, forgive me, I got this from Sierra Leone.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yes.

[Jamie Laing]

When you were. When she was four months pregnant with you.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yes.

[Jamie Laing]

Flee to the UK and brought you up in the UK with no money, not being able to speak English, Not Being able to write, read anything. But then was this an unbelievable, powerful, strong mom?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

That is wild.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

It's mad. Still, she loves it. She loves it. She loves her story. I feel like my mom. My mom was just a powerful woman and she comes from a very, very, like, mad upbringing. My mom's one of 14, like, crazy family that just comes that Sierra Leone before the war was a beautiful place. And, you know, the people. The people are amazing. People with the war definitely hurt them in a lot of ways. So my mom having to leave her family and come, it was tough, but, you know, now she kind of appreciates everything that we. That that came from that. So if the war never happened, I'd never be here.

[Jamie Laing]

Because your dad, Your dad's Lebanese, right?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yes.

[Jamie Laing]

So are you, are you. You must be proud of your heritage.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah, 100%. What's weird is that my dad's Lebanese, but he was born in Sierra Leone and his parents were born in Sierra Leone. So my dad really is just Sierra Leonean. He just has Lebanese heritage. So obviously we know our family back home and we know our family in Lebanon, but really my entire identity is Sierra Leone. I just happen to be mixed race. It's mad.

[Jamie Laing]

Have you been back?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

I go back every year. Every December, I go to Ceylon.

[Jamie Laing]

Really?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

And they love it when I touch down. They're so excited because they know bills are paid. Fun is happening. Let's go. Rice. Everyone gets rice.

[Jamie Laing]

What's right? As in like rice rice?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah, just rice. Just straight up rice. Rice is expensive, bro. Rice is expensive. Back home in Africa. Rice expensive.

[Jamie Laing]

I thought rice was. I thought rice was cheap.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Nah, bro. I mean, you have cheap rice. So in Africa, a lot of the times people eat broken rice. Okay, which is the rice that doesn't get sent out? Like, it's the, like, it's like the rice that doesn't go, like, make it. Yeah, so just bad broken rice. That one will be long, one will be short one. Like, it's bare. Weird. They don't really eat good rice. So when I touch down, they know basmati is coming. Bare basmati, bear fruit, anything you want. You're smart about back home. When I go back home, so a lot of it's about, like, provisionals. Whereas here we eat what we want, we have what we want. We can order takeaways today. Like anything we want. We can taste the world. Back home, it's a bit different. Like buying a lot of onions and a lot of tomatoes and hella chickens and a lot of rice for your Family. That's some real.

[Jamie Laing]

Yeah, but also when you have that juxtaposition, right? When you see, like, the two different sides, it makes you appreciate also.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Oh, yeah, that's. That's why I always go back home. I went my first time. I went back to learn. I was 8. And it changed my life. I was a little boy, but it changed my life. I was playing. I was playing a Game Boy in my granddad's car, and the whole road was standing outside the car watching me play this Game Boy, just watching me play it. I was like, do you not want to play? Oh, no, we don't play. So why did I. No, you play. And they just watched me play, Mario,

[Jamie Laing]

because they'd never seen a Game Boy before.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

I feel like not to that level of Game Boy. Maybe they've seen, like, one in their life, but not, like a Game Boy SP color. With, like. Yeah, with the freshman. Like, they was mad. He was watching me through the window. Like, this is mad. Like. And I'll never forget that moment. I was, like, raw. Like, I thought my life was shit in England, you know, because my mom didn't really have a lot of money, and we grew up single parent background. But then when I went to Africa, I realized, ah, you know what? I'm all right. Yeah, bro, that's insane.

[Jamie Laing]

That's a real eye opener.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah. Yeah. One million. I feel like anyone who comes from, like, a third world country can tell you, like, when you go back home, you. Makes you realize that, like, I remember just, like, first time I had a shower, like, in. In cello. And, like, there's no hot water. I'm like, what's going on? And then the electricity cuts out. There's no electricity. So you'll put on a generator. You're like, oh, that's why I can't charge my phone. There's all these little, little things. It makes you appreciate that. And every time I go back, it's a reset. So I go every year to one, see my family, to two, take a break, but free to, like, reset my mentality. Like, you go back there, there's no Uber. There's no Uber Eats. There's no Deliveroo. There's no. Everything is just, like, random. Like, you have no control. It's like life just is life. And you get on with it. And they all get on with it.

[Jamie Laing]

And see, that's a good message, man. Cause someone's listening right now, right? Who's, like, a big fan of yours. Who kind of is. Cause I think we're all like especially in this like Western society that I think it's like everything is so easy.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

Instant, instant, instant, instant the whole time. If you want food, you can get it. If you want to get drunk, you can get it. If you want to order something, you can get it. And actually that then makes us complacent and like not appreciate things. So that's a really great way as a message to younger kids is like actually no, you need to go and experience something like that and see actually what real life is like. Makes you realize how lucky we are.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah, especially I think energy is the most important thing that you realize in terms of cloners. Like electricity is not a God given right to have electricity. Clone has a really bad problem with electricity. Sometimes you might be lucky. You might get it for three hours a day, you might get it for six hours a day. There was a blackout for two months. There's a blackout in Spain for like one day. The world at mental, like in Ceylon, that's continuous two months. My dad had no electricity. My dad's telling me, yo bro, like what do you do? That means no fridge. That means there's. That means a lot of things. Like bare things that we're just so used to having that means they don't work. So like I'll be at like my grannies and like you'd be like watching a film and it cuts you sake bruv, like, you know what I'm saying? And then it's like. And then the generator has no fuel. So then you gotta go get fuel for your generator and then, then you've gotta run it and ah, there's so many little, little things. But then you realize that life could be worse. Sometimes the generator cuts and the electricity cuts and all you can do is sit because it's so hot. You just gotta sit in a balcony and just talk. You know what I mean? Do you know what I mean?

[Jamie Laing]

I tell you what, you don't realize how many hours are in a day until everything's taken away. Trust me, dude, there's 24 hours is a long time.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

And, and I think, and the thing is, obviously, don't get me wrong, Ceylon is filled with beauty and amazing things and there's a lot of wealth there. There's a lot of people who have continuous electricity. I've continuous generator. But I don't come from a background like that. Like my family are, are doing all right, but a lot of them don't have a lot of money. So sometimes when, when the electricity comes, light don't come is what they say. They like Don Cam and then the lights here and you know, you enjoy it. And then when it goes, carry on with your day, bruv, I like that. Whereas if it was in England, you would be calling Scottish power, going absolutely mental.

[Jamie Laing]

Scottish power?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah. Or one of them. I don't know who else is there? There's Scottish power, Octopus or something. You'd be calling them, man, going mental. Excuse me. I've been in my house for two hours. My TV is not working. I can't turn on light. I can't use the bathroom.

[Jamie Laing]

I want to ask you one more thing. Zoo talked about your faith.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Oh, man. It's been interesting, bro, because I wasn't really open about being a Muslim and stuff. People knew I was Muslim, but I never really spoke about it. But then I did this doc called Big Zoo Goes to Mecca and it kind of changed my life. Like, I'm not the most religious person in the world. I don't practice Islam every day. I am. But I'm very, like. I am pious. I believe in God a lot. And I don't know, man, it's been. It's been tough because I feel like I represent Muslims in the media. My name's the Hair. I have a beard. Like, it's clear in it. I'm one of them. I'm one of you. But I also come from music, which is also considered haram. Music is not allowed in certain areas.

[Jamie Laing]

Explain that to someone who's naive.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

So in. To people, haram means not allowed, basically. Essentially, yeah. It was forbidden. So music is considered to be haram.

[Jamie Laing]

Why? Because.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Because there's so many teachings and things about it. Yeah. I can't get into it too tough because I'll probably get, like. Sure, I'll probably get someone just giving me a lecture, which I don't need right now.

[Jamie Laing]

No, I get that, but.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

No, but it's fine. I'm not worried. What I will say is there's passages in the Quran that say anything that takes you away from Islam is haram, essentially. So things that. That distract you. But then there's. There's also. There's also things in music that obviously promote negativity. That's also the haram that's in it. So there are forms of music that are halal which are allowed.

[Jamie Laing]

So. So basically anything that distracts you away from the Quran is haram, essentially.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

So it's quite a fundamental way you have to lead a life.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah. Because. Because some people can. Because Quran is. The Quran is About interpretation.

[Jamie Laing]

Sure.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

So the words of Allah, which is the Quran, is what we live our life as Muslims. But then you have like hadiths, which are like stories that come from those times after, and those are interpretation as well. So someone can interpret that thing and say, well, you can't watch TV then, because that's distracting you from the words of Allah, that's distracting you from your faith.

[Jamie Laing]

Do you sometimes get conflicted then where you. Now that you've done this show and you went to Mecca, which is amazing, and you sort of opened yourself up more and understood the faith more, do you then sometimes get conflicting of how you're meant to be?

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

I think nah, Because I'm always like, one thing I definitely know is that I can't change how I am. Like, I can, I can like grow and become, become better. But like, I am who I am. Like when I get home, like sometimes you have all these thoughts about what you want to do and you wake up and you just go straight back to what you're going to do. Like, no, I'm not gonna eat that food ever again. I'm gonna, I'm gonna stop smoking, stop drinking. I'm gonna do it. And then you wake up tomorrow, just have a cigarette and I'm glass of wine. So, you know, sometimes you really want to change, but you are who you are. And I feel like with me and Islam is that I've got, I've gone on this journey to try and become a better Muslim, but I fundamentally, and I come from, I'm a grime mc. Like I spit bars that I grew up smoking weed and drink alcohol and talking to women. All things that are very haram, but I own those things. And one thing about Islam is that it's about repenting and how God is merciful and how it's about how we're humans, we have our flaws. All monotheism is around that same thing that all God wants is worship and our praise for making us. And in that, he knows what we are. He knows he gave us these things that make us bad, didn't just come from the ground, from the sky. Everything we have on this earth, if you believe in God, it comes from God. Humans have free will to decide what they want to do. So it's kind of like we, we're always going to make mistakes. We're not. We are flawed. But as long as your intention is pure and you want to change and you want to be a good person, I feel like, I feel like God will look past that. So then If God will look past that, then you can't really care what people think about you.

[Jamie Laing]

Do you know what? I grew up at my school. You had to. We had to go to church pretty much every night. I had church on Sundays. And because of that, I like, kind of like went away from it.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah.

[Jamie Laing]

But now I think. I think some sort of faith is really important.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Yeah, definitely.

[Jamie Laing]

And what I do now is like every evening and morning I pray. Don't know who I'm praying to because I don't know what I quite believe in yet. But I pray for thanks and I'm grateful and that has definitely changed my life 100%. It makes you more grateful, it makes you more thankful. It makes you sort of help with understanding about like, everything perhaps happens for a reason, whatever it is. Yeah, it was kind of changing my life a little bit.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

I mean, faith is beautiful, bro. And I feel like some people overuse it and they. There's a difference between like religion and culture. And that's the main thing people have to realize is that what's in the book and what is taught, that's different to what you grew up with. So if culturally you have these ideologies that I don't have, doesn't mean that I'm a bad person. Because I don't follow what you think is right in your faith.

[Jamie Laing]

Yeah.

[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

Because that's what you grew up with. I always say this. Like, there's one thing I always say. Yeah, there are different types of Muslims, there are different types of Christians, different types of Jewish people. There's different types of Buddhist people, there's different types of every religion. But if God made us all, then they didn't have a choice, innit? I didn't have a choice if I was born here and I have this ideology because I'm from this place. This is what we think. So I can't judge you for having those thoughts in terms of, like, I can't. You're not. You're not a lesser of a human being because you think this or you think that. Same way I might follow my faith in this, in one specific way. You're not better than me because you follow it in that way because you was born there. That's how you was raised. So if someone's born in a random village and there's no religion, does that mean they're going to hell? Because they don't. They don't praise God. No, because they're born in that random village. They don't know about God there. Like, so you can't you can't. I'm just very open about the fact that I. I believe. Everyone has a right to believe whatever they want to believe in. And if you were raised in a certain type of way, that's how you are. If you're for evil person and you believe in mad shit, then obviously I'm allowed to judge you and say, yo, bro, you're a bit fucked up. But if you understand the roots of people's thoughts, it always comes from what they. What they're raised around. And if I was raised in a certain way, you have to respect that. Same way. If you're raised in a certain way, same way you're saying you were told to go church all the time and you kind of strayed from it, but now you've gone back to being faithful in a specific way. Don't normally be faithful too, but you know that you're showing love and you know that you're praying towards goodness. Someone that's super religious might turn around and say, nope, that don't count. I don't care. You're wrong. You need to pray this way. You should pray in this direction. Shut up, bruv.

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[Big Zoo (Zaher Hassan)]

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