EMI releases kebab seller's single By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer

EMI releases kebab seller's single By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago



PARIS - Lil'Maaz's path to glory is coated with mutton grease.

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EMI, The Beatles' music distributor, released a debut single this week by the Turkish immigrant who sells kebabs in Paris. The story behind "Eat Kebab" ("Mange du Kebab") is as unlikely as they come and an example of how the Internet is shaking up the music business.

This is how EMI tells it.

Yilmaz Karaman — aka Lil'Maaz — moved to France in 2003 and got a job at an eatery. A cheerful chap, he composed a song about his work ("Eat kebab, eat kebab my friend!") to regale his regulars. Fortuitously for him, they included employees from a nearby recording studio, who invited Lil'Maaz to record his song.

A friend shot video of Lil'Maaz dancing and rapping in the restaurant, meat roasting on the spit in the background. Posted on a sharing site, Daily Motion, the video has drawn more than 435,000 views over the past month. That buzz interested EMI, which released the single in stores on Monday.

Lil'Maaz is not the first singer — but is surely among the most bizarre — to get a break via the Internet.

"Straight away, we thought it was great, funny," said Xavier Chevalier of EMI Marketing. "It's a bit of an Unidentified Flying Object ... It started as something that wasn't taken seriously."

Chevalier said that although it was still to early to tell how the single was selling, "on the Internet, it was a real tidal wave. Everyone shared the video."

"My head is spinning," Lil'Maaz, 27, said of his sudden success.

He said he was unsure whether he'll now quit his restaurant job. "I still have my love for kebabs," he said. "My goal was to have a laugh, and to make people laugh."

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On the Net:

http://www.mangedukebab.com