Arif Zahir
American actor (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arif Zahir Lopes-Thrower (born April 15, 1994) is an American actor, musician, and Internet personality. His YouTube channel, Azerrz, has over 7 million subscribers[4] and features voice impressions of a plethora of celebrities and cartoon characters,[5] one most notably being Cleveland Brown from the television series Family Guy. In 2021, Zahir would later become the official voice actor for Cleveland Brown, succeeding Mike Henry, who had voiced the character since 1999 before stepping down.
April 15, 1994[2]
- Azerrz
- 4rif
- Actor
- musician
- internet personality
Arif Zahir | |
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| Born | Arif Zahir Lopes-Thrower[1] April 15, 1994[2] Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Other names |
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| Alma mater | Hussian College (did not finish)[3] |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| YouTube information | |
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| Genres |
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| Subscribers |
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| Views |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Last updated: June 14, 2025 | |
Early life and education
Zahir is of African-American and Cape Verdean descent and was born on April 15, 1994, in Berkeley, California. He was partially raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts where he attended Nativity Preparatory School and Keith Middle School before moving back to California in 2007.[6]
Zahir began doing voice impressions in middle school to impress his classmates. He originally made a YouTube channel in 2007 which focused on performing magic tricks.[7] After doing so and finding success he started attending Hussian College's campus in Los Angeles. He later dropped out to spend more time focusing on his YouTube career.[3]
Career
Zahir created his YouTube channel in 2012 but posted his first video in 2013.[4][8] He started out by posting comedic sketches, gaming videos, and videos of himself performing voice impressions of both cartoon characters and real celebrities.[5][9][10] Zahir garnered initial success through his voice impressions which he started doing in 2011.[11][12][13] One of the first voice impressions he did was of Cleveland Brown, whom he would go on to voice officially several years later.[14][15][16]
Zahir landed his first acting role playing a character named Arif in the short film No One But Lydia. Starting in 2018, he became a recurring cast member on How It Should Have Ended voicing Black Panther / T'Challa.[17] Through community challenges and his first viral hit with "Ted Plays Call of Duty" (which has over 20M+ views), Arif quickly grew his channel to over 6.5+ million subscribers and 650+ million views.[18]
Zahir is also a musician, releasing music under the moniker 4rif.[19] He released his debut album At Last Sight on August 30, 2019.[20] On April 29, 2020, he released a follow-up EP titled Go Gadget/Blues Clues in collaboration with rapper Dlngqnt.[21]
On June 26, 2020, Mike Henry, who had voiced Cleveland Brown since 1999, announced he was stepping down and believed a person of color should inherit the role.[22] On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Zahir would be voicing Cleveland beginning in season 20 of Family Guy.[5]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | No One But Lydia | Arif | Short film; credited as Arif Lopes |
| 2016 | Eraser | Death | Short film; credited as Arif Lopes |
| The Invisible Shadow | The Bagged Man | Short film; credited as Arif Lopes | |
| 2017 | Everyone But Me | Andre[23] | Short film |
| Hues and Hidden Kings | A Hidden King | Short film | |
| 2019 | The Golden Realm: An American Larping Experience | Peter, Kalthor | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Cliffhanger | Ted | 3 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Gumbino | Cleveland Brown, Pikachu | Web series; 8 episodes; voice role[24] |
| 2018 | G.P.A. | Xander Holland[25] | 4 episodes[26][27][28][29] |
| 2018–present | How It Should Have Ended[17] | Black Panther / T'Challa | 3 episodes; voice role[30][31][32] |
| 2019 | Internet Rich | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Party Chat[33] | Arif[34] | Web series; also producer[35] |
| 2020 | VENN: Arcade Live[36] | Himself | Episode "Voice Impressions with Azerrz + WWE Superstar Zelina Vega Throw Down"[37] |
| 2021–present | Family Guy[38][39][40] | Cleveland Brown[41][42][43] | Voice role; main role, replaced Mike Henry starting in season 20 after he stepped down[44][5][45] |
| 2021 | Rocky | Clubber[46] | Voice role |
| 2022 | American Dad! | Reginald, Police Officer | 2 episodes; voice role |
| Robot Chicken | Nelson Mandela, Domino's customer | 1 episode; voice role |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | No Way Out – A Dead Realm Tale | Edgar, William Huxley, librarian, Clown | Voice roles |
| 2025 | Fortnite Battle Royale | Cleveland Brown | Voice role[47] |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Down the Line[48] | Lokl Yokl | The Bartender | Ryan Rosenblum |
| Drunk with You[49] | Joe Thomas Carter featuring 4rif | Himself | Zane Morrow | |
| 2019 | August[50] | 4rif | Fowluh | |
| Gimme Ya Lovin'[51][52] | Joe Thomas Carter featuring 4rif | Christina Xing | ||
| 2020 | At Last Sight/Kids[53] | 4rif | ||
| The Window[54] | Ryan Rosenblum | |||
Radio
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | sRadio 104.9 (TRC) | Ted | Voice role; guest appearance on episode "Ted Joins the Show" |
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| At Last Sight |
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Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "August"[58] | 2018 | At Last Sight |
| "Summers End"[59] | 2019 | Non-album single |
| "Wonderful Miracle"[60] | At Last Sight | |
| "Channel Lovely"[61] | ||
| "Go Gadget" (with DLNQNT)[62] | 2020 | Go Gadget/Blues Clues[63] |
| "Blues Clues" (with DLNQNT)[62] | ||
| "Favorite Girl"[64] | TBA | |
| "Ignore Me"[65] | TBA | |
| "Cafe in LA"[66] | 2021 | TBA |
| "Leave Me (August II)"[67] | TBA | |
| "Note to Me"[68] | 2022 | TBA |
As featured artist
List of singles as featured artist