Arif Zahir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arif Zahir
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Arif Zahir Lopes-Thrower
April 15, 1994 Berkeley, California, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Hussian College (did not finish) |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
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| YouTube information | |
| Years active | 2007–present |
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| Subscriber and view counts updated as of June 14, 2025. | |
Arif Zahir Lopes-Thrower (born April 15, 1994), also known as Azerrz, is an American actor, musician, and popular YouTuber. He is famous for his amazing voice impressions of celebrities and cartoon characters.
Since 2021, Arif has been the official voice of the character Cleveland Brown on the animated TV show Family Guy. He took over the role from actor Mike Henry, who had voiced Cleveland for over 20 years.
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Early Life and First Steps on YouTube
Arif Zahir was born in Berkeley, California, on April 15, 1994. He is of African-American and Cape Verdean descent. He spent part of his childhood in New Bedford, Massachusetts, before moving back to California in 2007.
Even in middle school, Arif loved doing voice impressions to make his friends laugh. He started his first YouTube channel in 2007, where he posted videos of magic tricks. Later, he studied art at Hussian College in Los Angeles but decided to leave to focus on his growing YouTube career.
Career
YouTube Stardom
In 2012, Arif created his main YouTube channel, Azerrz, and began posting videos in 2013. His channel featured funny skits, gaming videos, and his popular voice impressions.
His talent for mimicking voices helped him gain a lot of fans. One of the first voices he mastered was Cleveland Brown, the same character he would later voice on Family Guy. A video called "Ted Plays Call of Duty" became a huge hit, getting over 20 million views. This helped his channel grow to more than 7 million subscribers.
Acting and Music
Arif is also an actor and a musician. He has appeared in several short films and web series. One of his well-known voice roles is playing Black Panther in the animated series How It Should Have Ended.
As a musician, Arif releases music under the name 4rif. He released his first album, At Last Sight, in 2019. He has also worked with other artists on songs and music videos.
Becoming Cleveland Brown
In 2020, the original voice actor for Cleveland Brown, Mike Henry, decided to step down from the role. He believed a person of color should voice the character. On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Arif Zahir would take over as the new voice of Cleveland, starting with the 20th season of Family Guy.
Famous Roles
Arif has had many roles in films, TV shows, and video games. Here are some of his most notable ones.
Television
- Family Guy (2021–present) - The main voice of Cleveland Brown.
- How It Should Have Ended (2018–present) - The voice of Black Panther / T'Challa.
- American Dad! (2022) - Voiced characters like Reginald and a police officer.
- Robot Chicken (2022) - Voiced Nelson Mandela and other characters in one episode.
- Gumbino (2016-2018) - Voiced Cleveland Brown and Pikachu in this web series.
Video Games
- Fortnite Battle Royale (2025) - The voice of Cleveland Brown.
- No Way Out – A Dead Realm Tale (2018) - Voiced several characters, including Edgar and William Huxley.
Music
Arif has released his own music as 4rif.
Albums
- At Last Sight (2019)
Extended Plays (EPs)
- Go Gadget/Blues Clues (2020) - A collaboration with the artist DLNQNT.
