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| Basketmouth and his kids. Photo: Baron’s World |
He is no doubt one of the most celebrated comedians in Nigeria. Bright Okpocha a.k.a. Basketmouth has become a household name all over Africa featuring in most of the biggest comedy shows both in Africa and in Europe.
The 35-year old Glo Ambassador and
host of MTV Base’s Big Friday Show talks to NET about how comedy has
paid off and what he has been up to lately.
As at the time you started did you think you were going to become this big?
Honestly no. I just wanted to make
people laugh. I just wanted to show the world what I had. I never knew
it was going to be this big, but with time, I now realised that I can
actually do this thing and that was when I started projecting. What I
projected then is something bigger than what I am right now. What I will
become is still a dream and I’m working towards that dream right now
but from the onset I never knew I was going to get this far.
You now have a fan base all across Africa and basically the entire world, how does that make you feel as a comedian?
It makes me feel like I’m doing
something right. Like I said I never knew I was going to make it this
far. The first time I did an international thing was in Ghana. It was my
first gig then which was like eight years ago. I did that and I never
knew they were going to buy into my art and I had to deliver in English
more which was more or less like the first time then. When I pulled it
off I was impressed with myself and that gave birth to a lot of other
gigs. I did some gigs in the UK and that gave birth to a lot of other
gigs internationally too. One of the first major international gigs that
I did was the Choice FM comedy club in the UK, dominantly white people
all through and I pulled it off too. I think whatever I get now is what
they call the best of all. It’s a great thing for your brand to sell,
not just in Nigeria or Africa but even beyond the continent.
A lot of people will like to know how you landed the Comedy Central gig.
What happened was that, the first show I
did in South Africa was called ‘Blacks Only’, in front of a massive
four thousand people hosted by David Carl. It was a massive show. I did
that and he called me back again because of how I did and he wanted me
to headline the show. When I did the two shows people started paying
attention to the name and the brand. Eventually I got called for a
comedy festival in Pretoria. Everybody had their own days and I did mine
which was awesome as well and that was how Stand Up Africa called me. I
did the first one last year and a second one in February this year.
When I was doing this one, I never knew the President of Comedy Central
was there in the crowd. When I was done, I saw a white guy walk
backstage and walked up to me, apparently someone had introduced me to
him but I didn’t really get the details and he was like, will you like
to do Comedy Central? And I was like, hell yeah man. That was a month
ago and eventually I got the email and then this. No string was pulled,
it was based on merit. If I had not done well in Blacks Only festival
and the Stand Up Africa, I won’t be where I am.
So what’s Basketmouth bringing to the table for Comedy Central?
The Nigerian flavour; my kind of comedy
is different. It’s different from other kinds of comedians because I
have always wanted to be me, original and myself on stage. I have worked
on my brand for years to get to where I am right now. What I’m going to
be bringing on stage is going to be different from what I have even
done before. I want to give it my best; I want to make Nigerians proud. I
am not just doing this for myself or career; I’m doing it for ‘Naija’.
The same way the Super Eagles went to the Nations Cup, that’s the same
way I’m going to the Comedy Central because I have to keep the flag
flying and trust me, it’s beyond me. This is the first time something
this massive is happening to my career and on a platform like Comedy
Central which I have been dying to be part of. Like I have always said
it, that when I start doing comedy Central, that’s when I know I have
arrived. So, trust me, this is more or less like the beginning of
Basketmouth. Honestly, all I have been doing before has been rehearsals
and warming up for what’s about to happen now because I believe that
doing this gig is going to give birth to more. This time, I need to do
my best and make Nigerians proud. I need to just get it right, so I’m
bringing everything that I have to that table.
There’s been a lot of media buzz around your new car, so how customized is it?
I went to visit my friend, Bayo Adegeye,
who was my first manager ever. I went to see him and his family in
Belgium. His wife is white and the mother is the General Manager of
Insignia and all Opel products. When we went to say hi to her, she
wasn’t in the office so I went to the shop and I saw this car laying
there and I was like, which car is this, and they told me and I said I
like it and asked how much it cost. They told me they don’t sell it that
way, that you’d have to order it and I said Okay, I want to order it.
They took me to the office, they brought out the computer and they asked
what colour I wanted. I was like, are you guys serious, anything I want
you will put in this car? That was how it started, I told them
everything I wanted, so they loaded the car as much as they could to my
own satisfaction.
I didn’t go out of my way to buy a car
neither did I fly all the way to Belgium to buy a car, it was just a
coincidence that I just bumped into the car. It was also coincidental
that I was the only person that ordered it from this region. When they
told me, I was scared and asked what’s up with the servicing of the car?
They told me that with the kind of engine that I have ordered, I cannot
service it for the next three years and I said okay then give it to me
because by three years’ time, definitely I go don change motor. It was
just a coincidence and please don’t ask me how much the car costs.
I was just about doing that.
Please don’t
How much?
Fashola might be reading this, I don’t
want him to start asking me for my tax but it’s quite expensive, let’s
leave it at that. Trust me, it’s quite expensive.
Why do some comedians steal other people’s jokes?
I don’t agree with any comedian that
will steal another comedian’s joke or jokes. I won’t support that
because writing a joke is not as easy as it seems. When someone puts in
everything; mind, time and punch lines to create a joke, you should
respect that person’s creativity because you do not know how many they
come up with weekly. I always tell people, do not bite from other
comedians because that’s the only way we can all grow. When you start
biting, the people you’re selling these jokes to, that is, the audience
or clients, start seeing that this person said this joke and they have
heard it before, automatically it kills the value of comedy.
What happens is, if I crack a joke and
you go to an event and crack the same joke, the next client will then
come to me because I’m more expensive than you are and in a situation
where they have to go to the other comedian since he’s always cracking
the same joke Basketmouth cracks then you are killing the business. So
right now, for me even if you want to steal a material just take the
idea and do something different with it because trust me, one joke can
have ten different punch lines.
Coming up with the idea is universal
because people think alike which is the excuse of most of the comedians
right now. It’s one thing we can’t stop so it’s impossible to stop. Even
in South Africa and America it is going on like that, they do their own
materials but not as much as we do it. In South Africa there was a time
I saw a comedian doing another guy’s routine, I won’t mention names but
whoever is reading it probably knows the story so the comedian went on
stage and did another guy’s routine and the comedian that owns the joke
went onstage and beat the hell out of this guy, so it’s not just a
Nigerian problem it’s universal.
The comedians in Nigeria are all
talented, it’s just that they’ve not been able to identify their
strength and potentials. They are extremely funny because in America
people write for these comedians, Richard Prior, as famous and as big as
he is, people write for him. Nigerians, nobody writes for us. That is
to show that we are even more talented than these guys. So, when you
start identifying your strength and working on yourself, you will find
out that you don’t even have to bite from other comedians.
A year ago you tried to resurrect
your music career and all of a sudden nothing has been heard about it,
what’s really happening?
Funny enough, last month we were close
to shooting the video with Sesan. What stopped us from shooting it, I’m
going to be honest, was money (laughs). When he told me how much I was
going to be paying, I was like, what am I going to do with the video?
Let the video thing just go. After I made that choice, I realized, I
could have just done this video because it wasn’t going to hurt me in
anyway. I’m doing it for the fun of it, it’s not like I really want to
make a career out of it. I just want to complete that journey.
If I have five children I will not train
only one, I will train the five of them, which is what I’m trying to do
right now with my talents. I have the flair and passion for events
management and all that, I’ve a flare for rap music, it’s something I
started with and my first love I like to do that too, comedy as far as
I’m concerned, I think I’m doing well so I’m not saying I’m done with
comedy but I’ve reached that point where I will not lose my followers
which is the reason why I waited this long 14 to 15years to do it.
The truth is this, we have released some
singles in the past that was lost. I did a single in the past with
Faze, it came out but nothing happened. I didn’t push it because I
didn’t like it. I did one with Darey, I pushed it and I did another one
with Eldee The Don. Until I did with Wizkid I almost didn’t want to
release it so it was like let’s just try and see how it goes and we did
two singles and people liked it and definitely some people hated it but
I’m going to release the album regardless so I have to complete that
part of my journey and by the grace of God it’s going to come to pass
this year.
You have done television, music and everything, do you think about going into movies like some American comedians have?
Honestly, I’m thinking of moving into
movies but if I’m going in, I’m going in big time. I have been offered
quick cash to come to movies, I didn’t like them and I tell myself,
look, ‘Bright if you’re going to do this you should do it well because
you have gotten beyond that point where you want to do something that
won’t be good enough. I have been offered to come to a lot of TV shows
in the past, but until MTV Base came, I didn’t want to do anyone. when
they came and they showed me what they wanted to do, I loved it and I
agreed to do it and now people are loving it and its unarguably one of
the best shows right now.
If I’m going to do a movie, it has to be
right and that’s the reason why I have been doing a lot of skits, not
just because I want to use it to entertain people but to use it to
exercise my acting skills. I have played almost all the characters in my
skits. I’m working on something which I cannot disclose right now. I
can only give you hints. There’s a foreign comedian coming to Nigeria
soon and he asked if I was interested in doing a Hollywood short movie
with him but in Nigeria, and we will shoot some of it in America. We are
working on that, and so with God, before the ending of this year, you
might be able to see it and I’m praying that it is good enough to hit
the box office.
You are one of the most consistent
comedians in Nigeria right now, what do you think are some of the key
virtues or factors that have kept you going all these years?
The main thing is, changing with time
because there are a lot of guys right now that are on fire so you have
to redefine yourself. I redefine myself almost every week you know even
every day because these guys they are coming out like every second so
the only way I can stay fresh and relevant in the mind of people is by
redefining myself, give myself a brand that the consumer will like to
have. That’s the key. A lot of people don’t know that my kind of jokes
are jokes that you listen to and not forget. Jokes I crack are mainly
things that people do in their everyday life and I make sure every time I
come out with my materials it has to be something that people do so
that way, whenever they do it they will be like, oh Basketmouth said
this thing.
God is 100 percent behind everything
because everything that I do especially comedy is not based on what you
think you have, it’s what the crowd wants to have. So, your success and
everything is actually in the hands of your consumers, if they don’t
find you funny that’s it. I try as much as possible to be relevant, to
be that person that they want to always listen to. Most importantly, I’m
my own competition.
I do things at my own pace and trust me,
I have done a lot of stuff which I’m still not impressed with so that
means I have to automatically do more stuffs that has to impress me so
I’m just constantly battling and fighting myself which is the reason why
I don’t watch myself perform because I actually irritate myself when I
watch my performances and anytime I watch it, I’m always like, Bright
you could have done better than that because I’m my own critic so that’s
one of the thing that I do that has been able to help me get where I am
and I don’t think I’m even where I’m supposed to be so I’m fighting
myself to that point where I think I can do better than this.
So what are some of the challenges of being a comedian in Nigeria.
Trust me it’s hard o! because everyone
expects you to deliver. For music, the 2Face, Psquare or D banj can go
on stage to play the same song you have heard over and over again like a
million times. You pay them and they go there to sing the same song and
people will be happy but with comedy you have to go with something
fresh all the time. If you go and crack the same joke, they will just be
looking at you which means you’re under more pressure than any other
person. Actors may not come on stage and start acting, the best they can
do is to present an award or MC an event but we have to be fresh and
consistently redefined so as to give out more which is the challenge...
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