Vanessa Obioha
As Nigerian music and films continue to gain global appeal, comedian Kojah Kaze aims to redefine stand-up comedy with his new show ‘Don’t Judge Me,’ taking place today, November 5, 2023, at Terra Kulture.
The stand-up comedy show, according to the comedian, will be recorded and distributed to streaming platforms.
“This is me telling the world that this is a new era of stand-up comedy in Nigeria,” he says, “The plan is to meet global standards, to have this project reach the global audience, to make them understand that we are here in the Nigerian entertainment space. The music and movies are doing very well, who says Nigerian stand-up comedy cannot reach a global audience as well.”
Recently, comedy shows have become a staple on streaming platforms such as Netflix. American stand-up comedians like Chris Rock, South African comedian Trevor Noah and even Nigerian AY have their comedy shows streaming on Netflix. Kaze hopes to join the expanding list and believes that the time is ripe for Nigerian stand-up comedy to be in the global spotlight. To truly achieve this, he said artists need to be consistent with their content.
While he prides himself in artistic sincerity by crafting his own jokes, he underscores the importance of originality in comedy.
“Plagiarism is a global problem to artistry. It just depends on the sincerity of the artist. Of course, people will say no idea is exclusive but it still boils down to sincerity. We may have similar ideas but the way we make it sets it apart. So I think it is the sincerity of artists that matters. You know when you are stealing except you want to lie to yourself.”
Elaborating more on the show which marks his debut on the stand-up comedy scene, the comedian who hails from Jos noted that the show is going to be edgy and thought-provoking.
“’Don’t Judge Me’ is my debut stand-up comedy show. The theme is self-explanatory. We live in a very peculiar and interesting time in the entertainment and comedy space where people expect comedians to be politically correct. That’s why I am coming out to say a lot of stuff. This is a very dear project to me and my art and humour are from a place of sincerity. My truth doesn’t have to be polite. It’s my reality and art should be an expression of one’s reality,” he says.
