It’s no surprise that Bright Okpocha who is most commonly known as Basketmouth, has become one of the most recognised African Comedians. Basketmouth took a long path to success, but then, most famous comedians do. It started when he discovered his drumming skills in 1991. However, it wasn’t until 1994 that he began adding rapping to the mix; first forming the group “Da Psychophats” with 6 other members and later going on to form another rap group called Da Oddz with his brothers; Godwin and Muyiwa Ola-Phillips. Little did he know that all of these inspiring stints would lead him to become one of the most recognised comedians.
Basketmouth and his group members were invited to perform shows at various locations until they gradually stumbled upon comedy. Not so long, Basketmouth had gone full circle into comedy. Now that’s a fairytale ending if we ever heard one! Who knew you could turn your love for drumming and rap into one of the most successful comedy careers? We’d say Basketmouth sure has come a long way in becoming one of our favorite comedians.
The Nigerian comedian has featured in major shows across continents. His most renowned performances have been at Just for the Laughs festival (2014) and MTV Base Big Friday (2013). Basketmouth has not just graced stages in countries such as the UK, USA, Australia, South Africa but also made his presence felt in countries like Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya and Ethiopia too. Not to mention he’s shared stages with big shots like Jay Z, Rihanna, Beyonce, Joe, Chris Brown, Boyz II Men, Sean Paul, Wyclef Jean, Kool & The Gang, Akon, Dru Hill, Buster Rhymes, Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, Ciara, JaRule, Brian McKnight amongst others. Truly no wonder why Basketmouth remains on top of the most successful comedy brands in Africa!
It’s clear Basketmouth will remain a strong pioneer in African comedy for years to come. He continues to make people laugh across various countries with a universal appeal and relatable content. He has pulled out all the stops to bring the African vibe comedy to the UK. And all that hard work paid off with his MTV Base Big Friday show which he hosts winning the award of ‘Best African TV show’. Even better, every year since 2010, he’s been organizing a Basketmouth UK Live comedy show which sells out venues like Indigo at The O2, Eventim Apollo Hammersmith and the SSE Arena with audiences eager to catch a glimpse of his jokes. Recently, Basketmouth rebranded this very event and called it BASKETMOUTH THE SON OF PETER. What more could anyone want for Valentines Day?
Not only has Basketmouth won the National Comedy Award and Best Stand-up Comedian of the Year consecutively in 2005 and 2006, but also entertains with his clever punchlines, energetic attitude, and quirky sense of humour. He is also an actor and most recently starred in the hit TV show ‘My Flatmates’ on Africa Magic. His most ambitious project yet though, was co-producing ZTTW alongside Don Jazzy from Mavins Music Records, Zlatan Ibile, Wofai Fada, and Buchi in their own online drama series. With all these projects under his belt, Basketmouth shows no signs of slowing down!
