What were you doing before you started comedy?
I sang with some juju bands for almost 10 years before I started comedy in 2008.
What can you say briefly about your educational background?
I had primary and secondary education in Ejigbo, Lagos. I left secondary school while I was in SS3 because the school management demanded payment for second and third term fees at once.
Since my parents couldn’t afford the fees, I left the school and went to a tutorial centre where I took the West African Examination Council examination.
After that, I proceeded to study presentation at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.
What project shot you into limelight?
It wasn’t a project really; I will it was consistency performing at comedy shows that made me what I am today.
I wouldn’t attribute my journey into fame to a project, rather I would say it was my ability to stay consistent with what I was doing. It was when I kept performing at shows that made me popular and here I am today.
What has changed for you since you became a celebrity?
I will say fame has taken privacy away from me. It brought me to the public eye. I can’t do everything I used to do as Kehinde. Now, I have to behave like Kenny Blaq though I still try as much as possible to be myself.
What challenges did you face while starting as a comedian?
While starting my career as a comedian, I faced some challenges. One of them is the fact that I started young and had a small stature so people usually didn’t want to give me their platforms.
They saw me as a boy who wouldn’t be able to deliver because of my appearance. Some didn’t even care to hear me out. People judged me by my appearance and when some grudgingly allowed me to perform, they gave me the stage for like two minutes when the halls were being arranged.
Another major challenge I faced was my genre of comedy (music-comedy). It was hard for some people to accept it because it was either music or comedy. So, accepting someone who was combining the two wasn’t that easy.
I had to find a way to balance it and made it more appealing to people. However, all of these didn’t deter me, rather they made me stronger. I kept working on myself until I was able to build the brand KennyBlaq.
Are you fulfilled as a comedian?
Yes, making people laugh makes me happy. I feel blessed seeing people happy through my God-given talent
Who are your role models?
I have many of them; from Alibaba, Basketmouth, AY, Kevin Hart, Dave Chappell, Femi Otedola to Mark Zuckerberg and others. All of them inspire me a lot.
Is there anyone you would like to work with anytime soon?
Yes, but I’ll keep that name till when I am ready. I am still working on myself
How do you intend to stay competitive?
I pray for the grace to be consistent so that I can keep working hard every day to be better than the last performance that earned me a standing ovation. I always work hard to make sure the next performance is better than the last.
What is your advice to up-and-coming artistes?
My advice is that they shouldn’t just wait for the future. They should prepare for it so that when they get to where they want to be, they already prepared for it.
They don’t have to wait for opportunity to come before preparing. Also, they must always put God first.
CREDIT: THE PUNCH
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