She suffered me oh, so as her punishment, she must give me 8 children - Basketmouth

As one of Nigeria’s most celebrated comedians, it came as no surprise when I heard the news that Bright “Basketmouth”Okpocha was going to be the first Nigerian to host the prestigious comedy gig and TV show Comedy Central Presents… Live at Parker’s in South Africa this year. He has an impressive profile, both home and internationally, and has risen to become one of Nigeria’s biggest names in the comedy industry.

He started off his career in entertainment as a rapper while studying at the University of Benin, and stumbled upon comedy by accident when he and his rap group went to perform at a school. “I thought it was a normal thing for people to be funny because most of my friends around me then were funny,” he said. Although his first attempt wasn’t categorized as standup comedy; it was called “wording” in other words “yabbing”, it opened the doors to his comedy career. His big break came in 2001 when he met the renowed comedian, Ali Baba, who invited him down to Lagos.

Basketmouth is one of Nigeria’s most sought after event hosts. He has succesfully staged several comedy shows including ‘Basketmouth Uncensored’, ‘Lord Of The Ribs’ and ‘African Kings of Comedy’.

I didn’t know what to expect from my interview with him. It was my first interview with a comedian and naturally, I was excited. Would he just be straight faced, or would he  he infuse jokes into his replies? He ended up being a mix of the two. Serious, when he needed to be serious and funny when he wanted to be. I definitely had a good laugh with him.

Comedy Central
In a few weeks from now, you would be the first Nigerian comedian hosting Comedy Central Presents… in South Africa. How do you feel about it?I’m excited, it’s like a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to do something that big. I never knew it was going to come this soon and I’m happy about it.

You’d be entertaining a large number of people, on a wider platform than the Nigerian audience. How are you going to pass across your jokes to people from other cultures?
When I perform outside Nigeria, my material is universal which is the why I was called to do this gig. They saw me perform somewhere and liked what I did which was purely universal. I don’t have any problem communicating with people of mixed race. The jokes are not only based on culture but also on the power of communication. As long as you’re funny and people understand you, you’re good to go.

Some comedians have been criticized for repeating their jokes too often. Do you repeat jokes?
It’s impossible for any comedian not to repeat a joke. Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, they all repeat jokes. I’ve seen them do it. Because Comedy Central is a new platform, I will try as much as possible to stay fresh. I’d just like to tell anybody reading that there is no comedian that does not repeat jokes. It’s impossible, never done.

Trending Stories about Basketmouth
There is a video currently going viral on a joke you cracked about President Goodluck Jonathan but some people seem not to like it. What was the motive behind that joke?
The motive behind the joke is a joke. I was paid to make people laugh. If yabbing Goodluck was the only way they would laugh, I’ll yab Goodluck. I’ve been paid, I’ve said the joke, keep crying!

After the DANA Airways crash, you were one of the celebrities that went on their re-launch flight. This implies to many Nigerians that you endorse the airline even though a lot of people are still grieving their loved ones and this has directed some negative comments towards you.
DANA Airline endorsed me three years ago as their brand face. This was close to two years before the plane crash. If after all they went through, they got back their license and asked me as the brand face of DANA to be part of the re-launch flight and I said I cannot do it, what is loyalty? If I’m going to support anything, it has to be from the beginning to the end. With all due respect to the people who lost their family and friends, a plane crash is inevitable. When Air France crashed, they didn’t sieze their license, Nigerians didn’t stop flying Air France. After DANA crashed, a plane also crashed in Russia. But people just show bitterness. Anybody can be in his or her home and say whatever he or she feels like. I’m not prophesying death but accidents are inevitable and we just have to thank God for the life we have. My deepest heartfelt condolences goes to the families of the departed.

Probably these people making such comments have lost their loved ones on that flight and are angry with you for taking sides with DANA.
It’s a lie, trust me. I understand Nigerians, I understand people in general; I read Psychology. There are some people that are naturally bitter and Linda Ikeji has given them an opportunity to express their bitterness. And trust me, there is nothing I would do that you would not see three or four bad comments on. If you hear that a plane wanted to crash and Basketmouth got out of his seat, went to the cockpit, pulled the pilot out and landed the plane like Denzel Washington, people would say why him do am, na only him dey the plane?. But I love the fact that they talk. It makes me know that I’m doing something right.

But you can’t narrow down the people that post such comments to readers of Linda’s Blog.
Nigeriafilms.com and Lindaikeji.blogspot.com are the hub of haters, the chief haters.

You also trend on Twitter often and sometimes, I find such hateful comments directed at you. 
I’m on Twitter because it’s the only way my fans out there reach out to me. But sometimes, you just see some negative stories that kills your spirit and that’s the reason why sometimes I don’t like reading comments. It’s depressing. I have blocked over 3000 people on Twitter so just in case you can’t get access to me, know that you’ve said something negative to me before. It’s not all about fighting and insults, let us love each other. The beef is just too much, and I don’t really eat beef too much I prefer fish.

Still talking about some buzzing topics, I read somewhere that you recently purchased a car that costs N10 million. Is that true?
About the price, I’m not even going to admit to that one.

How much did it cost?
I can’t even say it. I didn’t go out of my way to get a custom made car. I was in Belgium visiting my friend and we went to a car shop where I saw it and I loved it. When I said I wanted to buy it, they told me they had to build it. They took me to their computer and told me I could design it as I wanted it. So they built everything from scratch and it took them about three months to deliver the car. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m the only person that has ordered the car from this region.

This region meaning the whole of Africa?
Yes, but it’s not my fault. I did not go and look for a car that is the only car in Africa.

What is happening to your music career?
I’m still working on it, I’m not done with music yet. I’m going to be releasing an album this yea