The annual Naija FM Comedy Jam and Award Night took place on Sunday, November 24 at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. The event, which is in its seventh instalment is geared towards celebrating the best and brightest talents in the Nigerian comedy industry.
On the night, there was glitz, glamour, celebrities, music and comedy performances. Here are seven things that happened at the event you need to know about:
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Fire sets: After first comic’s set came King Talker who delivered a great performance and had the crowding bawling with laughter. Next came Makana who’s set relied heavily on self-deprecation and he absolutely killed it. It was refreshing to see something other than the typical jokes the industry has often been criticized about.
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Awards time: The first award of the night went to Kenny Blaq for “Best Dressed Comedian”. Up next was “Best Comedy Club” which was won by The Port Harcourt Comedy Club. Proceedings were punctuated with a very forgettable performance by a comedian named Funny Doctor before Broda Shaggi won the “Best Comedy Actor” Award. Another comic Forever, who would go on to deliver a stellar performance later that night, took home the “Most Promising Comedian” award – his first-ever. Basketmouth’s My Flatmates won the award for “Best Comedy Sitcom” ahead of Funke Akindele’s “Jenifa’s Diary”.
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Lacklustre performances from upcoming musical acts: None of the upcoming acts who performed on the night had a halfway decent performance. Who knows, the event might have been better off with one or two big-name artists/comedians on the roster.
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More great sets: The next set of comedians to perform all delivered very well with the standout performer being Efe Warri Boy, whose performance left the crowd wanting for more. Not to take anything away from Princewill and Forever though, they delivered stellar performances as well.
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More awards: The next set of awards were “Most Promising Online Comedian” and “Comedy Show of the Year” which went to Broda Shaggi and Basketmouth’s Lord of the Ribs, respectively.
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Women are under-represented in comedy: We are well into the event before a female comic performs. Before that, the only women that had been on the stage had been those who co-presented awards.
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Behind the scenes hosting: This was a very interesting part of the show. Throughout, none of the hosts came on stage, sort of like it was a live radio show except real people appeared in front of you and did stuff. Booming from the mic were the familiar voices of Naija FM OAPs. That was cool.
This event obviously represents a lot within the entertainment subculture of comedy and being honoured on such a big stage can completely change a comedians career. Congratulations to all the winners and we’ll be looking forward to the next one.