Basketmouth says he believes the Nigerian comedy industry can gain global recognition just like Afrobeats.
Afrobeats is regarded as one of the most widely celebrated music genres in the world.
Speaking at the unveiling of ‘LOL: Last One Laughing Naija’, Prime Video’s first unscripted African original comedy series, on Thursday, Basketmouth said Nigeria is blessed with talented comedians who should be enjoying global acclaim.
The 44-year-old comic actor added that he sees the series as a perfect way for Nigerian comedy to “break into the global market space”.
“I have always imagined Nigerian comedy in a way where it is globally recognised and when I was approached and given the privy of what the event was all about, I was like this is the perfect way to break into that space,” he said.
“Afrobeats broke into the global market. But comedy in Nigeria is yet to own its own spot. And Prime Video is in over 200 countries across the globe. I was like Bright, we have talented comedians that can break into this space and this is the perfect platform to do it.
“And it is actually what we deserve in our space. We do not have our spot just yet. And this is the best way to own it.
“You guys can see that any comedian that came on the show held it down. Many people across the world will start seeing how spontaneous they are and they will start getting interested.
“So this is actually the birth of the Nigerian comedy industry to the rest of the world. And I am so proud to be part of this.”
.@basket_mouth: Afrobeats has gone global, it's time for our comedy to do same#LastOneLaughingNaija pic.twitter.com/XrgqguFbj2
— CableLifestyle (@CableLifestyle) July 6, 2023
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The comedy series will see 10 Nigerian comedians compete against one another.
They will be tasked to keep a straight face and also try to make their opponents laugh and lose.
The comedians include Okey Bakassi, Acapella, Mr Funny aka Sabinus, and KieKie.
Others are Buchi, Dat Warri Girl, Taaooma, Senator, IGoSave, and Gandoki.
The winner will receive a grand prize of N40 million and donate the money to their selected charity organisation.
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