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Meet Shampoonaiza, SA’s only sports comic

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I'm funny...period: He's down to earth but under no illusions about his talent, and a string of successful comedy shows.
pictures :Cebile Ntuli
I'm funny...period: He's down to earth but under no illusions about his talent, and a string of successful comedy shows. pictures :Cebile Ntuli

For more than a decade our sporting community has had the pleasure of weekly insights from a comic who specialises in material found on the court, pitch and track. Phumlani S Langa met up with the talented Shampoonaiza.

Fans of Sport @ 10, hosted by Thomas Mlambo on SABC1, will be familiar with Thapelo Tips Seemise, also known as Shampoonaiza.

He’s South Africa’s first and only sports comedian and you’re probably wondering what that involves. #Trending met him at Peermont D’oreale Grande at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, where we shared a bite by the poolside and spoke about comedy, his career and his upcoming show, Shampoonaiza and Friends Comedy Nite.

Wearing a white bowler shirt reminiscent of Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men, but with a bit more panache, paired with a cap written Shampoonaiza Show, the homie from Ga-Rankuwa is having a cappuccino and enjoying the East Rand breeze.

“In 2018 it was 10 years since I’d been doing this. The Shampoonaiza comedy show started in the township around 2011, with me doing my own show, self-sustained and with zero sponsors,” Seemise explains.

He’s been a resident at the SA State Theatre and is now looking to showcase a more mature and classy side to his work, while broadening his efforts as he is more than just a sports comedian or the humorous ambassador for the MTN8 football tournament.

“I’m trying to speak about current affairs and issues of importance, but in a funny way. These days people are sensitive, you have to be careful what you say. We will be that comedy show that’ll tell you things you may not want to hear but in a way that’s appealing. We will be in-your-face while still making you think. I want people to walk away saying: ‘Why didn’t I think about that?’”

In these sensitive times, how does Shampoonaiza keep from offending making us laugh?

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Funny man antics. pictures: Cebile Ntuli

“I’ve been doing Sport @ 10 for seven years now. Live TV is a place that has heavy censorship and that has helped me walk the line. I’ve learnt how to call out a player and tell them things straight up without going too far or making them feel small. The LGBTIQ community has also been one of the main social groups that has stood up and held comedians accountable.”

He jokes: “I could speak about short girls and why they wear high-waisted jeans that make them look like they’re wearing a delela (dungaree) boob tube.”

The opportunity to be a Sport @ 10 comedic analyst came by chance through the trial of an idea by the show’s producers.

“They called me and said they were trying to see if they could incorporate comedy. They didn’t know how, I didn’t either. I wasn’t a sports lover, but being in studio with David Kekana and BBK [sports editor Bareng-Batho Kortjaas], and having Thomas there, my jokes became factual. I listened to them and decided not to just mock sports but provide analysis as well.”

Seemise has an understated confidence, an unwavering belief in himself which comes out when I enquire if he’s ever bombed out on stage.

“I have seen some of my comedic idols die on stage and [thought about what might happen to me when I follow]. A few of those times I ended up being funny, but the audience doesn’t care as they’ll let you know: ‘Hey, that needs to improve a bit.’

“There’s a saying by Mel Miller, an OG comic, which goes: ‘Don’t let a good performance go to your head and a bad one go to your heart.”

The toughest crowds, he says, are in rural areas as people rarely get the references. He jokes about how some of his contemporaries ventured to places such as Umlazi in Durban and tanked on stage because they couldn’t speak isiZulu. Neither can he, which is why he avoids those gigs.

  • Catch Shampoonaiza at Emperors Place on February 28 in Shampoonaiza and Friends Comedy Nite
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