August 21, (THEWILL) – Nigerian comedian, Bright Okpocha, better known as Basketmouth, says he quit rapping after he was booed off stage at a campus performance.
He disclosed this during a chat with media personality, Ebuka Obi –Uchendu, as he accepted his failed music career after being booed while performing during a campus show at the University of Benin (UNIBEN).
He recalled: “Those guys are wicked. They came at us. My guys walked off. I came back, told the DJ to stop the music.
“That was when the loud criticism started. They were hitting me and I was getting back at them, using their bodily features as diss material. It was rowdy at first but the hall became quiet. All of a sudden, people started laughing.
“When I was done, some guy walked up to me and said, ‘Man, you get basket mouth o!’ And he walked away. I told my guys my name would be just that if I were to do comedy. My colleague advised me to leave the rap thing.
“My brother felt bad since I was in a music group with him. But he didn’t tell me. He supported me instead. Now that I think of it, I feel bad too. Bayo Adekeye became my manager. That was when I decided to quit rap.
“I was popular in UNIBEN as the only comedian that was kicking it. When I left, they started seeing me on TV.”
Basketmouth also disclosed that he had worked on projects with top acts like Whizkid but didn’t release them because of fear of criticism.
He said: “I decided to create ‘Papa Benji’, a sitcom. I needed music for the beer parlour [scenes]. I didn’t want to start asking people for their songs. I used the opportunity to create ‘Yabasi’, a blend of highlife and hip hop.
“We had three weeks to create the album and one to mix. We pulled it off and everything was done in one month.
“I’m a failed rapper. Yes, I failed as a rapper. But I didn’t fail because it was a case of [not delivering]. On stage, I was funny, but all my friends were funny so I didn’t know it was a gift. I thought it was a normal thing.”
Speaking on why his rap career failed, Basketmouth stated that he delivered a sound that was futuristic.
“I was pushing rap; trying to make music but what I was doing then was blending Afrobeat with a hip hop vibe. It was a bit too ahead of my time. People didn’t get it. We struggled, so I’ll say we failed at doing something new,” he said.
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