Words Helen Jennings
Kojo The Comedian, aka The Fresh Prince of Hackney, brought it home for his first solo gigs in five years at the Hackney Empire at the weekend. The two sold-out Live N Kicking shows marked the MTV Base and Choice FM star’s 32nd birthday and were also recorded for an upcoming DVD release.
Upcoming comedians Mr Cee and Maureen Younger warmed up the audience, which included Kojo’s celebrity friends Jamelia, Ricky Norwood, Arnold Ocheng, Carlton Cole, Bashy and Lisa Maffia. New pop/soul singer Cleo Sol also did a two song set.
And then it was the main event. Focusing on what he called “real talk” and ending most jokes with the rhetorical question “really?”, Kojo’s material traversed such subjects as how black people decide what to wear when it’s cold (check out what a white person is wearing, then double it), the London riots (sponsored by Adidas, allegedly), David Lammy (not a patch on Obama), racism in football (John Terry did not come off lightly) and the problem with black porn (a distinct lack of plotline).
He didn’t shy away from controversial subjects either, with punchlines about being gay and how women should cook for their men. Really? Really. And then it was all off to The O2 for the birthday/after party.
www.officialkojo.com