As he makes his way to the stage to accept his Comic of the Year award at the Savanna Comics’ Choice Comedy Awards, he is teary.
Usually, cracking a joke is his first resort but this time around, he’s taken aback and is lost for words.
It’s a rare sight. Not only on the big night for comedy that he was hosting, but generally anywhere you see Mpho ‘Popps’ Modikoane.
In his acceptance speech, he points out to the far-left corner of the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City where the awards ceremony was being held and recalls when he first fell in love with comedy.
“I sat in that seat right there with my sister and her two friends. I remember watching Trevor Noah on this very same stage and telling myself that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Ever since he rose to fame in 2009 at the ‘So you think you’re funny!?’ reality competition, he’s not looked back.
“It was only a dream to think of yourself as a comic of the year and I remember what it was like coming up for newcomer of the year, big breakthrough of the year [awards]. Some years you don't get it, some years you get it. I was actually so honest in my speech when I said I didn't prepare for this. When they were announcing the winner, I was backstage taking pictures, minding my own business and then they called me back to stage,” he tells Drum backstage right after his win.
“Winning this award has been 15 years in the making.”
The family man dedicated the award to his daughter as the reason behind why he works so hard and even wakes up every day.
“I’d also like to thank my wife for giving me a second chance at life, for saving my life.”
At the height of covid, Mpho battled with mental health and in his openness about the experience, he speaks of how his wife held him down.
Almost getting emotional again reliving the moment he ascended the stage for his award, he tells Drum that he could somehow hear his wife’s voice squeal in excitement even though she’s not in the audience.
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“When they announced my name, I heard my wife say, ‘Baby! Oh my God!’. And she's not here. But I heard that ringing in my ear. She couldn't be here because her mother is sick, and she was supposed to take care of Imani (our daughter). So, they stayed at home but the first person I thought about was her because of her reaction, she was going to be so emotional. She was going to be saying all these weird things and I think that's why I was emotional. I'm a thug and thugs don't cry but I was emotional because I could hear her ringing in my head.”
Although he didn’t expect to win this big on the night, he admits that he might have cracked the code to the game of comedy.
“I represent my hood and my hood is comedy. With everything that I do, I'm a comedian first. I may host awards. I may have a podcast. I may be an actor. I may do all these other things but I'm a comedian who's doing all those things and proudly so. So, I think what I’ve done differently this year to earn this award is being very intentional about inserting comedy in everything that I do.
“I honestly believe that with a bit of comedy, everything is better. Radio is better with comedy. TV is better with comedy. Awards shows are better with comedy. Everything is better with comedy. So, I think in everything that I do, I haven't forgotten who I am and where I come from. Everything I have in my life is as a result of the comedy,” he adds.
At the inception of his journey, the 36-year-old comedian was merely doing what he’s known best for since his schooling days - writing down jokes as an outlet for his funny thoughts. From this, he’s grown grateful to himself for making the sacrifice to bet on himself.
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“The sacrifice in my journey was betting on myself. I was in varsity studying logistics management, and I chose that as a career path because when you come from a background where you don't have money and many opportunities, you want to study the thing that's going to make you the most money. That's why a lot of people study to be doctors or lawyers or chartered accountants or IT. You’re always chasing the thing that's going to bring you lots of money.
“I remember being in varsity studying logistics and I hated it because it's not what I was chasing because I realised that I'm actually not chasing money. So, I got to a point where I realised the thing that I love doing is comedy because in class I would write jokes in my book and I didn't know why I was writing funny thoughts, but I was just doing it. I took a chance on myself, and I was so scared to tell my mom because my mom's a senior teacher. She's passionate about education."
To his surprise, his mother supported him when he finally told her what he wanted to do with his life.
“And because she supported me, I was like, ‘I'm not going to let her down.’ And I had to make peace with the fact that I'm probably not going to make any money, but I'm going to do something I love doing,” he says, recalling his very first gig for which he was paid R500.
Indeed, for Mpho, the cliché is true – follow your passion, the money will come.
