Skhumba is a natural entertainer

Comedian Skhumba Hlophe is no stranger to being in the spotlight, whether it’s on stage at his comedy shows, on the breakfast show he co-hosts with Thomas Msengana at Kaya FM or on social media.

The Thembisan caught up with him to talk about his inspiration, content creation and love for his career. He said he never thought about doing standup comedy and had once aspired to be a lawyer. His hopes, however, were smashed, as his mother couldn’t afford to fund university studies.

He started working as a clerk for the SAPS but later resigned to focus on comedy. He began his comedy career a few years ago in a club in Thembisa. His career took off when he was offered the opportunity to perform alongside other up-and-coming comedians at the Savanna Comics’ Choice Awards.

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“I never thought about doing standup comedy, but a friend advised me to do it since he thought I was funny. This marked the beginning of a successful comedy career, and I fell in love with it. Making an audience laugh inspired me to keep going and live my dreams. I’m good at being goofy. It’s something I can do every day,” he said.

“I believe comedy is art and entertainment, with the latter being essential because we need an audience to laugh at everything we do. However, I believe the best comedy is art because it questions and provokes thought. Strangely, I can make sense of stuff the rest of us can’t understand. “When it comes to my material, it’s real life. Nothing up there is fake. My content is inspired by my experiences, as well as what I’ve seen in others. “I take that, find the humour in it and speak about it on stage. People are caught up in a battle of their own making. We all go through a lot, and I try to make the best of it by seeing the humour in it. I never try to remember jokes or write them down. It’s a natural occurrence. “The best humour comes from reality, and the best jokes you can think of come from a place of pain or hurt. “I enjoy being relatable. Many times people are afraid to talk about certain topics but with me it’s different. Let’s talk about it and remove that fear of addressing the matter. “It’s nice to laugh at something unfortunate rather than rant and wail and post on social media only to create space for enemies to judge you. Plus, a room full of laughter is intoxicating and therapeutic. It’s good for the soul. Laughter is a universal language that everybody understands. My goal is to leave the audience with feelings of affection, laughter and a desire to be who they are. I want them to be as brave and outgoing as they can be. “Being real is how I established my fan base. I’m not ashamed of what I’m doing, and I’m not doing it for anybody else’s approval. If someone who ‘doesn’t get it’ has a conversation with me and sees how passionate I am about it, that’s fantastic. If not, it won’t ruin my day because I’m not wasting my time waiting for them to pat me on the back. “It is wise to be brave because at times we encounter people who love us and those who despise us. But all I care about is improving, entertaining people and hopefully becoming a positive influence on others because that’s what comedy has done for me. “If you think of comedy as a journey, the only rule is there are no rules. Carve your path and make your route. If you plan to pursue standup comedy, you will experience several ups and downs as well as self-discovery. The desire to make people laugh should always be your number one priority.”

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