PICTURES: Comedy Central Roast of AKA holds no punches as roasters go blow-by-blow

Fiery lines, spicy topics and punchy delivery are vital ingredients when cooking up a scorching roast to keep the audience’s bellies filled, and if the Comedy Central Roast of AKA is anything to go by, people were well fed on 21 February as AKA was put on the spit braai for a grilling session filled with highs, lows and all sorts of spice.

Opening up the proceedings was roastmaster Pearl Thusi who, contrary to naysayers’ expectations, did a pretty good job at keeping the flame alive and is actually funny. Not only did she make history by being the first woman in Africa to ever host the roast but she proved that she can play the field, score, defend and tackle the best of them.

The panellists at the Roast included Nina Hastie, Moshe Ndiki, Mark Fish, Moonchild Sanelly, Francois Van Coke, Joey Rasdien, Davido, Papa Penny with special appearances by Mashabela who came to ‘save Limpopo’ and took a swipe at the whole line-up following a lacklustre grilling by Papa Penny all while newly married Jason Goliath warmed the crowd up throughout the night.

Legendary comic, Joey Rasdien, came out guns blazing and was undoubtedly the most dangerous man in the room with hard-hitting jabs that almost make you forget the ‘fatwa’ against him. The comic may have broken his silences and resurrected his career following the Roast.

Even though it was the roast of AKA, Nina Hastie took a lot of blows throughout the night and ultimately shot back when she finally took the stage. The Safta-nominated comic proved once again why she’s a favourite in the comedy world.

Davido, the international superstar, spent most of the night painfully laughing at the jabs thrown at him and his co-panellists but he quickly turned into the best roaster of the night when he took on the stage and delivered a wealth of braggadocio that even surpassed the man of the hour.  Surprisingly, he was very knowledgeable about the current social and political condition of South Africa more than he was about pop culture. It’s safe to say the musician came for the whole country during his set and did not hold back – staying true to the nature of the Roast.

The man of the hour, AKA, closed off the night with brilliantly delivered clap backs to the jabs he received all night. Supamega brought his online trolling persona on to the stage and showed his funnier side – not taking himself too seriously and rolling with punches.

AKA closed off the show on a commendable note and proved that being a great sport doesn’t require you to be an apt soccer player.