11 July, 2014

KG is so heavy…




Mamosa kekana

When I bumped into this bubbly man outside the Rhodes Music Radio building this week, he was busy promoting his comedy show ‘Heavy’. Captivated by his confidence and broad presence, I couldn’t allow myself to let this interview slide.  
KG might be the nickname for stand-up comedian, Kagiso Mokgadi, but it’s also an abbreviation for something that is a huge part of his life: kilograms. He is an overweight lover of laughter who jokes openly about his weight, politics, and racism.
He grew up pining for a job as a doctor, and then an actor. The acting gig was derisively dismissed by his parents, (the mother is a nurse; the dad, a sangoma) because he had a cousin who was an actor and wasn’t successful.  
He eventually studied computer programming and worked as a software specialist at an advertising company although he hated every minute of it. KG  always felt he was stuck in the wrong career. One day he took his then-girlfriend, now his wife, out on a date to ‘Blacks Only’ comedy show. Inspired by the show, he decided to attend an open mic event. He flunked out of it, because he was too nervous; but three years later he returned to the scene— bigger, better and more determined. His first night was a success and he has not looked back since.
KG jokes openly about his dad being a sangoma. “As a child my dad being a sangoma somehow saved me from a lot of bullying, because I’d mention [it] and that freaked people out!”
Follow KG on twitter @kgcomic.

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