01 February 2024

• The mechatronics engineer was mentored by Churchill Ndambuki who many consider as the father of modern Kenyan comedy.

Comedian MCA Tricky has shared his views on what he believes has led to a significant decline in the comedy industry in Kenya in recent years.

Speaking to bloggers at the launch of his show 'Tricky Comedy & Vibes,' the comedian, who grew under the mentorship of comedy pioneer Churchill, stated that comedy standards dropped when social media platforms emerged.

Tricky feels that many comedians turned to social media to make some income during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this shift contributed to a decline in comedy standards.

"My honest opinion is that stand-up comedians are sleeping. I'm telling the truth. When social media came, recently when we started seeing entertainment through social media during the Corona pandemic, people ran there to entertain. Social media made artists very lazy. Laziness crept in, especially for those artists who were doing stand-up," MCA Tricky explained.

The comedian, who is also a radio presenter, went on to explain why he thinks social media became an easy way to undermine the progress that had started to bear fruit in the country.

"Social media came as an easy way to entertain; you don't need any costs, it requires very little time to accomplish—you can't compare it to the preparation time in the auditorium. So, as any businessperson during the Corona period, we comedians would run where? We had to run to where it's easy to produce," he added.

Tricky believes that online entertainment restricts individuals significantly and does not provide the freedom to express oneself to the audience as one can during live performances.

"I realised that online entertainment confines and restricts me as an artist. I can only do a few lines, and I also have to read our audience. If our audience sees you entertaining on social media, the trend moves forward, and another person comes in," he stated.