First time I tasted champagne, it was harsh on my tongue –Tee A
JUNE 8, 2013
Tee A
Popular comedian, Tee A, tells Ademola Olonilua about his aspirations and love life
Why I don’t take alcohol
It is just one habit I never really picked up and in my old age, I’m happy for it. Sometime back, curiosity and everybody telling me I don’t drink made me try champagne, but it was too harsh for my tongue and lips. It just didn’t taste right. Maybe because I’m a sweet tooth, I’d rather take something very sweet.
My wife doesn’t complain about my love for sweet things
I’m not a fan of sweet things like that. Just my occasional chocolates. I don’t even take soft drinks again. More like fresh fruits.
About bringing up talents in the comedy industry
We are called in different ways, some would have the gift of breaking new grounds, helping others. There are some who have the gift of breaking grounds, there are some who are mentors to others. Everybody in their own way affects the industry. I can tell you things that different people have done that have helped fresh talents, new talents or completely virgin talent to become big people. For instance, most people will not give Basketmouth credit, but he has done a lot to open the industry up to the international market. Alibaba has done his pioneering effort; Julius has done a lot in bringing up a lot of comedians from the eastern, south-south and southern part of the country. Gbenga Adeyinka has done a lot, he has featured a lot of upcoming comedians on his show, Laffmatazz. For me, I have got platforms and by the grace of God, I have been able to help one or two people or even more with the platform that I have. When I started and I brought Princess in, nobody knew Princess. She was just in UNILAG; we were in the same theatre group, Theatre 15. I saw the talent in her and I said, ‘Princess, I want you to play a character’. Even she did not agree to play the character. She said it would be difficult that she could not act like an old woman. I saw in Princess someone who could interpret different roles and she had some mannerism. I created a character of an elderly woman who is semi-literate but very feisty. I remember going to the village and I met some people like that and it amazed me – I saw semi-literate people who want to flex in the village that they are. That was what brought about the character, Madam Princess. There are a couple of some other people like MC Abbey who plays the character of ‘Prof’ on Tyme Out with Tee A and some other wonderful talents. I told him, ‘Abbey, I want you to play this character’ and he too came on board. There are loads of people that come from the platform, Tyme Out with Tee A, when I do my stand up shows. I don’t do an annual stand up show. I have done that in the past and the television show, I try to give as much opportunity as I can because that is my own ministry.
What my mother wanted me to become in life
My mother was one of those parents who just wanted her child to be good at whatever he does. She wasn’t forceful about what I wanted to do. She said as far as it is my calling, that was what I studied, just do it and do it well.
Female fans and I
I think we that are in the limelight delude ourselves that every lady that sees us has an excessive appreciation for us. Most of the time, it is just plain, simple, genuine appreciation of our art, not even our person. They appreciate what we do. People come, say nice things, give hugs and pictures and post them all over the place. They are just friendly people. I think we are being a bit shallow and underestimate the average fan. I have seen mothers screaming and shouting my name on the streets of London. It is nothing but pure simple genuine fan love.
Where I’m more appreciated
For me, it is everywhere. I was driving by a school and there was traffic and for some crazy reason, the traffic refused to move. Some children were coming out of school in their bus and they started screaming ‘Uncle Tee A’. You never know, it could be anywhere. It could be on a street in London, for instance, I was in South Africa when I anchored one of the Igbinedon weddings. At the airport, a guy came and told me he knew me. He said he knows me and sees me on Africa Magic, at the airport, from the porter that helped me to the taxi drivers that recognised me. Almost everywhere now by God’s grace, at least a few people know me, at home and abroad and we thank God for that.
If I was not into comedy
If I was not into comedy, I would be fully into business. Everybody sees me as a businessman. There is Igbo blood in me that I don’t know where it came from. When I tell my Igbo friend ‘iji ego, ejim ego’. all of them just laugh because I’m always about business and how we can put small money somewhere and make big money out of it. Even with my production, I’m always thinking of how to cut down cost but make much more, especially when we are doing concerts. I think of how to make more and spend less.
Future plans
I’ve always been the type that veers into different things. After doing stand up comedy for eight years, I took the decision to stop and people were wondering why I was stopping stage concerts. There are other things we can do and let other people continue to do the concerts. If I want to do a concert, I would do it once in a while. I have done that for eight straight years. There is television to conquer, nobody does a syndicated radio comedy show like Steve Harvey does abroad. We haven’t even delved into comedy movies; our sitcoms are not yet up there, so there is a lot of market to tap into. I see myself working almost forever because comedy is so huge; but some people are so myopic that they think comedy is all about stand-up. No, I don’t want to do stand-up comedy all my life. I want to do comedy, various forms of comedy. Let people see that at one point, he was a stand-up comedian, later he veered into MC, later he started with a comedy television show, them a comedy radio show, then a comedy television station. There is the comedy series and stand-up competition, things like that, that is what comedy means to me. It is a whole industry abroad and we need to imbibe that.
My children delving into comedy
Hopefully, when they start coming. They are not yet around now, so when they start coming any one that wants to do comedy, it is all well and good but my wife is the serious type. She is an electrical engineer and she is into real estate.
How it happened between my wife and I
It’s all lyrics. We were friends for a long time in school, in the university. We were just friends; I liked her. I was friends with her elder sister. I met her elder sister first, then met her and her twin. We just became friends, we would greet when we saw, sometimes we would go for out for drinks and burger around the campus. It wasn’t until after five years, in my final year that I had the courage to ask her out. So we were friends for five years and when I asked her out, we dated for another five years and we have been married for eight years now. So she is my five and six, my friend, my sister.
How I proposed to my wife
It’s quite a silly story, by the time I asked her, she said I could not be serious. We went out to Chocolate Royale to have ice cream and we were about getting into the car when I asked her, what would you say if I say you should marry me? She just burst out laughing, saying I was not serious, then she saw that I was serious. When a man is on bended knees and you are saying he is not serious, I was like, ‘what is wrong with this one; I’m serious, you better answer now before I change my mind’. She then said we have been friends for too long and it is now that I’m asking for marriage. She probably thought I would do it in a fancy restaurant looking at the lovely skyline. I can be unromantic sometimes. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and by far my best friend. She is my paddy and a rare gift, I always use every opportunity to appreciate her.
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