Up close with new comedian Ras TT
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Sunday August 14, 2022 06:00
His is a unique, yet humorous comedy that appears very simple to pull off as he mimics different characters at different times. In an interview with Arts & Culture, he said he started his comedy on June 25, 2021 on TikTok.
He said when he started his comedy, he was not doing school videos like he is doing currently. He explained that most of the people know him about his most common lines such as "Kana nna batho ba mmakatsa, tota ihlele le irang, kkkkante go iragalang," which he said was mostly related to things people do, but they are not aware of like blocking their parents on social media accounts. “Give them a chance to see what they raised.
I later added tota ihlele le irang, kkkkante go iragalang at the end.
I also did TikTok trends, and also had another content where I would do a comparison between white people and Batswana on how they do things or how they react to certain situations. I called it "White versus Motswana." Currently, I am famously known for making school videos and the slang "sekgoa ngwanaka mmmmmmhhhhh." I started doing these school videos last year around November after I got inspired by this other meme I saw on Facebook. “The meme had a teacher with a bunch of sticks and a book.
The caption for that meme was "Ga o itse buka ya gago e seo fa ke kopa o emele ka dinao.”
I made a video out of that meme and posted it on TikTok. People loved it. By then I only had one character called Tlotlo aka Ras TT. When time went on I introduced more characters like Rapula (Rapcity Rapcity and surrounding areas), Scavenger, leTLHOGO nolo, Masego, Lesego, Picture, Manxane, Peba, Malangane, Sdutla, Zulu (kwa Zulu Natal), Dzena, Skara, Black and MMA K (the cook),” he said. He further explained that each character had different attitude or behaviour inspired by the people he used to go to school with.
For instance, Peba, the talkative one or Rapula who was the elder one. He explained that he acts all these characters alone. He stated that since he acts those characters alone and they had different attitudes, he felt like it was not enough.
However, he explained that he uses TikTok filters to give them different faces. He also pointed out that he did not only do school videos, but sometimes does videos based on every day life style like a video based on what happens at wedding celebrations.
The young comedian said he was always a loud and out going person at school where he was a backbencher, which he believes played a big role on the kind of comedy he does because it was based on what he got up to during those times. He said his classmates always laughed at his responses to his teachers, when asked a question whether the answer is right or wrong. However, when he started doing his videos, the only thing he prayed for was for God to give him wisdom. “A lot of people relate to my comedy. They love it especially Batswana.
It reminds them of their school days and the things that used to happen in class. Most of my TikTok and Facebook followers are Batswana and they are very supportive. I have over 104K followers on TikTok, over 2.3 million likes and 96% of those are Batswana and I have been followed by more than 200 people everyday since last year November after I started the school content.
I started posting my videos on my Facebook profile in January this year and I had over 16,000 followers then, but as time went on I switched from posting on my Facebook profile to my Facebook page, which now has over 120,000 followers,” he said. He disclosed that he is now getting gigs for Emceeing, adding that he plans to go around schools to motivate students and pupils. Ras TT said he sees himself growing as a brand.
He said he would like to collaborate with corporates and big brands for promotions. He also said he would like to go international.