Monna O Motona ups the ante
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday August 10, 2018 12:59
In the local platform, we have seen young energetic and talented comedians evolving more especially in social media.
Monna O Motona, whose birth name is Onkagetse Mbulawa, is one of the new-kids-on-the-block whose comedy has gone viral on social media. The 27-year-old multi-talented man has gained himself more than 100,000 followers on his Facebook page.
He is the first comedian ever in the local comedy industry to act with an animal, for that matter a cat. His ability to impersonate various people, more especially the elite like politicians, artists and so forth, has won him a large fan-base both locally and beyond borders.
The lad told Showbiz that his comedy was a God-given talent. He started performing at primary school. His social media video comedy started early last year when he opened his popular Facebook page Monna O Motona BW.
“I am an entertainer. I see myself as an all-round multi-talented entertainer. I can describe myself as a Jack of all trades. I believe I am currently the most super creative entertainer to ever come out of Botswana. “I have introduced a new style of modern comedy where I infused comedy with Botswana’s current affairs,” he boasted. The Mmadinare-born man added that he took pride in the fact that he could best play character and voice impersonate different public figures.
Monna O Motona has in his videos imitated famous public figures like politicians, presidents like the current and previous local ones, musicians, football coaches, newsreaders (anchors), athletes, police officers and more.
This unemployed degree holder (Bachelor of Education, Counselling) decided not to stay idle and turned his God-given talent (comedy) into a career.
Since his advent in the local comedy scene last year, the lad has released over 100 videos that keep winning him popularity everyday.
“I am now eyeing another 100 videos this year. I must say I am currently one of the most hardworking entertainers in the country.
“Numbers don’t lie. I got massive positive feedback from my fans because I have brought something new and unique to the entertainment industry. My followers are always looking forward to my next videos,” he said proudly.
The upcoming rapper says he enormously grew as an artist because he networks with every big artist locally and internationally. He explained that Monna O Motona was a big brand and a household name in Botswana, saying that this is attested by the fact that one of his videos recently hit over a million views.
He further explained that he had always wanted to be on TV, saying that in 2013 he auditioned to be a presenter in one of the local famous shows, Flava Dome and did not make it.
He also auditioned for My Star in 2014 where he was eliminated in the top 20. Instead of giving up, the young comedian used his failures as a stepping-stone to open his win Facebook page as his own TV and shared his talents with the world. “I was inspired by South African, now international comedian, Trevor Noah. We have a lot in common, the ability to impersonate or imitate voices of different characters.
“I therefore see myself being the biggest entertainer in the country. I see myself bringing international awards home whether it’s through my music or acting career,” he said.
Just like other upcoming artists, he is still struggling to get sponsorship or endorsements from companies and the government even though it is very expensive to shoot an international standard high quality video. He explained that the local creative arts industry needed financial support so that they could adopt international standards.