Fast-rising Nigerian comedians have recently been drawing inspiration from singer and songwriter, Rihanna’s recent hit song "Work" featuring the rapper, Drake. The song has rocked all levels of the social sphere in Nigeria since its debut. Due to popular demand, Nigerian artiste, Burna Boy, released a cover to the hit song, adding more fuel to the "Work" craze around the entire country.
Interestingly, Nigerian comedians have not been left out in the frenzy surrounding the obsession with the song. Some of the fastest-rising young Nigerian comedians have released various skits inspired by the hit single. Some of them have even gone a step further to release hilarious covers of the song that will leave you cracking up with laughter. The best part about these particular Rihanna-inspired skits by Nigerian comedians is that one does not need to be thoroughly familiar with Nigerian culture in order to find legitimate humor in them.
One Nigerian comedian whose career has received a lot of boost from his Rihanna-inspired skit is Josh Alfred, popularly known as Josh2funny or Mama Felicia. Josh is mostly known for his rib-tickling covers of various popular songs. As expected, not long after "Work" by Rihanna debuted, Josh released a brief priceless cover of the song. His facial expressions in the skit, the rolling of his eyes, his highly exaggerated Igbo accent and even his dressing, were flawlessly on point. His cover version of the song has received major attention on various social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. One word, priceless, describes the hilarity of the skit you are about to watch. Enjoy it!
Another fast-rising young Nigerian comedian who looked to Rihanna for some comedy inspiration is EmmaOhMaGod. Multi-talented musician, comedian, singer and song writer, EmmaOhMaGod, recently released a full cover of Rihanna’s "Work." The video of his cover version features special appearances by other equally talented and successful Nigerian comedians like Chief Obi, Ecovangel, Aphricanape, Frank Donga, and Nedu. This cover is titled "Work Work Work - Igbo Gospel Version." Be entertained with this gospel makeover of Rihanna's massive tune!
EmmaOhMaGod also came up with a brief clip of what he called the "Nigerianized" version of the original "Work" video.
Still feeling inspired by the Barbadian singer's hit song, EmmaOhMaGod went on to make a skit captioned "Rihanna featuring The OhEmGee Light Voices from Anambra."
Favorite Nigerian entertainment web show, "The Nne & Ike Show" also took a shot at covering the hit song, with a video starring Nne as "Rihannachukwu" and Ike as "OluwaDrake." This hilarious cover features the storyline of a Nigerian husband arguing with his Nigerian wife, about the various roles that each of them plays in successfully maintaining their home.
Joining the "Work" craze, U.S. based Nigerian comedian, Oluwakaponeski, also known as Mama Tobi, released a funny skit of favorite character, Mama Tobi, dancing to Rihanna’s “Work,” as part of his “A Day in the Life of Mama Tobi" series. Enjoy this short clip of Mama Tobi “tweaking” (not twerking) to the original song by Rihanna.
As a fan of great comedy, and in particular, Nigerian comedy, I remain grateful to both Rihanna and Drake for unknowingly inspiring some of the best comedic moments of 2016 so far. These previously mentioned highly talented and resourceful young Nigerian comedians are definitely on the fast track to stardom. It is certain that If they continue to seek genuine inspiration from the most unlikely sources like they did with Rihanna's "Work," success is only a few steps away for them. Here's to more music-inspired comedy!
