There are not many in the class of Samuel Animashaun Perry otherwise known as Broda Shaggi when it comes to content creation, influence, and fame.
Shaggi has become a household name and never seems to be relenting even when he appears to have peaked. Days back, he engaged a few media friends on his journey and what is coming. David Adebayo of Per Second News was part of the session. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
PSN: Some people believe you have come to the peak of your career but you seem to keep getting better at it. What do you think is working for you?
Broda Shaggi: I don’t think there is anything special that I do that others don’t have the capacity to do better. It has just been the grace of God that has sustained Shaggi. You are not better than anyone, you are just in the spotlight at the moment but you must make every moment count because you won’t be there forever.
PSN: Your act is quite unique and you don’t tend to do like anybody else. What really prepared you for this journey?
Broda Shaggi: It has always been a part of me from my teenage years. I have always been involved in stage plays, dance shows/ competitions, and other creative performances. So, when I got admitted into UNILAG, I founded a group called “stage addicts”. We were all over the campus performing at school events. We also did some off-campus shows. While doing that, I do attend auditions for movie roles. I got invited to some movies as “waka pass” role. I acted in Wedding Party (part 1) as a crowd member in the wedding scene. So, as I kept pushing, the brand Broda Shaggi blew up and bigger roles started to come in. One of the major movies that made me an established actor is Toyin Abraham’s FATE OF ALAKADA. After that, I started getting major roles in movies.
PSN: In all that you do for your brand, which do you find easy to do?
Broda Shaggi: Ha… I cannot mention one, particularly ooo. The truth is, I enjoy doing everything linked to the arts. Being creative is my comfort zone. I switch from one aspect to another effortlessly. But if you insist, I would settle for acting…yes, Acting.
PSN: Most of your skits are human-angle related; is that a niche that you have created for yourself?
Broda Shaggi: Hmmmn, this is actually true. I at every point ensure that most of my skits don’t end without passing messages to humans. We as creatives owe society a great service of making it better than we met it. I subscribe wholly to the sayings of a renowned philosopher and Arts scholar, Dario Fo who said “A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for its own time and people has no relevance.”
Because most of my works are satirical irrespective of the themes, I also love Fo’s submission that “Satire can always be found everywhere. A people without love for satire is a dead people.” It makes us see our true selves via laughter, while we pay attention to corrections that are required to be made. This is entirely geared towards making the society a better place to live. Watching any of my skits daily is a recommended form of therapy for my fans globally.
PSN: Two times winner of the AMVCA Best Actor in Comedy; how does that make you feel?
Broda Shaggi: Honestly, I feel great and fulfilled about it. Winning the award back-to-back is something that does not happen to every creative all the time. It remains a special level of victory to me, because it to a large extent, defines my energy and commitment to the arts.
PSN: What impact do you think winning this award will have on the Broda Shaggi brand?
Broda Shaggi: Winning this award is definitely a big thing for my brand. It has glaringly placed the brand on another pedestal of patronage and confidence. It has helped me position the brand higher than it was, and more industry stakeholders such as movie producers, directors, marketers, and even corporate organizations have gotten the note that, the Broda Shaggi brand is a reliable one to reckon with. Being recognized by one of the biggest awards platforms in the continent is really a big deal obviously.
PSN: With winning awards back-to-back and bagging several recognitions; do you have any plan to have your own movie production?
Broda Shaggi: Well, I am of the strong opinion of taking steps gradually. As big as I may look to millions of people right now, I am still learning. Entertainment is a very wide area of life, and one shouldn’t have to hurriedly jump from one aspect to another because you feel you have the weight.
So basically, I am thriving now as an actor, performing artist, and skit maker. Having a movie production is definitely a plan with a bigger picture. It will happen, it is part of the growth plans.
PSN: Content creation-wise; what will you say you have been able to achieve in the last 5 months?
Broda Shaggi: As I have always mentioned, let me reiterate that content creation is the new “oil”. It is a versatile phenomenon that every growth-oriented business taps from. For me as a content creator, one of my greatest achievements so far would be that I got more recognition and patronages from top brands and my team headed by Olufemi Oguntamu has been able to secure endorsement deals, which would be announced at a later time. All these are tied to my being consistent with my craft, I give my all to dishing out new levels of creativity at all times.
PSN: Did you set out to do what you are currently known for at the moment?
Broda Shaggi: Yes, I did. I have been on this journey for years. Right from my undergraduate days at the University of Lagos as a creative arts student, I was involved in class and departmental productions. I also did several performances as a “side hustle”- I performed at parties, church drama nights, and more. When I remember those moments, I am always grateful to God for seeing me through each of the phases. Being an entertainer has always been my only goal. If I am not writing content, I am rehearsing; if I am not making skits, I am creating dance moves- so I have submitted myself a long time ago for what I am enjoying today.
PSN: We have experienced several shades of Shaggi from acting, comedy, stage, and music. Are there more surprises?
Broda Shaggi: There are more surprises ooo, I mean it. Creativity to me has no specific limits. As events unfold, I would unveil a new surprise for everyone to enjoy. E go shock you.
PSN: Will it be right to say the creative side of you as a result of your father being a drama teacher?
Broda Shaggi: To a certain level, Yes. My father being a drama teacher influenced my interest in arts. Before he passed on, I learned a lot from him first-hand about creativity as a whole.
PSN: What skit gave you the recognition you are currently enjoying now?
Broda Shaggi: Actually, I have done several skits with different characters before the character ‘Broda Shaggi’. I did skits with the character of “Inspector Perry”, and then to “Akanni Ibadan” and now “BRODA Shaggi”. The first major skit that blew me as Broda Shaggi was the one I did with my interviewer then, Aunty Shaggi about ‘What will I do if I see Jesus in Mushin’. The skit became a viral sensation because it raised concerns from several corners, as some people took it controversial with the thought that I made a joke out of the name Jesus.
But as a creative person, I didn’t see it in that light, I didn’t set out to be blasphemous about the particular content. That skit further made the Broda Shaggi character noticed as I fired more with consistency and committed deliveries and I have evolved over the years.
PSN: What is your thought on the opinion that skit makers are giving a lot of Nollywood actors a run for their money?
Broda Shaggi: I don’t think that it is true as I can’t place an exact parameter for such an opinion. All I can say is that the skit-making industry is thriving on its own. With the help of social media, we all might understandably agree that skit makers get easily recognized by people all over the world, and this has resulted in them getting more attention from filmmakers because of their numbers of followers and online engagements which is also a big deal for marketing of the movies.
PSN: Any advice to those who look up to you?
Broda Shaggi: I would always tell them, there is time for everyone and everything. Before and when growth comes, don’t stop pushing hard. Up-and-coming skit makers and actors have a lot to learn from the established ones- they have lessons of commitment, consistency, and control of emotions. Once you possess the three Cs, you stand a higher chance of being successful in the industry. Above all, don’t stop praying that you meet the right audience at the right time.
PSN: What are your expectations from the new administration towards the creative industry?
Broda Shaggi: I think it is too early to have expectations from the new administration. They are barely two weeks and not settled in well yet. Whatever their plans are, I pray it favors us all. I look forward to seeing the government at all levels develop more interest in the power of content and create an enabling environment for creatives to thrive.
PSN: What qualities do you look out for in a relationship?
Broda Shaggi: Relationship for me has to do with flow, and there is no quality as better as intentionality. You must know what you want in a business or an emotional affair; it is when you know what you want that you would discuss other matters to make it work.
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