The Biyi-Praise Music-Comedy Show was held at the Cricket Pitch, OAU Sports Complex, on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
In attendance were Biyi-Praise’s parents, lecturers, students and well-wishers. The programme, which was slated to start by 4 pm, commenced about three hours later. The MCs, D Blaq and King Kay infected the crowd with excitement as they engaged them in call-and-response games. The music-comedy show was a bundle of morals, exhilaration and laughter.
A Representation of the Nigerian Reality
Although tagged a ‘music-comedy show,’ the event hinted at something satirical. The miming performances portrayed the reality of present-day Nigeria, veiling the messages in humour and kinesthetic pointers.
For instance, a hilarious enactment of the unemployment status of the country, plus the graphic demonstration mimicking a typical Nigerian workspace, explores this reality. This performance dramatises a phase in the life of a young man. He took matters into his own hands to escape the shackles of unemployment.
Dressing the part – since the major requirement for the job is to be female – he proceeds to his uncle’s establishment in search of employment. The uncle, whose role is that of a philandering boss, tries to ‘shoot his shot’ at this young man.
These series of comical actions depict the day-to-day harassment job seekers and employees experience with grubby bosses.
A Projecting Platform for OAU Artists
From word artists to dance groups and instrumentalists, the Biyi-Praise Music-Comedy Show was packed with an array of interesting talents. Some of these talents were Black Rhymes, who wowed the audience with relatable rhymes; Dance Planet, a trio of contemporary dance artists; and Tommy Gray, with his Fela-style performance.
Also, Psamuel, Perry, Bpop, Obisco, Maka, Voltro Music and IBK (dance group) all gave amazing performances.
This event was not only a showcase of OAU artists but also a projection of artists from other universities. This is observed in the case of Joshua Kayzee, a student of UI who delivered an incredible rap display.
An Avenue to Unwind
The appearance of Samuel Banks, a.k.a Arike Preorder, was the highlight of the show. His arrival on stage got the audience on their feet with screams of excitement. Samuel Banks is a Tiktoker, skit maker and influencer who creates and posts funny content.
The Tiktoker went into character fully, sending the audience reeling with bouts of laughter and gaining additional fandom of people who didn’t know him prior.
Emanator from the Department of Civil Engineering said he enjoyed every bit of every performance, but the organisers should work on the technical issues that disrupted the event intermittently. ‘Apart from the technical stuff, it was an enjoyable show and I really liked it,’ he expressed.
Similarly, two female students from the Department Of Foreign Languages remarked that the show was refreshing. They also went on to commend Biyi-Praise for outdoing himself. ‘The show was very nice and I can say that I got my money’s worth. Biyi-Praise has been doing a great job,’ one of them commented.
Biyi-Praise disclosed that his aim was to create a unique experience for his audience. ‘I wanted to create something creative and different from the usual comedy that audiences are used to. The goal was to blend music and comedy in a unique stage performance that would both entertain and engage the audience on a deeper level. By combining these two powerful art forms, I aimed to deliver an experience that was fresh, energetic, and memorable – something that would stand out from the typical shows and leave a lasting impression,’ he discussed.