‘I’ve always known I’ll be a comedian’
Cri Snow is a comedian, TV and radio host. In this interview, he talks about how he became a comedian, his TV show on Silverbird and more. Excerpts: Weekend Magazine: You used to do a show on ITV called Event Planet. How did it start? Cri Snow: It was a collection of city events. We […]
Cri Snow is a comedian, TV and radio host. In this interview, he talks about how he became a comedian, his TV show on Silverbird and more. Excerpts:
Weekend Magazine: You used to do a show on ITV called Event Planet. How did it start?
Cri Snow: It was a collection of city events. We interviewed people with content to share, which was also a form of advert. You get information such as where to get a good event centre, a good caterer, M.C.s, Deejay’s and so on. I ran the show for three years.
The show also had a comedy tilt to it, where I used comedy to make it interesting and family friendly. I also invited my comedian friends to spice it up. In addition, it captured comic events in different places.
WM: You later stopped Event Planet. What happened?
Snow: It was an independent program. People used to party more back then compared to now when the economy bites hard. A lot of frivolities have stopped. Moving to Silverbird TV I had a different concept.
WM: Is it also an independent show?
Snow: Yes it is. I have never been employed by anybody. I have always wanted to do something for young people. My current program on Silverbird TV is called ‘The Youth and the Truth’. Most young people are repeating the mistakes of their elders. Our fathers always told us their success stories but not their failures. I use my experiences and stories to tell the young the truth, my truth. I also research important personalities and share their stories so young people can learn from them. This is so they can be serious and do the right thing on time.
WM: How did you discover you could make people laugh?
Snow: I discovered this in Primary school when we had a drama presentation. I remember how I was the only male among girls who danced Igbo cultural dance in Primary Five. I also acted as an old man and Igwe in a drama. There was no time when I actually thought I was funny and decided to become a comedian or when my friends told me I am good in comedy. I have always known that I have a funny attitude and approach to things. I don’t easily get angry even when you tell me I am an idiot. I may just respond, “Do you think it’s easy to be an idiot?” So, I always have funny approaches to many situations.
Professionally, I started comedy when I began to find out there’s a lot of content in the market. People have funny stories, views and imagination. I knew I had mine too, although it was tuned to a particular kind of audience. I had to start socialising because I realised that talent isn’t enough. One needs to broaden his view and horizon in his area of interest. There are things you perfect and start doing by association. I joined a crew once called ‘Two Can Talk and Cri Snow’ where we produced CDs like ‘You Can Make God Laugh’, ‘Matured Jokes by Cri Snow’, ‘Rugged Evangelist’ and so on. A peculiar aspect of my comedy is that I do it in Chinese.
WM: You are author of ‘Good Courage for Lasting Courage’, published in 2017. What is it about?
Snow: It’s a collection of motivational articles. In it you will find reason to get challenged, do those things you need to do and abstain from those you shouldn’t.