Comedy Show - Mashabela Galane Live from 18:00 02 March 2024 Vernac Sepedi

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Mashabela Galane Live 02 March 2024 18:00 powered by APLHA420

After a very successful performance to a sold-out crowd, Mashabela Galane returns to Bud Restaurant @ Alphagram for 2nd visit to entertain audiences!

I discovered stand-up comedy when I got to Joburg, while studying at Wits. I used to see the likes of Tumi Morake, who was a bit ahead of me, doing their thing and I thought I could also do this,” the comedian told The Citizen. It was a full circle moment for seasoned comedian Mashabela Galane as he returned to Wits University to perform at the Pitso Ya Kalaneng Festival at the University.

Vernac comedy

Mashabela is one of the champions of vernacular comedy, alongside the likes of Skhumba Hlophe and Celeste Ntuli.

“It wasn’t easy doing stand-up in vernacular at the time I started around 2005,” said Mashabela.

“I actually started doing comedy in English because there were no vernac comedy clubs. I would perform in Melville, at shows organised by John Vlismas and I remember Joe Parker also used to do shows at Carnival City and Monte Casino.”

“I still do English but it’s not as authentic as vernac. Sometimes I try to translate the joke but the punchline doesn’t hit the same,” he said.

Mashabela rose to fame after the recoding of Strictly Vernac, It featured a young Mashabela, Mpho Molepo, Nicholas Welch and Thomas Gumede among other baby-faced entertainers.

“That’s the one that opened doors. We were actually performing in front of the Rhythm City crew,” shares Mashabela.

As a sign of how far he has come in the industry, Mashabela will be part of the Weekend Comedy Showcase presented by the Savanna Comics’ Choice Comedy Awards 

Here are Five things you should know about Mashabela

#1. He’s a comedian from a village with no comedy clubs

It’s hard to be what you can’t see, so one of the first questions Skhumba asks Mashabela is, “How did you come across comedy, because I can tell you now, there’s no comedy club here?”

Mashabela credits Thobela FM’s Ben Maraka. “He used to do skits on radio, way back in the day,” says Mashabela. “He had a cassette of jokes in Sepedi – and I thought I could do it too. But he didn’t last because he was bewitched…”

#2. Herding cows made Mashabela a better comedian

Mashabela spent much of his childhood on his dad’s tractor (which features prominently in the episode) or herding cows. “It wasn’t a piece of cake to look after those things.” says Mashabela. “You let them roam but if you can’t find them, you don’t go home. That was the rule. If you can’t find the cows, you have to stay there and look for them until you find them.”

He thinks herding cows has helped his career. “If I can’t come up with any jokes, I don’t go on stage without a punchline,” says Mashabela. “But some people go on and embarrass themselves without punchlines. That’s how I can tell they never herded cows.“

#3. Mashabela and Skhumba go way back – to when vernacular comedy was a hard-sell

Skhumba and Mashabela have known each other for at least a decade. “He had long-ass dreads back then,” Skhumba remembers. They met when they were both known as “many more”.

“We were called ‘many more’ on a lineup with Chris Mapane, Eugene Khoza, Kedibone Mulaudzi, and ‘many more,’” says Skhumba.

Vernacular comedy was a much harder sell in those days. ”They always said you and I wouldn’t make it because we didn’t sound a certain way,” Skhumba tells Mashabela in the episode.

“We’ve come a long way,” says Mashabela. “Back in the day it wasn’t easy. You’d perform for R50 or a six-pack of Black Label. I used to walk from Carlton Centre to Melville and perform for a six-pack of Black Label [at Underground]…”

#4. Mashabela is one of South Africa’s best comedians

“I know the country loves him,” says Skhumba. “He’s one of the best guys; he can easily fill up any venue.”

Want proof? Mashabela won the Comics’ Choice Native Tongue Award in 2016, has over 300 000 followers on social media, and is the brains behind popular stand-up events like Comedy Under The Sun and Rock My Mother Tongue.

#5. Mashabela is a man of many talents

More than just a comedian, Mashabela is a South African Music Awards nominee for best kwaito album and invented Rare Moringa Gin, made by Old Packhouse Distillery, which won Double Gold at the 2018 Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards.

In Trippin With Skhumba, Mashabela takes Skhumba to the distillery, in a Moringa plantation in Magoebaskloof. Skhumba teases his friend that the first time Mashabela manufactured the Moringa gin, “it was like balsamic vinegar and I had no idea what you were doing.”

“We didn’t know,” Mashabela admits. “All I knew was stand up comedy.” He says the idea came to him when he was making Moringa juice the Pedi way in Limpopo. “When I was driving back to Jozi on the N1, it started to ferment and turn into alcohol. That’s when i thought of manufacturing alcohol. From there I tried out a beer and then the gin/vinegar story… I got the hang of it slowly but surely… I feel very proud; I still can’t believe it. ”

Join us for a great night's entertainment! 02 March 2024 from 18H00 Mashabela Galane Live powered by APLHA420