The demands of the entertainment industry are not lost on Eddie Kadi though. He knows more than anyone how important it is to be in good comedy form, notwithstanding any personal struggles in the life of the artiste. He also knows that it’ s not always a good day at the office when it comes to getting an audience to laugh. As he puts it;“ Sometimes there’ s too much salt in the food and sometimes there’ s too much sugar in the cake. Sometimes you are late for work and sometimes you are too early. One of my first encounters was one time I went on stage to deliver a joke that was so funny to me; it was a very funny joke but the audience were not relating or reacting to it; so I tried to force it on the audience … but I was lucky to have had a backup plan; so I quickly introduced the next act to cover up; but these things happen and sometimes they make you question yourself about and the way forward for your career on that path. Eventually one begins to understand that it is all part of work; there are moments when things like these happens but with maturity comes the ability to manage such days.” And on the issue of having to get the right jokes, he says,“ It is always a struggle. There are a lot of things that come naturally to you, especially with your personal experiences, but sometimes you want to try something different, something extraordinary and that’ s where the problem starts. You go from having brain blocks to moments when you just don’ t want to be funny but you still have to do it. Therefore, you have to dig deep because your audience doesn’ t care. Even if you just got dumped by your partner, it’ s really not their business. They’ ve got their own problems and it’ s probably one of the many reasons they are sitting in front of you waiting for some good laughter to cheer them up. They’ ve spent money on you and you can just suddenly come out and say‘ sorry guys I’ ve had a bad day today, so I can’ t do anything today’”.
Eddie Kadi, having been away from his homeland for long, is trying hard to reconnect with his native country. In 2010, he had his first visit to Congo since moving to the U. K, and has made a number of trips since then. He has also made regular journeys to other parts of Africa, particularly Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. He looks up to the likes of Richard Blackwood and Angie Le Mar( both comedians) as his mentors, and is of the view that aspiring artists should be more than a hundred percent sure of their ambitions before delving into entertainment. In his words:“ I would say, don’ t do it until you are hundred percent sure it is what you want to do. Don’ t do it because you see a lot of people wearing gold chains and taking pictures with celebrities. I would say, do it because your heart says so, because that is what will sustain you when the times are hard. Do it for the right reasons and once you do believe, don’ t let anyone deter you. Tests will come, some at the beginning and some in the middle, but your determination will keep you going. Follow your heart. I’ m of the belief that when someone advices you it is usually based on their limits”.
116 | BLANCK MAGAZINE | MAY 2015