In the world of comedy in Africa and beyond, the name Basketmouth, is no news as he is one of the richest and famous comedian in Africa bringing laughter to the heart of many.
Basket is an ionic celebrity with comical personality on stage as there are no dull moments with him during entertainment.
Apart from being a comedian, he is also is an actor, TV presenter, producer and Master of Ceremony. In this article we will let you know the net worth, how Basketmouth career developed, his relationship and many more.
Basketmouth Profile
- Full Name: Bright Okpocha.
- Age: 42 years old
- Nationality: Nigerian
- State of Origin: Abia State
- State of residence: Lagos, Nigeria
- Marital status: Married
- Occupation: Comedian, an actor, MC and a TV presenter.
Basketmouth Age
Basketmouth was born on the 14th of September, 1978 in Lagos State, the western region of Nigeria. He is originally from Abia State and has two siblings namely;Lenora Okpocha, Godwin Okpocha.
His mother Felicia Okpocha also gave birth to Godwin Okpocha and Lenora Okpocha.
Basketmouth Education
Basketmouth grew up in Lagos and completed his primary and secondary school in Apapa, Lagos state, where he received his First School Leaving Certificate and WAEC .
He later moved on to complete his tertiary education at the University of Benin, Edo State. It was there he studied for a degree in Sociology and Anthropology.
Basketmouth Career
Basketmouth did not started off immediately as a comedian. He first discovered In 1991, that he had skills in drumming, which he performed for over five years in his local church choir.
During his period of being a drummer for his church and a band at that point, he also discovered he also had skills in rap music and later dived into that ocean in 1994. His speciality was in rap music.
The next year which was 1995. Basketmouth, his friends and brother founded a group called da psychopaths. The group consisted of seven members, unfortunately the group could not stand the taste of time as they split before an album or single was release.
After a while Basketmouth and his brother Godwin immediately formed a group called Da Oddz and later added a new member (muyiwa osunrobi).
Together, they did a couple of shows but could not break through the music industry as their brand of rap was not recognized and accepted by the public.
In the year 1996/1997, Basketmouth and his brother secured admission into the University of Benin where he studied sociology while his brother studied anthropology.
Basketmouth and his brother performed at a concert and got booed off the stage, it was during this setback that caused Bright made up his mind to drop the mic as a rap artist and grab the mic as a standup comedian.
However, Basketmouth journey into the world of comedy was not an easy trail, it was so bad at first in such a way that his 1st standup comedy in the late 90’s was nothing to write home about because the crowd got angry and booed him off the stage.
This was a great blow on his emotional well-being but that did not quench the burning passion for comedy. Instead of throwing in the towel, he turned to research on what kind of comedy would his audience recognized and appreciate.
It was not long before he bounced back with a whole new level of boldness and charisma. This was the starting stone he has always longed for. In 1999, Basket mouth dabbled into events management alongside his comedy shows.
He and his friend (Bayo Adekeye) promoted and packaged shows that featured the likes of plantation boiz, remedies, and a host of other artists. It was during that period that Laff n Jamz was formed.
Basketmouth professional standup comedy officially kicked off in the early 2000’s, it is during this period that he got his huge break when we came under the mentoring umbrella of the richest Nigerian comedian Ali Baba.
Ali Baba influenced, showed Basketmouth the ropes and ways of polishing his skills to suit his audience.
On the 1st of October 2000, Basketmouth started tasting the waters and was billed to perform at Lagbaja’s monthly concert at Motherland, He carried out his 1st performancee at the most famous show. Early that year, Basketmouth also featured Plantation Boiz and many upcoming artists.
On the 1st of November 2000, his dream show came to reality featuring Ali Baba (his mentor)Paul Play, Teju babyface, mandy, Mr. Patrick and a host of others.
Soon the after Laff n Jamz in University of Benin, Ali Baba knowing that location is important immediately told Bright to movedown to Lagos to broaden the horizons of his skills.
Although It was not an easy task to combine studies and standup comedy but it was accomplished. Relocating to Lagos was the stepping stone of Basketmouth popularity and wealth as a standup comedian.
He performed at a show called hanging with the home boys; his performance mesmerized and captivated his audience, this led to him winning his audience acceptance. However, he extended his performance to the monthly motherland concert hosted by Lagbaja.
After a little while, his mentor Ali Baba introduced him to Opa Williams who then featured him in the most famous comedy show in Nigeria and beyond known as Nite of a 1000 laughs.
Things fell into place and better when Bright received an invitation by Tequila events to perform together with Julius Agwu on a tour that stormed over 30 higher institutions around Nigeria. This tour was a huge success and gained more fame for Basketmouth.
There was another major leap in Basketmouth’s career, when he was featured in international concerts that was attended by iconic celebrities such as the likes of Joe, Boys 2 Men, Sean Paul, Beyonce, Wyclef Jean, Dru Hill, Akon, Snoop Dogg, Ciara, Chris Brown and many others.
His international show was in Europe in 2003, after which he stayed off the foreign scene until his first appearance to perform in Atlanta at the Nigerian Reunion in 2006. This act led to series of performances and bookings in the United States and other countries including South Africa.
Bright apart from being a comedian is also an actor, he has appeared in the Africa Magic Family show ‘My Flatmates’ in 2016. He has also starred in various programmes as a disguised character of an old man and a grandma in ” Hilarious Transformation” in 2017.
Basketmouth Relationship
Basketmouth is married to the love of his life Elsie Uzoma Okpocha and their union is blessed with two wonderful children namely; Jason Okpocha (Son) and Janelle Okpocha (Daughter).
Basketmouth Achievement
Basketmouth being a famous comedian he has won a lot of awards such as the National Comedy Award in 2005 and 2006, The Best Stand-up Comedian of the Year and Pan-Africa Comic of the year in 2017.
Apart from wining awards he also has obtained a lot of endorsement deals such as a multi-million naira endorsement with DANA AIR In 2011, a 12 million naira endorsement deal with Surebet and was an ambassador for GLO NG and his contract was renewed many times.
Basketmouth Net Worth
Basketmouth is the 3rd wealthiest comedian in Nigeria and is known to charge 2 million naira per act. He has a net worth of 2 billion naira worth of asset.
