Ace comedian, actor and filmmaker, Bright Okpocha a.k.a Basketmouth has recounted that he was born into poverty.
The revered entertainer said what kept him going was his family, adding that he started playing the drums and keyboard at a tender age.
He made this revelation in a chat with media personality, Joey Akan.
“ I was born in Ajegunle, right? We were poor . Let me use that word. We were very poor. And the process, the journey, like if I tell you how it started – and what kept me going, it wasn’t because of the generation. It was for myself. It was for my family. What made me realise that look, you need to get out of yourself. I was doing comedy back then. I was playing the drums, I was playing the keyboard back then. I was famous when I was like 14 years old as per “the drummer boy.” That kid that plays the drum. I was on top of the bottom, so to speak”.
Asked what is most important to him, he said:” My name, my brand. That’s what’s most important. Yes, it’s the only thing I have. My identity is what people would know me for. Let me break it down. The name Basketmouth was a name that I decided to go by. The content of Basketmouth is what I created. Then I said ‘what name should we go with?’ And someone by chance called me ‘Basketmouth,’ after a gig. ‘O boy, you get basket mouth o.’ And I was like, that’s a good name. Do you know what? This fits my character. It defines me properly. But then again, Basketmouth is not my name. My name is Bright Okpocha. Do you get? And that’s my identity. That’s what’s on my passport. And that’s the reason why..I was young when I picked Basketmouth. But if you look through time, I started mentioning Bright Okpocha and then the titles started coming in — Eze Gburugburu and all those things.
Now, I want a situation whereby when you hear that name, what comes to your mind are the great things that I did. Which is the reason why, when I see my people going on social media to do certain things, I’m like, ‘are you not worried about your identity? Because these are things they’d bully your kids with. These are tools they would use against your kids. So me protecting my identity, is protecting my kids. Protecting myself, my family and protecting my peace of mind.
So what’s most important is my name. My brand name. So how do I make that brand name valued and respected? They are the things that I put out there”.
