5 minute read
Taaooma: Nigeria’s Freestyle ‘Slapping’ Comedian
The name Tao is no doubt a familiar sobriquet in the skit-comedy industry. The lady behind this name is Maryam Apaokagi. Already a success in her own rights, many find it hard to understand how this young girl moved from unpopular to celebrated and in-demand within a couple of years, and all under 25 years of age.
The last of five children, Maryam Apaokagi was born on February 28, 1999, In Ilorin, Kwara state, Nigeria. She had her early education in Dolastar Primary school, Adewole, Ilorin before the family relocated to Namibia in 2009. She then attended Amazing Kids Privatew School & Academy, and Concordia College, Windhoek, all in Namibia.
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She then returned to Nigeria where she studied Tourism and Hospitality at the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete. She served her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) time in Lagos State. directing from Nigerian Music Video Director – Abdulaziz Oladimeji aka Abula. At first, acting out the skits was just a way to put her editing skills to use. She recalled in an interview that Abula also assisted her in shooting some of the videos.
Maryam’s first sobriquet was “je_suis_taaooma“ dating back to November 22, 2015, before settling for what many now refer to as Freestyle Comedy. What quickly singled her out was the template she created of a regular African mother and how this mother responds to her children’s actions.
Earning a spot in Freestyle Comedy
Maryam started her comedy skits in 2015 as a student after learning shooting, editing and She gained popularity by creating a single cast whilst switching roles, and on many occasions, the audience finds themselves wondering if the roles are really taken by the same person.
Her dexterity and versatility has her sliding into each role with perfection – father, mother, daughter, son, mechanic, neighbour, doctor and any other role which the drama skit demands. Taaooma also infuses some trending words and phrases into her comedy dramas, in line with recent happenings.
Another feature of her skits which the audience also finds intriguing is the thunderous slaps which have become characteristic of the mother figure in the skits – Ronke. The timing and accuracy of each slap is almost certain to provoke laughter in every skit, even if all else fails.
About the inspiration behind all of her skits, Taaooma said she is inspired by everyday life experiences between an average African mother and child.
“I could remember things that happened and I’ll say, wow, it’s actually funny, I can act it out. And sometimes some of that may not be as funny, but I’ll just add some things. I have my storybook, that’s what I call it. I just write stories, any ideas that come to my head and when it’s time for me to shoot, I just go through my stories and see which one I’m feeling at that moment”
She started out with just Instagram and did not have much of a role-model in freestyle comedy to look up to at the time, since the single cast genre of acting was largely unexplored. For a long time, she would create the content and put on her handles but there were hardly any views or engagements with it. Later on, as she started studying Instagram analytics, taking note of the right times to do her uploads, the engagement started trickling in.
Many say that the skit “When Your Nigerian Mom Drives You to School” was her breakthrough production as the video was the first to go viral. Since the first video went viral, Maryam’s comedy videos now accumulate millions of views with her huge social media following growing month on month. She is now selfsigned by the Greenade Company which she co-owns with her fiancé – Abdulaziz Oladimeji.
Sticking it through
In several interviews, Maryam admitted that there were times she almost stopped what she was doing, especially when it seemed no one was watching. Her mother had expressed fears that excessive devotion to comedy could distract Maryam from her studies, but only allowed her to continue because she made a promise that she would not allow her school performance to drop.
Maryam took deliberate steps to make it work. She watched some YouTube videos on video editing to advance her skills, and took time to study Instagram algorithms to know when to make her uploads for maximum engagement.
Things picked up over time and so did her morale. She is now one of the most followed Instagram Comedians in Nigeria with over 2.4 million active instagram followers.
Maryam has since then featured other top acts in her comedy dramas, including Falz, Don Jazzy, Twyse Ereme, Debo Macaroni, Williams Uchemba, The Cute Abiola, Adeoye Adeyemi Elesho, and EmmaOhMyGod.
The money trail
Taaooma did not start making money from her hobby-turned-full-time-job until 2018. Speaking in an interview, she said she received payment to do a promotion for a single, and that officially marked the beginning of her promotions and advertisements for companies and brands. She has bagged several endorsements as well. She started a finger foods business – Chop Tao in 2020. She said that it was a business idea she had nursed in her heart since her university days.
Maryam Apaokagi is also co-owner of The Greenade - a music video-making company. The company has directed countless music videos, including ones from A-list artists. She has hinted that the company may be venturing into filmmaking soon.
Awards And Nominations
In 2019, Maryam Apaokagi won Best Online Comedian of the Year at the Gage Awards. She was listed among The Top 25 Under – 30 Nigerian superstars and one of Leading Ladies Africa #100woman. Apaokagi also made The Guardian Nigeria’s list of 100 Most Inspiring Women in the country.
On 8 November 2020, Maryam was nominated as part of The Future Awards Africa: Class of 2020 for the prize of content creation (YouTubers, Vloggers).
Apaokagi won the 2020Nigeria’s 25 under 25 awards for the Social Entrepreneur category and was nominated for the MAYA Awards Africa under the Skit Maker Of The Year category, as well as the City People Music Awards for the Comedy Act of the Year.
