The colourful figures of Munya Chawawa
For a long time, the path to comedy seemed to take place in clubs until one was noticed or wrote countless specs – again until one was noticed. It's not the most comprehensive way of entering an industry that has often felt constrained in the voices and stories that are celebrated. However, in recent years a new wave of fun people has emerged with the freedom to create comedy content for an online-only audience.
"I love social media because there are no gatekeepers as such. If you work on television or radio where I was originally trying to break through, there is one person at the top who has to like what you do." And if they don't, you won't get a show, ”says British-Zimbabwean comedian Munya Chawawa. “While on social media, whether people like it or not, you can still get your work published there. No need to email anyone a PA with your video. You don't have to send it to this huge portal with showreels via WeTransfer. I love the visibility and I love how the only limit to how far you can get with your work is how much you can make from it. Nobody will ever stop you from creating – except yourself. "
Above: Munya Chawawa and characters, photo: © Riya Hollings & Moxie; Above: Still of Unknown P for Piers Morgan Video Promo
Chawawa grew up in Zimbabwe and came to Great Britain at the age of eleven as political and economic tensions increased in the country. He has been creating comedy videos and sketches for around seven years and shares them on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. He now has over a million followers on these platforms. Chawawa has become known for adjusting himself to the public psyche with brisk precision and has created a variety of complex personalities to aid him in this. There are characters who analyze world politics, others who instill hypocrisy about racism and classicism in the UK, and even some who make parody lockdown decisions through RnB classics. With glowing celebrities and numerous TV appearances, Chawawa's classy drill rapper Unknown P released his first song entitled Piers Morgan last year and signed a recording deal with Atlantic at the same time.