By Joey Badubi Jr.
He first surfaced into the social media scenes as a Facebook meme creator with the once famous and notorious “Youth of Botswana” group as his usual and constant playground. Born Vincent Sekgee, the Molepolole native and Kopong-bound comedian always branded himself as Raz Doko. With his constant social media presence, there had always been one heavily striking physical feature about him at first glance, his almost identical resemblance to the most famous and controversial partner, Prophet Shepard Bushiri. But it is his most unique way of creating memes that makes him influential and outstanding above everybody else, thus we saw it fit to feature him in this edition of Influencer Spot With…
Q1. Ola Raz Doko. Thank you so much for being part of the Influencer Spot. It is a real pleasure to have you joining us.
A1. Thank you so much Joey. I am very much happy to be doing this. I am actually honoured to take part. It’s such a pleasure.
Q2. No sweat. But did we really have to do this all the way in Kopong?
A2. Yeah man. I’m proud of Kopong. It is a place I call home and where my craft was birthed. I also wanted you to see my shoe wash business.
Q3. Nice place that you have here man. But let us talk about that a little later. For now let us focus on you. Who is Raz Doko? Kindly tell our readers about yourself.
A3. Well, my real name is Vincent Sekgee. I was born in the year 1999 ko Molepolole.
Q4. So o “le2000?” Hahaha! Anyway, so you’re not from Kopong? You actually from Molepolole?
A4. Yes. I am from Molepolole. I stay in Kopong because my Dad stays here and I stay with him. But I would like to represent both Molepolole and Kopong because they are both my villages and residents from both are fighting over me. Hahaha!
Q5. Awesome. Let us get into your craft now. You are a comedian but not the usual type of comedian we are used to around here. How do you describe your craft?
A5. I’m mostly a meme creator. I’m also an actor but currently meme creation is the biggest thing for me right now. I do memes but the main difference is that I use photos of myself doing the meme expressions. From there I create funny and storytelling threads with the memes in a single post.
Q6. Quite interesting. So when did you start crafting your talent?
A6. Immediately after failing my Form 5. Hahaha!
Q7. So you failed your Form 5? When? And how many points did you score?
A8. Yes. In 2017. I got 18 points. I was a very naughty student, plus “ha di tsoge” (I am not academically gifted).
Q9. But 18 points is not too bad for someone who is not academically gifted, hey?
A9. Well, in fact, I was suspended about five times at senior secondary school. That 18 points I got was basically from my natural intelligence. Hahaha!
Q10. Okay, back to your craft now. As we have mentioned, you have a very unique way of doing comedy. What inspires your unique style?
A10. It is simply my creativity. I believe that I have a very creative mind. So I just observed and identified what was missing in our comedy industry and simply filled the gap.
Q11. Great. Did you think it would work from the start or you were just trying it out?
A11. To be honest, I was just trying it out in the beginning. I was just having fun and expressing myself. I started off with writing jokes and memes and then I thought that I should just put those memes into pictures but using myself as the character.
Q12. And how was the reception from start? How was the reaction from your followers and other social media users in general?
A12. I cannot say that the reception was bad from the start. It was actually okay. Social media users were mostly stunned by the attire I use, and the blurry pictures.
Q13. This should bring us to your famous attire that people love so much. And they look very old. Where do you get them from? Hahaha!
A13. Hahaha! Those are clothes from the ancestors. That is why they are so old yet I am just keeping them. It’s a good luck charm. Hahaha! But on a serious note, the first clothes I rocked into the scene with, that old Zebras T-shirt, the 18 pocket pants and the pink wool cap, I just found them at home among old clothes. I think they might have belonged to my Uncle.
Q14. And you just decided to make them your stage attire there and then?
A14. Not really. At first it was a one off thing. I totally had no intentions of turning the clothes into my stage attire. But as I mentioned, people were just fascinated about the clothes and loved them. That is how it became sensible that I keep and use them.
Q15. But then along the way, you destroyed and burned them. Why?
A16. I was going through a very rough patch during that time my brother. And I wanted to quit doing comedy. The attention that I was getting was just too much, especially the negative attention and I couldn’t handle it.
Q17. Sorry about that man. Totally understandable. So you’re saying the downside pressures of being famous are just too hectic like that?
A17. Yes my brother. And it is not everyone who can handle it well. Some are too fragile for that. But fortunately for me, my fans and other people reached out in a bid to assist me get back on track. is how and why I’m still here. I’m getting too much love and support from Batswana and I appreciate it so much.
Q17. Well, it is quite good that you got back on track. So are you making money yet? Is the comedy paying you well?
A17. Well, I have recently started to do corporate jobs here and there. Corporates have started reaching out and it is coming out quite good. I have started a small shoe business as well that I hope will boom and multiply other branches around the whole country.
Q18. That’s good. Keep flying. And for that business, do push it and multiply it, as you say. It will eventually reward you in a big way. But tell me, who do you share the money with? A wa ratana (Are you dating)?
A18. Hahaha! Actually, I am in a 7-year old relationship and we have a 1-year old child together. His name is Timothy.
Q19. Wow. Big Ups to you, man. Such a long time together. How do you do that?
A19. It is a matter of loving and learning to live with each other. We started dating back in junior school, went together to secondary school and joined society together. Hahaha!
Q20. Big Ups to you, man. Before we close off, let us get back to your craft. It looks like too much admin and work behind the scenes with taking pics for the threads and all?
A20. Yes. It is too much work. It requires quite a whole lot of time and administration behind it. There is just a whole lot of work behind the craft.
Q21. How do you keep your photos blurry? And what camera do you use?
A21. I use Btv cameras. Hahaha!
Q22. Aeee. let me see the phone that you use to take photos?
A22. I use a Botswana Police phone. The one that they always take photos of the suspects with and upload on their social media page. Hahaha!
Q23. Hahaha. Very funny. So, what is the future for the Raz Doko brand?
A23. The most important thing that I want to achieve through my brand is to build a big palace for each and every street kid in the country. I would really like to assist them and eradicate poverty from the country. That is the most important goal I want to achieve in life.
Q24. That’s very sweet and kind of you man. Big Ups to you. I almost forgot this, how do you feel about being a Prophet Bushiri lookalike?
A24. Hahaha! Well, it makes me quite happy because I love Prophet Bushiri. I believe I once told you that I’m a very spiritual person. I am spiritually-gifted, and I believe I can prophesy. I have done a couple of prophesies that actually came to pass.
Q25. Wow! Yah, I remember that. I actually thought you were joking. Hahaha! Anyway, any last words to our readers and Batswana in general?
A25. Thank you so much for your love and support, Batswana. I am where I am now because of you. Keep supporting and appreciating my craft. I love you.
Q26. Thank you so much for doing this interview Doko. It was quite fun.
A26. I appreciate being here. It was a great pleasure…
SIDEBAR
FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT RAZ DOKO
- I was raised by a single mother. I only started to be with my Dad at an older age yaana.
- I am an entrepreneur. I sell clothes. My stall is in Gaborone at Rail Park Mall. I also ruba shoe wash in Kopong.
- I am a firm and strong believer in God. I am an devout Christian.
- I have an intimate place in the bush where I always go and pray for hours. I just carry my Bible and go there.
- I can prophesy.