Artist: RWD

The first review is in… words by Danny Walker

***Warning for those that plan to watch this on MTV Base on Friday 16 May at 22pm, the following text may contain spoilers***

It was a damp day in London when we began our journey to London’s Shaftesbury Theatre. The Sunday traffic was just as we expected… terrible and parking was even worst. Trying to find a yellow line in Westminster is like trying to find Osama Bin Laden’s hide out with a cloudy periscope. Luckily Gower Street provided a sallow haven and the theatre – unlike America’s Most Wanted Man’s crib – was soon breached.

Inside 210 Shaftesbury Avenue – which usually hosts one of London’s most popular musicals, Hairspray – was a sea of faces, everyone from Javine to Ms Dynamite were hovering in the lobby. Instead of hobnobbing, swapping stories of when we were famous or even drying out the bar, the pre-performance music led us to our seats.

The innards of 210 were cosy-yet-cavernous and minus the crimson carpet, Tim Westwood was the first thing we noticed as he was perched like a hawk in an adjoining balcony. The Radio 1 DJ and Pimp My Ride UK presenter dropped some bashment, hip hop and grime-fuelled selections as the upper tier filled at a slug-like pace. Soon enough the house lights dimmed, the audience hushed and the spotlight honed in on the host and co-producer of The Young Gods of Comedy, Harvey. Coming out to an ill-chosen snippet of So Solid Crew classic 21 Seconds Alesha’s ex soon got the crowd in the mood, even poking fun at his own domestic situation. “There are a lot of women here,” he opened with. ”I’m surprised, cos women hate me now,” which was met by the crowd with an uneasy half laugh/ half whimper. He was soon back on track though and showed a lot of love to UK artists; getting people to show love and appreciation for the likes of Trevor Nelson, UK rugby star Paul Sackey, April’s About to Blow Chipmunk and the aforementioned Ms Dynamite – who were all in attendance. His relatively short intro was decent but the star of the first 45 minutes went to Asian comedian Paul Chowdhry.



It may have been Chowdhry’s West End debut but he showed he’s worked many a crowd and was hilarious from start to finish. The opening consisted of him breaking down all racial barriers, first impressions and possibly his own nerves (if any) as he perfectly lip-synced to Buju Banton’s Driver A. This was met by an intense laughter and set the mood for the rest of his slot. His material ranged from the racially heated (Jamaican homophobia, DVD men in pubs, ordering Chinese, Indian rude boys and post-7/7 prejudice) to the socially sour (like getting “expensive” petrol late at night and having to put the “pedddddrol in first”) and (dating being like losing at “Street Fighter” …Yoga-Fire, Yoga-Flame. Perfect. You Lose!!!”). Hilarious. Amongst the 30-odd minutes there were brief instances of ‘Wow, can I laugh at this’ but they were instantly eclipsed by warm feelings of, ‘Wow, this is ridiculously funny.’ The best example of this was this quick-witted quandary, “Do you remember when black people used to be black? Now no-one is scared of you guys. We’re the new black people…” Finishing with, “I remember when I never used to get a seat on the train… now I get the whole carriage!” I would definitely pay to see Paul Chowdhry again.



Next up was the man many came to see, the Fresh Prince of Hackney himself, Kojo. Dressed in brown leather jacket ala Shaft – with bald head to match – the East London comic was ready to perform. Kojo bobbed and weaved through jokes about what certain guys get up to (“If you’re going to a strip club you’ve got to go up West. They have girls with names like Champagne and Crystal. One time I went to a strip club in Hackney… they had girls with names like Ribena. They were fat and didn’t even dance around the pole. They just walked... Pregnant.”), family (“My mum beat me so much this is a bruise,” as he pointed to his skin colour) and the differences between Africans (“…You know he was Ghanaian cos his foot was dry.”) Very funny but outshone by both Chowdhry and the star of the evening, America’s Will-E Robo.



Known for stints on P. Diddy’s Bad Boyz of Comedy, BET’s Comic View, Showtime at the Apollo and HBO’s infamous Def Comedy Jam, Robo is somewhat of a comedic veteran. His material was an instant hit from the off – despite Tim Westwood and his Macbook Pro messing up the first audio cue. “You know those girls who only dance in a club when it’s their song…” he stated before getting up to do so [at this point Westwood was supposed to play music but failed]. With the audience laughing, Westwood sent his apologies to Will-E, “…I’m here for you, I’m here for you…” Before the dust could even settle the comedian replied with the quickest and possibly funniest retort of 2008, “Last time a white guy said ‘I’m here for you’ we left Africa!!!” And with that everyone; White, Black, Asian and Other were in stitches. With Westwood forgiven, Robo continued his post-watershed discussion, covering sex (asking couples in the audience how experimental they were), sex (asking the male members of the front row what animal they are in bed) and more sex (ruthlessly unleashing “I eat a*** like its crab!”). Robo set the standards for which UK comics need to reach. He excelled with great visual material, a strong stage presence and a natural comedic aura that had us crying in stages. Beyond funny.

Overall the Young Gods of Comedy was an extremely entertaining evening for all, even (I think) the 21 year-old “in-experienced” woman who Robo was continually asking intimate questions. To watch the show for yourself or to get the full quotes and jokes, watch MTV Base on Friday 16 May at 22pm. It’s a must.

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In unrelated news, we need your letters for the May issue of RWD Magazine. The best letter will win a fabulous prize. Last month we gave away a Location Clothing jacket. To be in with a chance, send yours to staff@rwdmag.com (Subject: Letter of the Month?).

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