What you need to know about Mashabela Galane ahead of Trippin' With Skhumba's premiere

This follows after the success of Showmax' first two original series. Tali's Wedding Diary is the most nominated comedy at the upcoming SAFTAs and The Girl From St. Agnes had the most first-day views on launch day for any Showmax show.

The new show is Showmax's first vernacular show, first reality show, and first local travel show. It follows Skhumba Hlope as he takes to the road with some of South Africa's best-loved comedians to visit their home towns.

Tembisa-born comic Skhumbuzo Skhumba Hlophe will host Showmax's first vernacular Original reality series. Image supplied: Showmax/Justin Dingwall Read - Trippin' With Skhumba: Get ready for Showmax's first Original travel show

Humble beginnings In the first episode airing on Thursday, we'll be taking a bittersweet journey to Moletjie Village in Limpopo to experience Sepedi comedian Mashabela Galane's home town.

Mashabela comes from humble beginnings, and without a comedy club near him, he took his inspiration from Thobela FMs Ben Maraka. Mashabela says:

He had a cassette of jokes in Sepedi and I thought I could do it too. But he didn't last because he was bewitched

Mashabela Galane will star in Trippin' With Skhuma's pilot episode. Image supplied: Showmax/Justin Dingwall Acclaimed comic and entertainer Much of being a comic comes down to work ethic, and Mashabela credits his childhood of herding cows for his: You let them roam, but if you can't find them, you don't go home. That was the rule. If you can't find the cows, you have to stay there and look for them until you find them.

Similarly, the comic says he won't walk on stage without a punchline, but adds that some people go on and embarrass themselves without punchlines. He says that's how he knows that they never herded cows.

Skhumba and Mashabela are old friends, having both paid their dues back when finding an audience for vernacular comedy was quite a bit harder than today. Mashabela explains:

We've come a long way. Back in the day, it wasn't easy. You'd perform for R50 or a six-pack of Black Label. I used to walk from Carlton Centre to Melville and perform for a six-pack of Black Label [at Underground].

Trippin' With Skhuma's premieres Thursday evening on Showmax. Image supplied: Showmax/Justin Dingwall Read -Four international series return to Showmax this week

Mashabela may just think twice about going back home with Skhumba in the future. Mashabela's father might be his biggest fan, but that may not mean that Mashabela is his favourite comedian. He adds:

I thought my dad was my biggest fan. But since we got here, he hasn't mentioned a single joke of mine, but he knows Skhumba's jokes.

At the end of the day, Mashabela is a talented comedian having won the Comics' Choice Native Tongue Award in 2016, but he's not happy to rest on his laurels.

The comic is also a South African Music Awards nominee in the Best Kwaito Album category, and he invented his own drink. Award-winning Rare Moringa Gin is his brainchild and if you want to hear the story behind it, remember to jump online and watch the show this Thursday on Showmax.

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Tags: film and TVShowmaxSouth Africa

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