Take 5 with Melissa Nzisa

Melissa Nzisa is a student in the US, and also dabbles in comedy during her free time. She also tinkers with makeup on the side. Find her on her Instagram page, @nzisamelisa, which has a fun-loving 19,000-strong following.

1. Have you always known that you are funny, or did this dawn on you when your Instagram page started blowing up and messages started flooding in?

No. It never occurred to me that I was funny. I just say a lot of stupid things that people can relate to. If you look at most of my content, you will realise that I take everyday scenarios and play them out with a Kamba accent, however, when I started getting followers, it occurred to me that I was actually funny.

2. How did you get so good at accents? Which is your most favourite?

I did not grow up speaking Kamba, however, when I was in Class Five, I joined a school in Machakos. In one year, I had not learnt any Kikamba, but just by spending time with people who had Kamba accents, I picked up on it. My Luhya accent I learnt in secondary school at Precious Blood Riruta from a friend, Hildah Nyakwaka. With time, and watching a lot of Churchill Live of course, I developed the others, such as Kikuyu and Luo. I am still trying to perfect my Kalenjin accent. My favourite one has to be Kamba because it’s in my blood.

3. How do you decide what skits to perform?

I pick up things from my immediate environment. People do very stupid things that to me are very funny. I do not practice any of them. I could be studying, a stupid idea comes to my head and I pick up my phone, go to Instagram, record and post. I just don’t have the time to actually jot down my ideas, so, to be honest, people-watching, a hobby, is the main source of my video ideas.

4. Do you plan to do stand-up shows, or is this just a hobby for now?

It has always just been a hobby. For now, I need to sit down and focus on my books. I have no plans to do stand-up shows. But you never know. Plans change.

5. Come on, you must have plans with your comedy, and life in general. Where do you see yourself in three years’ time?

To be honest, I don’t have a plan with my comedy. I can go a whole week without making a video because life happens. Sometimes I just lose the motivation to pick up my phone and record anything, however, I plan on being more consistent with it.

As for my life, I believe God’s will for my future is the ultimate plan. My life is centred around Christ, and honestly, my only goal in life is to be more like Him. This way I know my future will be perfectly planned out. That said, I do have goals and visions that I present to God and then let Him map out the plans.