Finding his voice: Prince Phelar’s story of courage, mentorship in comedy

Adefela Adeigbe, known by his stage name Prince Phelar, is a comedian, digital marketing enthusiast, cake plug, and MC.

How long have you been in comedy?

Officially, I’d say 8 years.

So, unofficially?

This is how it works. I started counting my years on stage when I met the legendary Gbenga Adeyinka D’1st because that was when I actually had the opportunity to be mentored and trained by a true veteran. Before 2016, I was always doing MC work for friends back in university, for friends’ birthdays, fellowship events, and all of that.

Interesting. So, one thing I want to ask you, what did your height do to you? (Laughs)

(Laughs) I get this a lot, but I’ve come to see it more as a blessing.

(Laughs) Thank God you’re never going to join a gang of robbers because it’s easy to just sneak in and out.

(Laughs) Imagine I want to rob you and shout ‘Your life or your money,’ you will just be like ‘What is talking?’ You won’t even say ‘Who is talking?’ because you’ll just be there looking for who is talking. I’ve literally jumped through the window of a molue in Ikeja. Too many people wanted to enter at the same time and I saw the open window, so I used the tyres and helped myself in. Why I also said it’s been a blessing is that every comedian has go-to jokes for bad days on stage. Mine, most times, is about my height and it always works for me.

Which is your favourite?

That I cannot keep a relationship (both laugh).

How did I get that so fast?

Because you have a good sense of humour.

How did comedy start for you?

I would say it’s a trait I picked up from my mum. She’s always been, and up until now, a traditional wedding MC. Back in university, I’d see some of my seniors Honeytongue and Notrespass. They were the trending comedians back then, and I’d always walk past their show posters and tell myself ‘You can be. You are funny too.’ My friends Olumide Akinola and Theophilus Adewale (The DOT Brothers) would always encourage me. They’d laugh at my jokes, but then I didn’t have the courage until after school.

What actually prompted the courage was a brother of mine in fellowship. When I was in 500 level, he called me one Tuesday evening and asked what my plan for after school was. It was at that moment it dawned on me that I didn’t have a plan for post-school other than my certificate. I’m a mechanical engineering graduate, anyway, but please don’t let me touch your car. After the conversation with my brother, by the help of God, I just felt, okay, maybe this is something I can pursue later. By the time I started my service in 2015, God bless my dear uncle Mr. Laolu Emmanuel and his supportive wife Mrs. Ann. They gave me a room in Port Harcourt and it was right there in that room that everything I do today started. My being a comedian, MC, digital marketing, everything started in that room. I’d always lock myself up, ingesting information, content, and practising things on my own. I moved to Ibadan in 2016, the year I met veteran actor Ayo Adesanya on Instagram. God bless her for me. I told her that I’m an upcoming comedian and I would like her to link me up with one of her comedian friends. She was like, oh well, I don’t have too many friends but I have Gbenga Adeyinka D’1st. I was like, uh, uh, what do you mean you don’t have too many friends? Gbenga Adeyinka is a crowd on his own (laughs), both in achievements and in size. The man is a crowd. I sent Gbenga Adeyinka a friend request on BBM, it was BBM those years, and in 5 minutes he accepted. I’ve never seen that level of humility at such a level of achievement, you know, to be able to come down from your high horse and relate with ‘common people’. He offered me a job in 2016, that’s why I moved to Lagos.

Alright, maybe I should ask for a job now (laughs). So, I’m trying to draw a lesson for someone who is watching and who needs to get the same kind of courage that you have. There are many people who are stuck in careers that they don’t want to be in right now. I have a friend Bukunmi Da Preacher, he was a bank person before he decided that, you know what, I’m done. What does it take to drop your fears and embrace your destiny?

It takes a lot. Backtrack to when that my brother had a conversation with me like, what was your plan for after school? Right after that conversation, I made up my mind that I’m going to, whilst I work on my craft before I become big in my own space, pick up a 9 to 5 job that can allow me to do my thing on the weekend, so it’s always been my own compass.

What would you say was a major challenge for you when you got into the industry? What kind of pushback have you had, what kind of feedback have you received, and how have you navigated it?

I didn’t have so much, and I’m grateful to God for that because of my mentor, Gbenga Adeyinka D’1st. This is where people need to understand the place of mentorship. You don’t necessarily have to launch if you are not ready. That is what a mentor does for you. I’ll give you an instance, don’t forget I said in 2016 I moved to Lagos because he offered me a job. So one of those times, we went to Ibadan. We were preparing for Laffmattaz With Gbenga Adeyinka And Friends, October 1st. One of those nights, I went to late Peteru’s comedy club with Omobaba No.1. All those times, I was still understudying Gbenga Adeyinka. So I took the mic. In my mind, I was killing it. In my mind, a superstar was born that night. After the performance, sorry I won’t call it a performance, after talking into the microphone, I went to Omobaba and asked, how was my performance? God bless him for being so honest, he was like, ‘Was that a performance?’ I was dumbfounded, I had no words. He said, ‘I didn’t even know when you started, I didn’t know when you finished.’ When we got back to Lagos, he told Gbenga Adeyinka D’1st about it and Gbenga said, ‘I don’t want you near a microphone in the next 3 months.’ This generation needs to understand the place of mentorship, and mentorship doesn’t mean looking for somebody to sort your bills. No, when it comes to mentorship it has to be both ways. What do you have to offer? With the help of God, don’t forget I’m a digital marketer. When I met Gbenga Adeyinka, I noticed he didn’t have a fan page. In my own little way, I felt if I can contribute to him in this way, I won’t be a parasite to him. He was gracious enough to allow me into his team, so I can say it’s a symbiotic kind of relationship. So during the mentorship process, he groomed me, and by October 1st, in less than 3 months, I was ready to perform at Laffmattaz, October 1st, and that was my introduction to the comedy industry, the biggest platform in Southwest, Nigeria.

You said something about mentorship, and you said that people must recognise its place. How easy is that to sell to a 20-year-old idealist who believes that he’s got everything that he needs?

Oh well, guess what, you don’t have to sell it to them. Just leave them, let them go and do it. If you feel you don’t need a mentor, don’t worry, just go. It’s only a matter of time, you will learn.

What should we expect from Prince Phelar?

Like I said, up until now, I’m still undergoing mentorship, because I believe mentorship is a lifetime activity. You’ll never know it all. Even my mentor, sometimes when we are talking, he still references Alibaba despite the fact that they are colleagues and friends. He told me, ‘It takes greatness to identify greatness’, so it doesn’t even matter how long it takes. Mentorship is always good. And I will always be improving on my craft, taking as many MC gigs as I can, taking as many stages as I can, God helping me. And someday, I’ll stage my own comedy show as well.

And continue to design cakes (laughs).

(Laughs) And that as well, God bless you, sir.

Thank you for your time, Prince Phelar.

Thank you for having me. The Fela that doesn’t smoke or drink. Gbenga Adeyinka D’1st and Omobaba will say I’m just wasting my name, that how will I be called Fela and I won’t drink or smoke (laughs).

(Laughs) I agree with them. (Both laugh)