 This has been happening for the longest. Even something as small as taxis, like you'd go out on a night out in North Bridge and when it comes to home time, now we use ubers, but taxi drivers would always expect cash up front from me. And I was explaining to one of my good friends actually, he's like, what do you mean they ask for cash up front? I'm like, yeah, like every time I wanna go home to help in a taxi, they'll require cash up front. So I've never paid cash up front. I'm like, yeah, I know because you wait. Welcome to the Sevo show. We are here with Emo. He is from Sudan. That's it. That's this intro. Now he's a comedian. He's got the very first ever golden buzzer from a South Sudanese export. Is there many Sudanese people that you have to compete with to get that accolade or? Nah, man. Like in the comedy game alone, there's like no South Sudanese comedians. There's one that just started up. His name is Chung. He puts out like a video clips on TikTok and that. But yeah, there's even African in general. There's like, hi Danny, Africans in the comedy game. Yeah. I mention it because it was in the press. First South Sudanese. Yeah, the first, yeah. Like it's very specific. It's like, how many others do you have to compete with? No, there's not many others out there. Yeah. First to do it. You heard that. How did it feel for everybody? Obviously doesn't know. You're on the current Australia's Got Talent competition for 2022 and you're a finalist now. Yep. Competing against how many others? There's six more. Six more contestants. There was those thousands that applied for it. And then it was, I think it was 170 auditions or whatever, whatnot. Wow. And then we're down to the final six. Yeah. So yeah. So at the time of this recording, guys, you're still eligible to vote for Emo. And if you are listening to this recording after the following Sunday, just DM him directly saying you would have voted for him. Sorry. But here it is. Right here. What's that number, read it out. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, go on. So to vote for Emo, just dial 0407 79994. And then just text Emo three times because you're allowed up to three votes. Every vote counts, so if all my WA people out there represent and get behind me, I'm not just doing this for myself. So yeah. That number again is 0407 79994. There you go. You heard it first. Take your plug. So what is your story? How did you get here? And do you like it? Yeah. Had I got here as in Australia or like into comedy? Just any, yeah, start with Australia. Were you into comedy before Australia? No, no, no, no. I've only been doing comedy for the last four, for five years, five years, yeah. 2018 is when I really started getting into it. But we started off like an Australian journey in Ethiopia where I was born. Like my family had fled Sudan at the time because we had the longest reigning civil war. So they found refuge in Ethiopia. And my mum gave birth to me there. And then like there was another little miniature war that came in Ethiopia as well. So they fled one more time to Kenya. And then we were lucky enough that Australia was taken on refugees at the time. And this Christian organization called Edmund Rice organization, we having to make the short list. My mum applied for it. And after some time, like medical tests or all that sort of stuff, we were granted refugee status where we came to Australia. And I got to see white people for the first time. Wow, what was that like? Yeah, that was, well, up until then we would see like one or two every now and then. About unicorns? Yeah, like, yeah. They'll be out there giving out sacks of rice and working for UNICEF, you know what I mean. And then to be where the factory is. Did you feel like you were gonna get a lot of rice when you came here or? Like I just knew, we knew when we left Africa that the hardship was now over. Well, we thought that the hardship was now over. Like it was different challenges when we got here, but we just knew that we weren't gonna go days without food and that type of stuff. So yeah, so it was like it was definitely like it felt like we had made it. But then there was like a sense of like survivor's guilt as well. Cause we left so much family behind and all that sort of stuff. And then we here starting this new life and having to readjust and simulate to the Australian way, which came fairly naturally because you weren't looking over your shoulder no more as well. Yeah. So yeah. Less violent here, right? Yeah, less violent here. And just the scarcity of food and like finding water and stuff like that was no longer an issue. So yeah, it definitely felt like we made it when we came to Australia, yeah. What was the hardest part about transitioning? Obviously the survivor's guilt. But when you're in the country itself? Well, because we didn't know a single word of English. So we had to start from scratch. So we started off by like your points. And then our next door neighbor really helped us out as well. Like I'm this lady Sue, who had two kids, Ben and Kiarra. Oh, just recently after so many years, right? She found me because of Australia's Got Talent. So she found me on and a week before I was like thinking, wow, wonder what happened to that, Sue? Just because I was in this space where I was just thinking back about where it all started and how we didn't know how to speak English and all that. So I was actually thinking about her. And she contacted me a week later, telling me, I was just watching TV and there you were. That's awesome. So we got to really connect and she sent us old pictures of when we first got here as well. So there was that connection that we've always had, you know what I mean? But yeah, we want to know how to say water. I would point out that she would say water, you know what I mean? Like, yeah. And you learned through that. That's cool. We just learned through like, just like baby steps. Yeah. But yeah, it was like surreal. Just like looking back now about being here back in 1996 and not knowing a single word of English. Like it's, yeah, it's like, it's insane man. Like to find yourself in a totally different land and learning from the very beginning. I mean, so yeah. I know very much what that's like. I give it up to any migrants that have done that in the past. You know, I'm a migrant. Yes. I believe Seb is not a traditional Australian name. He is Russian. Russian. Yeah. When did you move here? Same, 96, 97. I forget which year, but around the time. What area? Moved to Perth in Padbury. Padbury. And then after primary school, went to Cal Gully to really see what it's like. Well, all the big shots go, eh? Yeah, that's it. I've kind of, I mean, we didn't really run away from anything. It was past the Soviet Union era. But we did leave for a much better life. Yep. And, you know, as much as, you know, we were kind of doing okay there. We had property. We had farmland and we were looked after because my grandparents worked for the government. Okay. And what that means in that country is you do dodgy shit, but you get away with it easier, you know? With the full support of the government, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Shout-outs to those, to my grandparents. They're listening from above now, but, you know, cheers for helping out. What up? For none. So, do you know if you're famous at all in Sudan or do they still have bigger fish to fry? To be honest with you, I've been getting this abundance of support from all directions on the globe. Up until recently, like, I didn't have the Sudanese community behind me. Like, so it's good, like, say for example, if I have a show and I have 100 people in there, like I'd be lucky to have about five black people. You know what I mean? Like, so now it's like, I've got to really see it. Like, I went to Melbourne and did my solo show there and it was like death sham, like the whole room was just like, you should have seen it. I went from having, like, no less than five people of colour to having a room full of, like, people that look just like me. We sold that show out as well, so you can just imagine how much people of colour I had at my show, so, yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. And what's that feel like knowing that, you know, you broke into the white crowd. Yeah. But then, did you, how did you originally want to go about it? Did you have any sort of angles or aspirations that you want to be loved by all? I mean, we all were. Yeah, yeah, 100 per cent, man. Even with my material and stuff, nothing I ever say is malicious or comes from a bad place. Like, I can proudly say that people would come to my show and walk away with something, you know what I mean? I am not a malicious person. I don't spread hate. Matter of fact, if anything, I spread empowerment and I attempt to unify us together with the tools that I've got, which is storytelling and laughter. So, yeah, it's good that I have everyone sitting under the same roof and able to laugh at my stories and my take on things, you know what I mean? Yeah, and unity. Yeah, exactly. We're all equal and we're all the same, but we're yet different as well. And we need to celebrate our differences, you know what I mean? So, yeah. And laugh at our, you know, things that we have in common, things that are different. If we can laugh about it, then we can now talk about it. I'm not hating on each other. I mean, 2022, the last three, four, five years where it's become a really PC culture. What's that kind of, how's that impacted you as a comedian? Oh, dude, people try to silence us as comics, but I myself, I am forever outspoken. Like, I say what I want and at the end of the day, I lose my sleep because I know that my words are not malicious. You have good intent. Yeah, greatly, like I have nothing but the greatest intentions. And to anyone that knows me personally knows that I'm a loving person and I'm not about preaching, hate or any of that negative stuff. Matter of fact, negativity, stay in your lane, you know what I mean? Yeah, well, gossiping in general. Yeah, yeah, like I stick to myself. All you ever going to hear when you see me on stage is my take on things. Like, don't be upset with my take. This is my observation. It's my opinion. Yeah, you're not a preacher. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like, it may not be for you, but like, don't be upset with someone else's opinion because that's what separates us. Exactly. So, yeah. How's that impacted your kind of way when you went to the US? The US? To perform there in terms of like with the Black Lives Matter movement. How was how was that kind of the difference in performing there? Well, like, like, since I started doing my comedy, like, I've been to New York twice now. And we often undersell how powerful it is for comics, you know what I mean? Like, because we have a voice and a voice that's required in society. Like, there is a better chance of getting the right information at a comedy club than you would from the news. You know what I mean? We're generous, we report things. Like, if something was to happen right now to, let's say, for example, Prince Andrews, yeah, tomorrow morning, all the jokes will come out from the comedians. I love that. Yeah, you would hear it first from a comic. I mean, like, and you'd get an unfiltered take on it. Yeah, first thing that comes to their mind. Yeah, exactly. That's what my group chats about. Yeah, you know, so like, it's important that we're able to say what we want. And because of this PC culture and everyone jumping on that bandwagon as well, you know that they're not happy. No. But like, you see people at, say, for example, comedy clubs and stuff, like, you say something that's on the edge and rather than laugh about it, they'll look around and see if it's all right to laugh about it. Yeah, right? And then how do you how do you, like, assess that? So, like, from the very beginning of my set, like, I break down those walls, like, try to get people comfortable with me. And that is because I'm about to say some shit. So you got to take down those walls, man, and let them know what you're really about first before you start talking about some of the. Yeah, you're going to break the ice. Yeah, the dicier stuff. And then it's just it's open game from then. Like, once once you've gotten established that relationship with your audience, then they know that, hey, this is this guy sounds like he's just having fun. Yeah, I mean, he's not out here trying to tell us this this rally up and kill everyone at a time where someone was just like, no, this is it for me and just walked out. Not not walked out, but you don't know, they might be gone for a shit or something. Yeah, I've had people like leave a review and say that it wasn't for them, which which is perfectly fine because I'm not in pleasing everyone business. I mean, do they say why it wasn't for them or do they just? No, like, I'm like, Joe Fringe, like, you can leave, like, there's like hot, hot cup of coffee, not my cup of tea. We'll go again. Yeah, yeah. You know, those those type ones. And then there's the just not just not my cup of tea and which is fine. Like, I like that better than a star rating because the star rating can be quite like broad. Yeah. And you get that from your like your true reviews, who are you, which are your audience? I mean, and like I said, like I am not in the business of pleasing everyone. Like, I just this is the best example I can give right. I got a friend. His name is Nick Romo. We go out from time to time, like out for burgers or just hanging out. Went to Varsity last time and he ordered a burger with peanut butter in it. I myself would not like peanut butter in my burger, but each their own. That's that's my boys Nick Romo's fucking take on it. Like, he likes peanut butter in his burger. I'm not going to shit on him for like, like a bit of butter in his burger. But it's just not for me. But we're all different, right? Like, we're all different. So like, I don't know how anyone can come to a show and not like it and then just write this big Yelp review about why they didn't like it. Like, ah, you didn't like it. Just don't come back again. That's cool. You gave it a try. You didn't like it. Like, yeah, I would never go skydiving. But yeah, but if I was ever to convince myself to do it once and I got that rush and I no longer want to do it again, then I can just pat myself in the back that I've done it wasn't for me. I wouldn't try to talk with my cup of tea. I wouldn't talk other people out from trying it because who knows what kind of experience they will get out of it. Yeah, exactly. When I went to Milan, the first experience I had with pizza in Italy, which I was excited about and I made a video about it and it did quite well on TikTok. Yeah. And then all the Italians absolutely shat on me in the comments. They were like, there's no real pizza in Milan. The real pizzas in Napoli. Who the fuck has Prosecco with pizza? Because I was like, Prosecco is flowing. I'm having a good time. And it's just all this, like, like, cheating on me. Yeah, yeah. That's what that's literally what everyone like what societies become. Like, I had some of my comment section. I think it was yesterday, actually, who wrote something. He DM'd me. Right. He took the time out of his day to DM me. And normally I don't. I don't partake in in entertaining trolls. But yesterday I had time. I had time for you, my boy. So I went on his profile. I quickly took a look of who he is. And like, all right, let's analyze how we can end him. So I just, I DM'd him back. I said, hey, bro, you don't look very well. You look sick. Are you sure? Yeah, yeah, he did. Yeah, I said, are you sure? Messing with me is good for your health. And then he messaged me back, saying you did take a person. I did a message in Max saying, what the fuck made you think that I'd care about your opinion? He goes, clearly you do because you responded. I said, all right, cool, cool. Went to go write something. Now he decides that he wants to block me. Before I could even, you started this dialogue. Yeah. So why are you running from it now? Yeah. So he blocks me and thought he got the last word. So I just went on my on my on my page and I just told everyone to go put a donkey emoji in his DMs. He's got all these donkey emojis. The people who send his screenshots and sending it to me. Like I had the hard time yesterday. So you've not got to cast the first tone and then and then and then block me. Like I sought you. Like I seeked you out now, man. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I've got a I've got a question here specifically about the right wing media. And so why do you think the right wing media, in particular, have targeted and demonised Sudanese people in particular? So we're shifting away from comedy for a second. Yeah. Going to go back to your culture, where you're from. Yeah. But relating it to media, because you're in the media. Yeah, yeah. What are your thoughts on this? Well, like for me to pretend that there there isn't a little there isn't a slight problem out there would be ignorant. Like I see I see what's happening out there. Matter of fact, you see it as well. Like like my cousin, Rest in Peace, you interviewed him just before he passed away. Yes, such a shame. He went over there for his birthday and and he and he died on his birthday killed by his own people. You know what I mean? When I say his own people, I mean like other Africans. I mean, so we do have an African. We do have a youth problem, but to put it into perspective, less than one percent of Australian crime is committed by Africans. There's another 99 percent that is unaccountable for. So to focus on just the Africans, it it it it heightens and creates tension that these are these the Africans are the ones that are causing this. There are like you never hear about like any rapes or like major murders and like gang shootings, like that's not happening with the African community. But for all the channels to like rally up and like like just blow it out it makes people like myself and positive figures in the community like a catch like anyone else like that. It creates fear among those that you live around. Like like you see people in in Dandenong, I think it was or those those like those like a protest in Melbourne some time ago where they had to get many, many different cops to come come out there because there was word that was going to turn violent. But that's because of how it's been blown out by the media. Yeah, like I'm not saying that there isn't a problem out there because there is. And like internally I speak to the to the to the the elders. Matter of fact, while I was in Melbourne just recently, I I went and spoke to a high school in Dandenong like just to go inspire the young kids and and just just just having that like you see those that are trying to do positive stuff, they get shadow on man. Like like I'm a jacked out. Remember, like all of a sudden he stayed by him to the point where he's actually quit doing football. Yeah, you got people like Majok Majok, like you if you read into the comment section instead of seeing these positive figures, they get shadowed rather than like try to uplift them to try to tear them down. And I feel like perhaps being in this position that I mean that I should empower my people. So what I do is I try to empower them, try and encourage them to come out. I speak at schools. I've got some things in the works, speaking to communities and stuff so I can stop or at least attempt to help stop what happens to my cousin. I mean, yeah, absolutely, because I'd hate to find out down the track like five, ten years from now. My daughter goes to Sydney or Melbourne for a birthday and she doesn't return back. Yeah, I mean, that's a scary thought. Yeah, that's a very scary thought. Yeah. So just, yeah, rather than pump out the negative stuff, I think the media should be showing more of the positive stuff as well or at least balance it out. I hate the media for that. Like the main thing I don't even watch the news much is because it's just all negatives. Yeah, all negative stuff on people and people love that. Yeah, I hate that they consume and they love it. That shock value. Like if you if you're going to add something like that, that's cool. Like you should add stuff like that. I'm not saying I'd be quite about it, but follow it and compliment it with something else. That way doesn't come out like it's just negative stuff that's coming out, because that's all you seem to be, Eric. Like you don't put out the good stuff. You're you're you're gone for the clickbait. Yeah, there's a there's a channel on Instagram called Tanks Good News, T-A-N-K-S. And it's just like real wholesome news around the world. Yeah, I love watching. I miss the days when you'd hear about a cat getting rescued out of a tree. Now it's just negative shit. Yeah, nobody wants to hear about the negative stuff anymore, the positive stuff anymore. And it's yeah, it's sad. But but no, it's glad that you're I'm glad that you're putting that out there. You're not just just a comedian. You're you've got a more of an educational approach to it. Yeah, yeah, I think a lot of comedians are doing that now. They're using that that channel, that platform to really push out. Absolutely. There is there is a question to segue to this. Many many great comedians come from a history of painful traumatic childhoods. Billy Connolly, Alan Davies, Corey White, Kevin Hart, Jim Carrey, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, also, obviously, recipes. Yeah, do you do you think comedy is a way to cope and process those experiences? Yeah, comedy definitely helps me like express myself. It helps me connect and and and share my experiences so the next person knows that it's not just all sunshine and rainbows and lollipops. I mean, like I I I happily share like all aspects of my life when I when I touch that stage. I almost leave it all on that stage. I mean, like because for me, my life is open book. I keep some stuff private because I like my privacy. But I do share as much of my experiences as I can. So the next person doesn't have to feel like they're doing it alone. I mean, so yeah. And also it's just a it's just a great reminder if you think you had it so like so bad that someone's had it worse. I mean, like, or if you think you've had it worse, someone's actually doing good now. Let's come out from that dark spot. Yeah, that perspective. Yeah. Yeah, it's helpful when you when you were growing up and you were getting into the comedy scene, who inspired you the most? Who inspired me the most? Well, I've only just been doing comedy for five years. Like I'm a kid in this game. But you were growing up watching comedians. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I used to watch Def Jam. One person that used to just like astonish me was Jamie Foxx. I don't speak much about Jamie Foxx, but Jamie Foxx. You ever like just look at someone and you're like, oh, so that's where some of my blessings went. God just gave it all to you. Jamie can play the piano. The guy's a singer. The guy's an actor. Like the guy's good looking like he's just. A package all in one person. Like if you're a human. Yeah, if you watch him performing and on his stand-up sets, he'll have the piano there. He'll sing. He'll like act things out. Like it's just it's just so good to watch, man. Like, so Jamie, like I think Jamie doesn't get enough credit, but like Jamie Foxx, all the kings of comedy. Dave Chappelle's comedy wrote it to me. Yeah, yeah, he's one of my favorite. He is like he is just on a different like level. Like you cannot compare David with anyone. Like what what he's achieved and just like the the envelope that he's pushed is just remarkable. Man, like you often let me think of like great comedians. You're like, oh, what what Eddie Murphy did. He'll never be undone. Like we'll never be repeated. Tillerious. Yeah, like what Richard Pry did. I mean, but Dave is just in his own little pocket. Yeah, I mean, like there's no way of comparing him with anyone else. Like he's that guy that walked away from fifty million dollars and still came back in under his own conditions, his own terms and he's thriving in his own little space. I mean, like, yeah, so Dave really, really inspires me. And it was cool because I was in Montreal back in twenty nineteen at the Just for that festival. And I met Daniel Rollins from the Chappelle show. What I love that. Yeah, I love the show. Yeah, me and Daniel got to hang out with like Jeff Ross and we got high. And just like, yeah, it was cool. But just to have been that close to Dave through someone else was was was was was was like a breath of fresh air. So like, yeah, that was cool, man. I love to see the segue from your limelight. The in the spotlight on Australia's Got Talent Now to be picked up and maybe even open for someone like him. All right, dude, that's a dream for me, man. One day I will open for Dave Chappelle. Like I'm a meet Dave Chappelle for sure. Like, I know that. Like, I know I know for a fact without a shadow of my mind. Like, I will one day in some capacity work with Dave Chappelle. Like it's it's it's written. It's not like it's undeniable like it's going to happen. What about noteworthy Australian comedians? Who do you have in mind without, you know, upsetting too many people? Noteworthy. What do you mean? Like any that come to mind, go, here's he's a person, she's a person that great comics. Yeah, there's so many out there, man, like my boy, Andrew Wolfe. Wolfe, I've got to get him on. Yeah, Wolfe, like Wolfe's my dog, man. Like, Wolfe and I, we write together. Oh, that's the. Yeah. Matter of fact, Wolfe and I did original tour about four weeks ago when we went to Albany, Bumbree, Margo River, where else, where else? Kalamanda, there was like seven shows all up in the tour bus together. Like, he just never switches off. Like he's just like zero to 100 as soon as he wakes up. Like he's on all day. Yeah. On all day. I've had a writing session with him once and it was an experience. Yeah, yeah, like Wolfe's a machine, man. I got to love Wolfe. I was just actually talking to Wolfe yesterday, actually. He's in America. Yeah, I'm saying some of the clips. Yeah, he's in America. He's hilarious, man. He's saying this dangerous neighborhood in LA. He knew it was dangerous too, but he's like, oh, you know, maybe I can get stabbed or something like that might make me. You actually put on a little bit of of him, like his voice. Yeah, Wolfe's a funny dude. He's got that crackle. Yeah, man. That's my dog. Shout out to Wolfe. Roy's a good one. Corey White, like Corey White, like that's my dog too, man. Like, like he is slept on because he's very outspoken. So like what what. What tends to happen is like he like the opportunities that those that play it safe get Corey is denied those because of his outspokenness. But man, like honestly, when he finds his fan base, he'll be like a Jim Jefferies. It doesn't matter how many people hate him. He's going to have just as many people loving him and he'll be able to sell out whatever capacity that he chooses to. He can drop a show and like whatever do a tour and he'll have his fan base follow him. Yeah, it's all about his fan base. Yeah, he can get canceled if your fan base is exactly, you know, they just got his own little lane. Like right now, it may seem like he's doing a tough, but now he's doing well. He's coming back. Yeah, he's on stage again, which is good to see. Yeah, man. So like Corey is definitely going to have his own fan base and it's going to thrive when when he discovers when when when he's fan base discovers him because right now perhaps they're not aware of him. So yeah. So talk about your own shows. Now you've got one show that's called Just Your Typical Aussie. Yep. Just Your Typical Aussie. That was back in 20. That was 20, 20, 17, 20, 20, 20, 20, maybe. So just to describe your typical Aussie. Just your typical Aussie. It's like it's just slightly different to what kind of one I've got right now, which is African Aussie. So it's about my take and my experiences here as as an Aussie. So that was just your typical Aussie. It was a play on words. It was going to be not your typical Aussie, but not sound a negative. So we changed it to just your typical Aussie because you'd look at me and you'd be like, but he's African. And then you'd find that I've been here long enough to consider myself an Australian. And then it's just like, oh, I'm actually just your typical Aussie. Just like you. Yeah, citizenship. Yeah, you can go to Central Inc. If you didn't be fucked doing anything. Yeah, yeah, exactly. What else? What are the traits? What are the traits as an Aussie? Let's go. Let's go. Typical pies, drinking chug milks. Let's go. Typical Aussie immigrant. Go. What a typical Aussie immigrant would do. Yeah. How they behave, their mannerisms. Back in the day, hang out in front of the Rollin' Jarmin. Mirabucka bus station. Northside only. Are there any immigrants living south of the river? Yes, there is actually. There's a lot in Thornley. My boy, Ebro is in Thornley. Peter Ball lives out in... Well, his family lives out in Thornley. North north of the river is Little Britain. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If they were to map out Perth, north north is Little Britain. Little Britain, straight up. Yep, Mirabucka. That's Africans and Indians. Westminster, same thing as well. Condola, same thing. Yeah, Dainela is the Jews. Yep, the Jews. The Italians, Belcato and Stirling. Yep. Little Britain is Clarkson. Russians are about Geroen, maybe. Like, bordering off the Africans and the... Yep. And then what about the Asian culture? Northbridge. Northbridge is on it. If you go down the strip that we're on right now, which is Bertha Street and Newcastle, if you go straight down Bertha Street, you'll see everything is Asian. Well, almost everything is Asian. You go opposite way. You'll also find the same thing as well. Like, there's Chinatown out there. It's a pathetic-sized Chinatown. If you compare it to the other ones that I've seen, you should see the one in Las Vegas, man. Poof! It's huge. Huge. This one's like just what... Yeah, oh, dude. I've been there. No, I mean... It's tiny. So Perth is essentially... The immigrants have taken over in little different pockets. Yep. And the Australians, the native Australians, obviously the indigenous as well, you know, respect. Yep. But the... What do we call them? The ones that have been here for generations. Do we call them convicts? Is that a racist comment? To be honest with you, like, if we're going to be referring to, like, the Caucasians... Yeah. ...as the Australians, then that has to be across the board with... Yeah. ...the Asians that have been here just as long as well. Exactly. That's where the diversity really comes along. Yeah, exactly. Like, I myself, I put African in front of Australia. I put Russian. Russian Australia. Yeah. So I'm African-Australian. And I say that because when someone asks you where you're from, they're really trying to figure out what it's look about. Yeah. So, like, rather than messing with them, like, I would just tell them straight up, so I get less questions. And I instill that in my daughter as well. Like, my daughter is half-Marishan, half-Sydnese. So when someone asks her where she's from, she's like, I'm half-Sydnese, half-Marishan, but I was born here in Australia. Like, that answers all of the questions that you ask. Yeah, you get straight to it. Yeah, you get straight to it. Yeah, you got to do that back and forwards. Yeah. It kills time. Yeah, it kills time. Yeah. Where else, where else are we going? Let's go to the coast. What are we seeing down the coast? Down the coast? That's where the Caucasian Australians, you'll find them there. Close to the water. Yeah. It's no secret they love water. And with that head start, generational wealth, like, they're living across the coast in the more desirable neighbourhoods. Yeah. Like, the... Like the... Cotteslaw. Cotteslaw, the Apocross. Peppermint Grove. Yeah, Peppermint Grove. The Golden Triangle. Yeah, yeah. That's the hood. I would love to live by the beach, but not too close, but I'd love to live by the beach one day. I live near the water right now, okay? I live in Mainlands, so... The Mainlands is nice. Yeah, I love... I love Mainlands. I love Mainlands, dude. Very diverse there. It's the one area where you can walk up the steps of the train station and you will have a lawyer next to you and a junkie on the other side, you know? All coexisting in one area. My sort of thing is in, like, North Beach or City Beach, right? My wife, she used to live there with her parents and she didn't like the area because there was a bunch of stuck-up people, you know? Yeah. Stuck-up white people in particular. And I was like, it's a really nice area. I wouldn't mind living back there again. She said to me, no, no, no, no, no, no, little stuck-up people. I was like, I love that. Not because I'm going to be stuck up, because I'm going to disrupt them. Yeah, yeah. And I love that uncomfortableness that people have. Yeah. Because they don't like how different I am. Yeah. You know? And being six foot ten, the short man syndrome. Yeah, they'd come in heavy. The tall poppy thing. Yeah. Fucking hell. I don't see it anymore, because I don't give a shit. Yeah. But back in the day, it really, really took its toll. Like, I've got a trauma story where one of my first prac as a schoolteacher was second year, second semester in, and I had a teacher from a college that I won't mention yet. But apparently he's left the school now, but he was the head of PE. And he came from, I think it was Warwick or Wanneroo. So some people might figure it out. I don't know. Those are great schools, but he was head of the first six months there. So he had a lot on his plate. But from the get-go, and it was only a two-week pass-fail sort of, you can't fuck it up unless you do some dodgy shit. You come to school drunk or whatever. And yeah, from the beginning, he called me condescending, and then a lot of other shit, right? And then second week, Wednesday comes along, and he fails me. Out of nowhere, no warnings, no nothing. Just fails me. Now that's fine, you can redo it and everything. Earlier that week, the supervisor from the university came in and passed me, right? And with fine colors, he goes, you're fucking, you're suede at doing this. And I was like, cool. But on the Wednesday, when he failed me, this mentor of mine supposedly, he also withdrew me, which means I get expelled from university. Oh, really? So I got expelled from university in my second year of second. And not only that, he told me that I should never teach, I'm a disservice to kids. Are you serious? Consider doing something else. This guy sounds like a piece of shit. Yeah. And I looked at it like, as I was like, man, he's short, he's a lot of other things that I won't mention. But yeah, I just felt like he came down to that tall poppy syndrome. Like this dude, I was 24, 25, you know? Whole life ahead of me. All this shit and, you know. Attempted to shit on it. Yeah. So that's my trauma story there. And that's always kind of reflected on me like over the past kind of six, seven years of walking on eggshells. Because I'm like, oh fuck, they're judging me or am I gonna get the flick all of a sudden? Story of my life. That's why I like, that's why I like working for myself and doing my own thing. Yeah. There's no eggshells. There's clients. Yeah. But what about yourself? What some examples you can think of? Story of your life. Story of my life. Like dude man, this has been happening for the longest. Even something as small as like taxis. Like you'd go out on a night out in North Bridge and when it comes to home time. Now we use Ubers, but like taxi drivers would always expect cash up front from me. Yeah. And I was explaining to one of my good friends actually is I wouldn't even ask for cash up front. I'm like, yeah, like every time I want to go home to helping a taxi, they'll require cash up front. It's like I've never paid cash up front. I'm like, yeah, I know because you're white. Like, so that was one thing. Always had to have cash up front. There was a time when my phone died and I couldn't order Uber and my cash and everything was, I was using my phone to tap that night. So this driver wouldn't take me home. So I could run into my apartment and grab cash. So I walked from North Bridge. It's very street actually. You know, further up there used to be like a nightclub. Don't tell everybody where I live. Like so, like further up there used to be like a nightclub, like a bikey nightclub, just before Flissero Street. Yeah, yeah. So I walked from there all the way to Mainlands, which wasn't like a very- Not a bad walk, but it's still not. No, like we had been drinking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had to fly out the next day on tour as well. So yeah, like that was, that's a negative connotation on things that I have to deal with. So all the stories carry cash. Have cash, make sure your phone's charged. So just because of that little small experience, I had to walk home, even though I had cash at home plus my phone. I offered him, if he could give me the charger, I'd be able to tap and pay me. We wasn't having it. It's like, no, no, no, just get out, get out. So yeah. That sucks. Yeah, but it is what it is. Like, let's be like that all my life. So people just cross in the street sometimes when you're walking, like at night. There's that sort of, I feel, but that's just normalised now. Yeah, I mean, like I've had some times where I've served it from my end. Yeah. And it's a shameful story, but at the same time, I've learnt from it and gone, fuck, it's that easy to judge someone. Yeah. I remember walking through Boston in the States with a girlfriend at the time, walking down the street and there's a couple of guys there. And from memory, I think a few of them were African, right? Yeah. And I have a lot of African friends. I have a lot of American-African friends as well. Yeah. But in a non-common place on the street in that specific time of day, I'm holding my phone in front of me, like navigating where I am. And this guy makes eye contact with me and he has this aggressive look on his face. Yeah. The aggressive look was what I was worried about. Yeah. You know? Like, this is why people should smile more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why would you be aggressive and be smiling unless you're a lunatic, right? Yeah. But then I quickly kind of put my phone in my pocket and he made the comment. He goes, oh, well, just because I'm black because you're putting your phone away, you think I'm gonna steal it. Like straight away, then and there. Yeah. Fuck. I mean, in the moment, I was like, he had an aggressive face, but that may look so like wrong coming across to them. Yeah. And like forever after that, and this was 2016, forever after that, I just keep people to benefit of the doubt. Yeah. No matter who they are. Yeah, yeah. If that fucking gets me stabbed, it gets me stabbed. You know, wrong place, wrong time. I'm very trusting as well. Yeah. Like, um... But that served me so well. Yeah, but like... It serves me so well now. It takes too much energy to be upset. Oh, judge or be like cautious. It's just, it's so tiring. So like I choose positivity over negativity because it costs you nothing to smile, but it costs you everything to be upset. Your mood and everything. Exactly. Yeah. My favorite hack going into Dubai, getting into a taxi, is most of the taxi drivers are Muslim. Yeah. So Osama Lakeham, straight away. Yeah. And as I walk in, like I've tested this out a few times. Yeah. Go into the cab and sit in, I always sit in the front seat. So they're a little bit like a fuck. Yeah. But then I realized that they're dead. I mean, I'm a giant and I need a leg room. Yeah. But they still have this kind of like, fuck, you know, here's another tourist in my car. Fuck this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I say Osama Lakeham and they just... Yeah. Makes their whole shift. Almost like their shoulders just go down. Yeah. They're like, this is my car. Yeah. And then they start talking Arabic to me. I'm like, I've no idea what you're saying, bro. I used up all my cards, bro. That's it, that's it. I've been in Dubai quite a few times. Actually, matter of fact, I was in Dubai one year for New Year's Eve with my brother. And I missed the countdown. We were doing day drinking and then by like 10.30, I called it. I'm like, oh, I gotta go. So I walked into, I'm in a taxi. As I'm driving by, I open my eyes and I see in the review mirror, this little... I look back. I'm on the main road right now. The fireworks is going off at Palm Jamil, like the Palm Islands. That the fireworks going off. As we're driving down the highway, like the Emirates Mall had fireworks going off, like the Ninth Star Hotel had the fireworks going off. I'm like, oh my God, this is embarrassing. I didn't even make the countdown. But the whole way, there's just fireworks, like the whole Thai way home. That was a good trip. And then the very next morning I went to London. I almost wanted to neck myself. I was sort of hungover. Hungover as fuck. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For a country that doesn't do much drinking, there was a lot of drinking happening that day, man. Oh, mate. Yeah. Have you heard about what you call it? Qatar. It's going to be charging people, I think $109 for a pint. What? Yeah. 109? Yeah, yeah. Qatar is a Muslim country, like heavily. For the World Cup? Yeah, for the World Cup, yeah. $109 or $150, I think it was. And I think that's like US dollars too, man. Surely not. Yeah, dude. Wow. Yeah. Did you hear about that they also said that you're not allowed to have one-night stands there? If they catch you having a one-night stand, you're out. You're good. It's like a heavily... Like, no, no, come to see the World Cup. Don't be fucking each other. Yeah, yeah. There'll be no fucking. Yeah, there'll be no fucking or drinking. No, you can drink, but it's going to cost you a pretty penny. Fucking hell. Yeah. So, yeah, and there's all these other kind of things happening with the FIFA organization too. Yeah, I myself, I don't watch soccer. Anything that takes 90 minutes. My attention span just doesn't work that way. So they have a break in the middle, get a $109 drink. Cricket, I would never give the time of day. Cricket's no good. I like baseball, but they've got such innings and stuff. What do you all go to sport? Basketball, basketball. I'm not a big basketball head, but I enjoy basketball. Especially when I've got some time when I'm back home. I go check out like a Cats game. I just am on the road so much. So like I hardly, I don't have the luxury of committing to follow something, you know what I mean? Like a game might be on and out of town. So like I just watch it when I have the chance. I don't know how these... I'm more so a supporter of playing than I do a team. Yes, I'm the same. Like when people ask me, who do you go for? I'm like, I like Kyrie Irving, a bit of a hot water right now. Yeah, he's in a bit of a hot water right now. Him and you. Yes, that's another whole rabbit hole we can go down. So I've got a few other things I've got in my mind. You went to Edinburgh Festival. Yes, yes, I did. Tell me a party story. Yes, so Edinburgh, August 6th was my birthday. Here we go, let's start. Yes, and like oftenly when I travel, for some reason, like my birthday always lands when I'm on tour. So like your colleagues, your comedian colleagues end up being your extended family. Because everyone's out there doing it alone, you know what I mean? So my management, when I had arrived at my venue, they're all trying to figure out what to get me for my birthday. And they remember that I always talk about Hennessy. So I arrived in my green room and they had gotten me this balloon and this bottle of Hennessy for my birthday, which was like super cool. And then to even sweeten that night, we sold out the show that night as well. So yeah, that was cool. Went out with my boy Carl, George went out partying. So that was like a breath of fresh air to be around. Comics that I consider my friends, because you have colleagues and then you have your friends. So yeah, they're my friends like George, Leah Kanani, Carl Legacy, Reuven. So yeah, we had a great night that night. But apart from that, every night was about work. We're performing every single night. We do as many as six to seven gigs. So something would start as early as midday and as late as 2 AM, you know what I mean? Yeah, you've got to get that different type of crowd. Which crowd do you find most responsive to your jokes? My audience members for my show. Yeah. Yeah, because they have deliberately clicked on my synopsis. So the ones that when you do those shows that don't have that specific audience, is that where you kind of take the time to test? Yes and no. But like, for example, you put me on any line up show, like variety show, I'm a smash. It doesn't matter what kind of audience it is, I'm going to do well. Like that goes for like the Melbourne Comics Lounge, the Sydney comedy store, the Perth Comedy Lounge. Like I'm a smash on a variety show because what I bring to the table, my conversations and stuff that I, like my topics that I talk about is so vast. Like I could talk about my kids. I could talk about traveling. I could talk about the current state of Russia and Ukraine. I can talk about what I understand. I can talk about anything. Like I have so much range because I feel like I always say like I've lived the life of perhaps like seven, seven year olds. I mean, like I've moved around a lot. I've traveled so much. That's a gift. Yeah. So like I can speak about anything. Yeah. I love it. Yeah. And because of how much I travel for work, like you learn how to serve it in a way that they want to consume. Yes. Yeah. And I'm thankful for, I'm thankful for being an immigrant and living in the country. Yeah. As well as being a city person. So I have that diverse range. And this is why I like this podcast stuff too. I can talk to people and Joe Rogan says this all the time. He's like, I feel like I've got a whole bunch of knowledge that I've taken from individuals that he's talked to. And he's not, he's like Jack of all trades, but like it's become a collection. Yeah. Like a library of interesting shit. Yeah, exactly. So it's the same as yourself. Exactly, man. Like I feel like when it's all said and done and we're about to check out and head down six feet down, what did you leave? You know what I mean? So nobody should be taking knowledge with them. It's to be shared that way. These stories and life hacks and experiences can further add to the torture of the next person carrying it. Yeah, you got to better the next generation. You got to make a better version of yourself with your kids. Exactly. Get them to and allow them to discover their own world. Exactly. Through the learnings of yours. Yeah. And if they still want to learn their own way, then that's OK. Like from a young age, my mom has always been very supportive of me traveling. Like even when we were traveling for negative reasons because of war and like famine, we were still traveling. We moved from place to place. And when we got into a better position out here, we moved around a lot from Perth. Like we started off in Geroine, lived in Balladura, went to Westminster, Mirabuka, now Maylands, lived in Rivervale, like always traveled, moved around a lot. I travel and go into state. Like I've been to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, like all of WA. You never hear me say I wasted money traveling. Yeah. Because what you gain from those experiences, like stay with you forever. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. If you ever need a tall man entourage, bodyguard token, bodyguard, with a bit of social media following, let me know. Top of the list, my man. I'll come with. I'll come with. Top of the list. I've got one kind of reversal sort of scenario here for myself if I was to go to Sudan. But it's a hypothetical scenario. So if the world was reversed and Australia was civil war torn hellhole, would you describe Sudan as that? No, it's peaceful now. OK, it's peaceful. It's peaceful now, yeah. OK, better do some research, a little bit better next time. And Sudan was the land now, Sudan is the land of opportunities. Let's go back to when it was a hellhole, hypothetically. And yeah, I was to, I was Australian, Australia civil war, Sudan's a hellhole. And, sorry, Sudan is now land of opportunities. What would you reckon my journey would be to get to Sudan as a refugee and what would life be like when I eventually got there? Well, this is not me saying it, but we've allowed white people in Sudan before. And they stayed a little bit too long. Yes. They colonised the country, so the British had colonised Sudan until. It happened here, didn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you might have a couple eyelids back in the eye. I go, oh, keep an eye on this one. OK, first they come and they settle in. And before you know it, they want to take everything. But I think with the time that we're living in right now and how tolerant we are and accepting, your journey would be quite fulfilling, man, because first of all, the best food is in Africa. I agree. Yep. The best fruit, veggies, agriculture is in Africa. The women are stunning in Africa. The air is more cleaner in Africa. The roads are not so good in Africa, but the air is cleaner in Africa. The fish is better in Africa. Like just as a whole, Africa is just amazing, man. Like I have been to Africa two times. Matter of fact, I'm going to Africa in April coming. I have just been asked to do the Johannesburg International Comedy Festival. I've been to South Africa. I've been to Joberg. The last time I was in Joberg was back in 1996. On the transit here to Australia. I didn't stay in Joberg, because apparently Joberg's not. It's a bit, how are you going? It's a bit, how are you? Yeah, yeah. So just like it's coming back full circle. Like I'm like the very first place that we travel from Kenya was Joberg and then now I'm going back to Africa, to Johannesburg, doing what it is that I love and performing in front of an audience of Africans, which, honestly, like such a great feeling, knowing that I've got my people behind me now. So yeah, I'm looking forward to that. South Africa, April. It's coming for you. Coming, I'm coming. So what would you tell your six year old self about to board that connecting flight from Joberg to Australia? Just be patient. It all makes sense in due time. Yeah, yeah. That's it. Yeah. I love that patience. I love the patience thing. Yeah, just be patient. It all makes sense in due time. Yeah. Yeah. It works in so many ways. One of the things that I really push against is consumer debt. So the buy now, pay later stuff. Afterpay and Zippay and Apple Pay and all that shit. If people had patience, those companies wouldn't exist. Yeah. But they tempt you and you get into debt. I've paid off in four weeks or whatever, but I'm seeing so much debt out there now. Yeah. And these little pockets of debt, oh, I've got to pay this in two weeks after pay. Oh, it's only a $9 penalty fee, but it gets bigger. Yeah. And then they're in debt for the rest of their lives. It's just patience. Yeah. You have patience to buy something. You'll get it eventually. Yeah. And by the time you're wanting to buy it, you may not even want it anymore. Sure. So the whole frugal thing. Anyway, another different rabbit hole there. What is happening with the Australian? Australia's got talent. We'll wrap it up with this. We'll go back to the original kind of golden buzzer moment. Uh-huh. Did you know it was coming? No, I did not know it's coming, especially at one point because we're filming for like 14 hours, 15 hours. And they'll be like, hey, we need you upstairs to this interview. Hey, you need to have an interview with Ricky Lee. Hey, we need you to get this angle shot. Hey, we need it. And then like, I was second last, which is a weird time slot for a comic because the show starts at 6 and finishes at 11. So that's like some serious hours of people being focused. And you know what I mean? And the crowd had to be there the whole time. Yeah, the whole time. Yeah. So then by the time I get there, I'm thinking they're going to be tired because it doesn't, like if you put it in perspective, if a gymnastic person is doing the act, as an audience member, that does not require anything from you. Yeah. Apart from just enjoying it. As a comic, I require people's attention to pay intricate details to the information that I'm giving because sometimes it comes out as punchlines and investments. So like, I'm thinking, oh my God, like they're going to be so tired. I come out, so I'm on the side of the stage like, hey, it's time for you to go on. So I get on and I forget my bottle of water. Mind you, being like a long day of filming and all that, all that. So I get on stage and about maybe a minute and a half, two minutes in, I start noticing that my mouth is getting so dry that my lips is getting stuck to my teeth. So I was like, oh, can I get some water, please? And it was going to take too long. So I just ran off stage when grabbed the bottle of water and that was that water moment that you saw. Yeah. And then as I'm coming back, like just my quick wittiness as a comic just came out. I'm like, oh, I'm sorry. Water's so hard for black people to find. And the room just went in uproar, man. And that just gave me the next level of confidence. And you can see the differences in performance after that. I just came out hot and just poured it home. And Shane, Jacobson, shout out to Shane, really loved my set and gave me the golden buzzer moment, which came as a massive shock to me because I was like, oh, man, I fucked this up by running down off to the stage to get the water. But yeah, it actually just made the show. Yeah, you made it your moment far out. Imagine if you remembered the water. Yeah. Can you imagine? Yeah, but then you'd have a different element of performance anyway. Yeah. And then I did my semi-finals. That was on Sunday. That was a great set. Really enjoyed that. And I look forward to doing the grand final for Australia. Do this for WA. Do it for WA. Do it for Mira Booker. Man, for Mira Booker, for WA, for every comic that's ever been told that you can't. The comics don't win. Australia's got talent. Yeah, this is for everybody. So yeah, let's bring it home. And we've had enough musicians for a couple of years. Let's get some comics on. Let's get some comics on there. Yeah. So really looking forward to that. Yeah. And it's in the hands of the voters now. And the voters. Yeah, the voters. So it's entirely up to the Australian people now. So all you've got to do is just SMS, 0407779994 Text Emo Majook for the win. For the dub. For the dub. And to wrap it up, tell me about your... This is the joke that absolutely got me in stitches with your little gift that you've hopefully given me today. My emo air freshener. Yes, of course, this is for you, my brother. So I recently got merch, my own merch. I was trying to decide what kind of merch I should get. And I really liked the idea of a air freshener because every single day you're going to see me. It's got my socials on there as well. So if you want to follow me, you can follow me at Emo Majook on all social media platforms. You can follow me anywhere. Just don't follow me home. Yeah, so it's a car air freshener, I sell it for $5 each. And everyone's been buying them because the money goes to a good cause because with every purchase that you make, you too can get pulled over if you're having a black eye and they're like, I got one for each of you guys as well, man. So thank you so much for actually having me up here as well. I've always wanted to work with you in some sort of capacity. Oh, mate, let's keep working together. I'm most definitely pleasure. Yeah, you legend. So thanks for tuning in, guys. I'm going to work on these signouts a bit quicker these days. Emo Majook, the extraordinaire from Sudan, now in the land of Down Under. Absolutely making waves. Absolute amazing man. He have any questions for him? DM him starting with the donkey emoji and then go from there, see what happens and look forward to seeing you get that dub. Hey, my man, I appreciate you, man. As always, good thanks.