#DontLeaveMeChallenge: Josh2Funny Didn’t Become a Viral Sensation Overnight
Things are unreasonably tough right now. 2020 was supposed to be a great year but with the rapid spread of the COVID-19, everything has become slow. The internet is where most of the activities are happening. Especially for entertainers, their only option to stay relevant is through the religious use of social media. I remember stumbling on an article about blogger and comedian, Sarah Cooper, some days ago. She is popular for making funny TikTok videos and her signature hilarious tweets. The video that really made her popular was the one where she mimicked Donald Trump during his Coronavirus press conference.
According to the article, Sarah Cooper already knew her way around social media. Even though she had yet to become known, she had written funny blogposts that have raked in millions of views. She had tweeted things that have gained several retweets and likes. She was ready even before opportunity came knocking. And it made a lot of sense. It is easy for people to chalk up your success to that one moment based on how quickly things happen on social media. The article mentioned the 10000-hour rule popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, particularly stating that Sarah Cooper mastered her content creation skills right before the eyes of the public. It made a lot of sense and when I saw Josh2Funny getting praise for the success of his challenge, the article came to mind.
It takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill — Malcolm Gladwell
Before the #DontLeaveMeChallenge, I was already a huge fan of Josh2Funny. I lived for the content he posted on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. He was already killing it with different interesting skits. He created so many characters and each one had its unique style of comedy. There are many Nigerian comedians on Instagram but no one will bat an eyelid if you said Josh is one of the most creative (if not the most creative). The way he goes about making his skits and putting them on social media is something that should be studied for years to come. He has remained consistent ever since and I really hope that doesn’t change now. He has gone from using his phone to make skits to investing in proper equipment. He is hardworking and his growth has been nothing short of astounding.
Josh had been putting in work for years. Looking back now, you see that he is not just an Instagram comedian, he’s a pop culture icon. He is responsible for some of the popular terms being paraded on social media. One of his characters, Brother Zakius, has an eccentric sense of fashion, wearing oversized color suits with matching hats. There is also Juga, Mama Felicia, Optununu, amidst many others. He is a natural and is unbounded with his different modes of expression so much that one of his characters has led people to speculate that he is gay.
A few years back, one of his skits (All My Guys are Ballers) went viral and Josh stated in his recent interview with Motolani of Pulse that he didn’t really get credit for the skit. However, that didn’t come as a shock to him. He is aware that it is a battle that creators fight; not getting credit for their work. But that hasn’t stopped him from making skits. He is less concerned about the virality of his skits and more about making the skits and giving people a good laugh. And just like what happened with the All My Guys are Ballers skit, Josh2Funny was almost not credited when the #DontLeaveMeChallenge became a viral sensation. But thanks to active Nigerian Twitter users, he was eventually recognized as the face behind the challenge that has everyone going crazy.
Now, Josh2Funny is getting a lot of attention. He recently got a feature on Buzzfeed. The challenge has since garnered more than 300 million views on TikTok, with Americans and Asians hopping on it. Whatever he is getting, he totally deserves. He openly credits his hype man for bringing about the #DontLeaveMeChallenge. It happened that Josh tried to evolve as an Instagram comedian so he decided to introduce puns and the term ‘Think about it’ into his skits. In the very first video he made, his hype man Kreb Bello kept saying ‘Don’t leave me’ towards the end. And that’s what inspired the challenge.
I hope creators learn one or two things from Josh2Funny. The aim should always be to put in the work nonstop. People don’t suddenly achieve success. It is a gradual process, and for you to become successful, you have to be ready for when that opportunity comes. Josh2Funny is more than ready.
