Of late, comedy in the entertainment industry is getting wider attention than in decades ago. It has taken a new dimension as social media have given virtually every common Nigerian a parachute to exercise their rib-tickling and comic prowess and genius, as is mostly the panasharp to our long-term endemic ailment in Nigeria. As a result, this era has birthed several comedians with the likes of Sydney Talker, Shank Comics, Nasboi, Layi Wasabi, Sabinus, etc., who Austin Dominic Izuogu, the Aba born descent is indisputably one of these comic actors. Austin Dominic Izuogu, the 23-year-old ‘Okigwe’ comedian —popularly and professionally known as Austincruise— hailing from Aba in Abia State, Nigeria. A God’s own state lurks around somewhere in the east-central.
Therefore, for Austincruise, comedy flows spontaneously for him. He makes jokes effortlessly, and his social media page (YouTube, Tiktok, etc) is a proof to this testimony. The environment he is coming from serves as a driving force for his career as there is this general assumption that comedians are synonymous to an unserious category of people in the eastern part. But then, with the striking support of his gang of friends who are also clowns, he overcomes the erroneous notion of his people. Then, he began to appear on social media with several comic contents in the early days of 2021. Additionally, aside from being a comedian, Austin is also a staunch actor.
Austin’s skits and contents do not only portray comics, but also convey messages; and that is the essence of art. He tries as much as possible, blending in messages and topics that are quite relatable in our contemporary Nigeria, sometimes comically commenting on the cultural values of Igbo descendants and some other time, making jokes about the inherent excesses of the human race. In one of his skits, he at a reasonable length and jokingly comments on the bride price of his Igbo tribe and exalts the beauty and the good values that Igbo women are endowed with. In other of his skits, you will find him indulging himself in the art of mimesis in order to create comic effects for his fans and audience with him always on a ‘satin bonnet’ as large as the planet earth.
The lanky Aba man has always been fond of ceaselessly creating comic contents that align with trendy issues or topics on social media. Recently, he made a comic clip about the trendy word ‘steeze’ on X and also another on the ’20 million naira’ syndrome that went wild online lately. This shows the fact that Austin ensures his contents on either Tiktok or YouTube are relatable to his audience. Austin’s contents could be said to be satirical, mimicry, trendy, etc, whilst he sometimes spices them up with storytelling. So, if we come to concur that Austin’s works are didactic, educative, and a product of his contemporary environment, it is no gainsaying nor far from the truth. One could even call him a Gen Z comedian as most of his works mostly targeted at the Generation Z and infrequently, the millennials. You will always find him saying ‘Okigwe’ whenever he is high on comedy. Always giving funny jabs while he is creating content.
Having been consistent with his craft on social media for over three (3) years or more, he has garnered a dense followership and built a fanbase. On his TikTok page, which is where he does post his contents often, he has over a million followers with 26.6 million likes; whilst on YouTube, his number of subscribers is approximately 60k with number of views. In 2021, he got active on Tiktok, and 2022 came the year he went viral on social space with one of his content videos, and in the following year, he won the Tiktok Naija Comedy Festival, (2023). Austincruise may not have the stomach of Sabinus, but he has got the brain of Bovi. Watch out for him, Austincruise!
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