How content creator has given ‘Takalani Sesame’ an uncensored twist – and people love it!

Comedian and content creator Sifiso Tshabalala has given children’s TV show Takalani Sesame an uncensored twist to make it relatable to young adults who grew up watching the show as kids.

Before creating the much-loved content for his social media, Tshabalala, who is known by his moniker Leagen Wayans first had Takalani Sesame gag in his stand-up comedy set.

“I realised I started doing the jokes when I was younger and now I’m 27, so why don’t I have a Moshe that has issues that adults face, like baby-mama issues, alcohol issues and stuff like that,” Tshabalala told The Citizen.

Tshabalala creates video content of himself – sometimes watching the kiddies show- and does voiceovers on top of it. “People take that audio and put actual Takalani characters faces,” he explained.

His content is focused around the giant yellow Meerkat from Takalani Sesame, Moshe.

 “I loved how Moshe was so lazy. I noticed how Takalani built its content around him, he’s the one that addresses certain issues, like HIV or whatever. So, I decided to make it relatable to people.”

@unofficialchad_ #skitbyleagenwayans_ #moshe #peppapig Moshe is on the hunt for Peppa la…😂😂😂@Leagen Wayans ♬ original sound – Leagen Wayans

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Good reception

The comedian who hails from Katlehong in Ekurhuleni said he wasn’t amazed by how South African have taken to the content.

“South Africans love controversial stuff, everything that seems to go outside of the norm we tend to entertain…so when I did that joke and people loved it, I wasn’t surprised at all,” said the creator whose content has taken its own life on TikTok.

@unofficialchad_ mina I knew it zikwe is the father ..Moshe bamo sukela #takalanisesame #skitbyleagenwayans_ @Leagen Wayans ♬ original sound – Leagen Wayans

“Instead, what surprised me was people jumping in and joining as well, when they took my sounds and make their own stuff out of the audio.”

He began creating content around 2019 when TikTok was becoming popular but took a break from content creation to focus on school.

“I came back last year with my Malume skits and then I gained a lot of followers. This year I’ve been going harder,” said the comedian who has since quite his job as a PR and Marketing intern.

 He hasn’t had to deal with copyright issues for creating the content. 

@unofficialchad_ Replying to @mlue444 #skitbyleagenwayans_ #takalanisesame #unofficialchad_ yoooh Angikhoni 😂😂😂@Leagen Wayans ♬ original sound – Leagen Wayans

“Because what I do is parodies, I don’t think it has any form of copyright issues. It’s people who take my audio and then they put actual episodes of Takalani with my voices. It’s nothing that I even gain of, I’m not trying to make money out of this, it’s pure entertainment”

He sees himself as a modern day comedian, utilizing social media to raise his stock.

“I’m both [a content creator and a creative] because my creativity comes in the form of content creation. But I’d love to believe I’m a stand-up comedian who happens to do videos” he said.

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