By Raphael Edem
I can remember my first meeting with him. It was at the wedding of my little sister Adrielle Gold to Ekpeno Gold and he was the Master of Ceremonies there. As an MC myself, I have met a lot of people who do the microphone business, and let’s just say I am not easily moved, except by top of the range performance. This was not quite that by my assessment, but I could feel the brilliance and the verve that he exuded on the microphone. We exchanged contacts and began to keep in touch. I found him a very resourceful and personable young man with a welcoming mien, a humble disposition, and a good dress sense. I watched him do a few events and I was getting more impressed as the days went by.
When he came to invite me a few days ago for his first show, I didn’t know what to expect. I even sent him a message on a wrong day, apologizing for my inability to make it to his show due to the myriad of activities requiring my attention and participation at this time of the year. He responded, saying I had mixed up the dates, and reminding me that the show, Holly’s era was going to hold on Wednesday, January 1, 2020.
I eventually made it to the show yesterday and I was completely blown away. The novel concept, venue, ambience, music and the quality of the delivery made it a class act for me. I saw Holly George MC Holly in a different mould, effortlessly weaving his jokes around in an impressive amalgam of street-credible pidgin and impeccable English, and with the confidence of an accomplished Stand Up Comedian. He held his own, held the fort and held the audience spell bound. Supported by the diminutive duo of Captain Edet and General Odey, they kept the audience reeling in laughter with good quality jokes, wisecracks and anecdotes. The band from the supremely gifted Royal Music House put up an excellent display to make it a perfect blend of comedy and music, with the high point for me being the sterling performance of the Onyeka Onwenu classic, Ekwe. The production was top notch, and the event flowed seamlessly. There were even feedback forms distributed to the audience, a novel initiative in these parts.
I sat there awestruck and pleased that I was able to attend the event, rather than be told of it. I can boldly say that for a first outing, this was definitely one of the classiest events of this sort that I have attended in this state. I salute my brother MC Holly for putting up such a brilliant show, and I recommend that he does it more often, maybe quarterly as I recommended in the feedback form.
For those who were not able to attend the event, this piece is not going to sufficiently capture how much you missed, but the good news is that there will be another edition, so don’t wait to be told when it comes around. I wanted to write a cheque in favour of MC Holly to encourage him, but then it occurred to me that I don’t even know his real name. So I will save the donation until after the next edition.
Indeed, this is Holly’s Era, and I pray for the grace for him to sustain the tempo of his act.
Happy New Year guys
*Top Compere Ralph Edem writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
