Naked by Papa CJ

Book Launch: Naked by Papa CJ

When a comedian speaks, you don't listen, you laugh. And hence it wasn’t surprising to hear the crowd giggle during the book launch of Papa CJ’s Naked. Initially, the comedian thought someone else would be launching his autobiography. “I realised that the book launch was going to be like my sex life. I had to do it by myself!” he shrugged.

CJ read extracts from his autobiography as the audience tuned in. He started with the section on his childhood and recalled how his teachers complained to his mother about bad conduct. One day, he agitated his teacher by saying “Oh shit!”, to which his mother responded: “Oh shit! Did he really say that?”

Comparing the millenials of yesterday with the Gen Z of today, he joked: “This is a hashtag generation. In our times, we just had hash.” He also noticed how his generation took love more seriously and cited his own example. When his relationship had ended, he “slipped into depression”. It was during the following days of heartbreak when he started doing stand-up comedy.

Picture this: he would travel for hours just to perform for a few minutes. As a new comedian, he “never got paid and could never afford meals”. By the time he reached home, “it was already morning”. This was how he lived in London every single day for an entire year. “At the end of the year, I had no money, no friends and no life,” he recalled, “but every single comedy promoter in UK knew my name.”

According to him, stand-up comedy is one of the toughest art forms. As an author, “you write a book, sit at home and think it might be great. As a stand-up comedian, you’re judged by your audience every fifteen seconds. If they’re not laughing, you’re failing as an artist.” He pointed out how his audience changed every day- different age groups, countries, backgrounds- and how he had to perform accordingly. “No matter how I’m feeling, I have to get on stage and make them laugh.”

In the book, CJ strips himself naked by revealing his fears and desires. Thus, the name Naked. “As human beings,” he explained, “we build walls around ourselves. We hide our deepest hopes and desires. In Naked, I remove these walls one bit at a time. Because when you’re completely naked, you’re completely free.”

Just as CJ is honest with his readers in Naked, he is honest on stage too. “If people don’t relate to my performance, how will they laugh?” He talked about various fans who thanked him for exposing his vulnerabilities on stage. Watching him make fun of his own life, they realised that they too could laugh it off and take it easy. As comedians, “we’re happy to share our pain, to uplift others going through the same.”

Signing off, he advised aspiring comedians to find their own voice, without fearing criticism. He gave a tip to handle stage fright: “Pretend to be confident and fool the audience into thinking you’re alright. Confidence is like an orgasm. Even if you fake it, they’d never know.”