Why I moved away from skit-making to ‘Curiosity Made Me Ask’ — Isbae U

Nigerian content creator Adebayo Ridwan Abidemi, popularly known as Isbae U, has explained why he shifted his focus from skit-making to his popular celebrity interview series, Curiosity Made Me Ask.

Isbae U spoke about the evolution of his career during an interview with media personality Morayo Afolabi-Brown on The Morayo Show, shared on YouTube on Wednesday.

The content creator said he went through different phases of his career, including singing, rapping and acting, as he tried to discover the type of entertainment he wanted to pursue.

“I was just finding myself. I was at that process. Before that, I was singing, before that rapping. I was just finding myself,” he said.

According to Isbae U, he eventually became determined to move beyond conventional skit-making and develop a concept that would distinguish him from other creators.

“There was a day I said to someone that I was done being mediocre, being average. I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to just be considered part of them, part of the skit makers, one of them,” he said.

He said the idea for Curiosity Made Me Ask came after he remembered watching American comedian Zach Galifianakis’ interview programme, Between Two Ferns.

“I saw a show that I used to watch a long time ago. It’s called Between Two Ferns by Zach Galifianakis. So when I saw the show, I loved it. I thought, ‘Oh, this is something I can do,’” he said.

The interview format has since become one of Isbae U’s major projects, with the creator hosting conversations with prominent personalities from politics, entertainment and other fields.

Some of the notable guests on the show have included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, actor Pete Edochie and entertainer Charly Boy.

Explaining the concept behind the programme, Isbae U said his intention was to expose aspects of his guests that audiences might not normally see.

“The idea of Curiosity Made Me Ask is to show you another part of this celebrity you’ve not seen,” he said.

He also admitted that interviewing older and more established personalities can sometimes make him nervous, particularly because of the difference in age and experience.

“Every time. Especially when it comes to people that are way older than me,” he said when asked if he gets nervous before interviewing such personalities.

Isbae U said the guests have generally made the process easier by welcoming him and allowing him to remain himself during the interviews.

His recent conversation with Obasanjo generated significant attention online, with the former President becoming one of the high-profile figures to feature on the programme.

Despite his focus on interviews, Isbae U said he has not completely abandoned other forms of content creation.

He disclosed that he continues to work behind the scenes with other creators, including helping some of them develop stories for their content.

“A lot of people thought or think I have stopped creating and just doing Curiosity Made Me Ask. But low-key, there are people I write stories for, people I help with their stories,” he said.

Isbae U added that he intends to continue exploring different forms of content as he develops his career.