Eddie Kadi (born 18 May 1983 in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

) is a British-Congolese

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Early life

A resident of

South-West London The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

since 1992, he is a past student of Fulham Primary School, Henry Compton Secondary School, William Morris Academy and

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

from which he graduated with BSc Honours in Media Technology.From Penrhyn Road to the O2
Kingston University, 5 July 2010 Kadi served as President of the Afro-Caribbean Society at the University.

Career

Comedy

Kadi won the BECA Award for Best Comedy Newcomer In 2006. He was the first Black British solo comedian to sell out London's IndigO2 – two of those during 2009.The most famous comedian you've never heard of
BBC News, 4 September 2010 In September 2010, he performed at London's

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

where he sold out the 13,000 seat arena. He has since made appearances around the world including The Joburgh Comedy festival, Africa Laughs in Uganda, night of a thousand laughs in Ghana, as well the AMVCAs broadcast across all 54 states in Africa live from Nigeria. Kadi joined hiphop star Lauryn Hill at the prestigious venue Radio City Music hall in New York City performing stand up comedy in 2017 followed up with Lauryn Hill and Nas on their powernomic tour in the US, performing stand up comedy across various states. He hosted the historical Mo Gilligan and friends at the O2 arena in 2021.

Broadcasting

Kadi is a presenter on

BBC 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been cod ...

on the ''Official UK Afrobeats Charts Show'', and appeared as team captain on series 3 of ITV’s comedy panel show ''

Sorry, I Didn't Know ''Sorry, I Didn't Know'' is a British panel show broadcast on ITV, in which panelists answer questions about Black history. A pilot aired on ITV2 in 2016 and the first series of four episodes aired in October 2020, as part of Black History Mon ...

''. He is a regular contributor on

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

's sports comedy panel show ''

Fighting Talk ''Fighting Talk'' is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is based on a similar format to the ESPN show ''Around t ...

''. He also co-hosted

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...

''+44 Podcast'' ''The Noughties'' alongside

Nadia Jae Nadia Jae is a radio presenter on BBC Radio 1Xtra in the United Kingdom. Having presented Weekend Breakfast for the network since September 2019, she was confirmed as presenter of the station's flagship weekday breakfast show in December 2020. Na ...

Acting

Kadi's work as a voiceover artist includes a characterisation in the Tiger-Aspect-produced animated TV series ''

Tinga Tinga Tales ''Tinga Tinga Tales'' is a British flash animated children's television series based on African folk tales and aimed at 4 to 6-year-olds. It was commissioned by the BBC for its CBeebies channel, and by Disney Channel for its Disney Junior bl ...

''. His film projects include the lead role in the short film ''

Area Boys Area boys (') are loosely organized gangs of street children, teenagers and youths, composed mostly of males, who operate on the streets of major cities in Nigeria, including Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha, Aba, Umuahia, Akure, Ado-Ekiti and Enugu.T ...

'' (2007), shot in Africa (Lagos, Nigeria) and premiered at the 51st London Film Festival. He also appears as Reggy in '' Shank'' (2010); the parking attendant, Tunde, in ''

Anuvahood ''Anuvahood'' is a 2011 British urban fiction, urban comedy film directed by Adam Deacon, who also plays the film's lead character. It also stars Paul Kaye, Wil Johnson, Ollie Barbieri, Femi Oyeniran, Jocelyn Jee Esien, and Ashley Walters (actor ...

'' (2011); and the Radio DJ in ''

Gone Too Far! ''Gone Too Far!'' is a play written by Bola Agbaje. It was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in February 2007, and won the Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of L ...

'' (2013).

Music

Kadi has also featured vocally alongside UK Hip Hop Artist Sway and was invited to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

in 2008 to host the inauguration of the

Senegalese Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

rap artist Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P) ...

on his "Konfidence Foundation".Konfidence Foundation
/ref> He has been heavily Involved in the rise of afrobeats and its presence in the UK. He has hosted various concerts including Wizkid, Davido, Burnaboy and many other artists. Kadi joined Wizkid, Yemi Alade and Harmonize on an Australian tour as the host. He has presented The All Africa Music awards in 2019 and 2021 alongside South African superstar Pearl Thusi. Kadi is the current host of the biggest Afrobeats festival in the world Afronation.

References

External links

Eddie Kadi website''The Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show with Eddie Kadi''
(BBC Radio 1Xtra) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kadi, Eddie BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters Black British male comedians British radio personalities British radio DJs 1983 births Living people British television presenters British male film actors Black British male actors Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to England People from Kinshasa British male voice actors People from Fulham