Sometime in 2021, at the Rainbow Towers hotel, while my brother and I were exhibiting our products with Amandla Brands for a Small to Medium Enterprises Program, something incredible happened.

My brother came to our table excited, showing us pictures of him and then Long John, now known by his real name, Learnmore Jonasi. Excitedly, he had told us how kind Long John had been and had graciously taken pictures with him and allowed him to repost for marketing.

It was so incredible that it birthed a fan out of my brother. Over the years, he has closely followed Learnmore’s journey and shared it with anyone who was available to listen. His passion is so contagious that he also converted me. One day, while he was sharing with me how Long John had changed his name to Learnmore Jonasi when he relocated to America, I was quick to give him a little education.

“Of course, he realised that Long John in American circles is a reference to a por* star or something, and I think for his brand he made the right decision. But have you realised, both names are still L.J?,” I said to my brother’s amusement.

We have remained fans, crying through tears and making a happy dance when he received the golden buzzer on America’s Got Talent (AGT). It was a parasocial event watching him go through the laid-out ladder of his journey. Having seen him on his social media sharing his story and his dream, we all- my brother and I and a lot of his old and new followers rooted for him. As he twirled on stage in disbelief as the golden confetti hit the stage, we knew his life would never be the same again. His rise was on the horizon, and coupled with his Zimbabwean-ingrained resilience and talent, he would go far.

True to that obvious prediction, we saw him meet many greats in the comedy industry, like when he opened for Gabriel Iglecious and got a great response from the American community and media for his ability to connect with both African and American audiences. Of course, he has also received criticism because of the type of jokes he presents, which are his authentic African experiences as a man from Chimanimani in Zimbabwe. I think that’s his unique selling point.

It was early this year when he sat down with Geofrey Danchimah and Akbar Gbajabiamila of A ONE54 that the news flared up. He received a lawsuit amounting to 27 million and according to his reaction,’ his case became classified as a high-profile case going with the likes of Epstein, Bill Cosby, R Kelly among others…’
August being my birthday month was such a great time to hear that Learnmore Jonai would be touring in Zimbabwe and particularly in Harare. Because I know how cray my brother is for him and also we were long overdue for our sister-brother treat, I got us tickets to the second day show at Reps Theatre.

My brother and I are two sides of the same coin; we both love comedy, business, kind people…you get the gist, and so we got our tickets to Whose Lion Is It Anyway? and boy, that was a great decision!
The curtain raisers showed a lot of potential and were worth watching. With a lot of practice, many of them are carving their space in the comedy space. I particularly like the poet, Tadana, who was the first to get on stage with her poem on the same theme.

My personal best was the comedian who came on stage and performed some rhyming song jokes with a guitar, which reminded me of clean jokes and delivery by US comedian Mike Goodwin, who was also on AGT in Season 16 and went viral for talking about nursery rhymes. Neville Farai Nyoni’s delivery was a notch higher because his delivery with a guitar added a layer of uniqueness. The crowd sang along, and that was the right mood needed right before Learnmore hopped on stage. For me, I would pay to attend his shows.

A diverse crowd stood up, and thunderous claps erupted when the host announced that it was time for Learnmore to come on stage. Much adoration also goes to Baxter, the host whose energy was electric, and his crowd work kept the whole show entertaining and on a high. A scan of the audience showed a diverse audience of Indians, Whites, Arabs, Chinese, and Blacks, and I could hear different accents and dialects as we waited for our turn to get into the auditorium. It was truly a United Nations conference. I think all foreigners working or residing in Zimbabwe could identify with Learnmore’s comedy, just as everyone in attendance.

Let’s talk about his delivery- from a unique wardrobe choice that shouts ‘I’m here, and you can’t ignore me,’ something he also proudly displayed on AGT and in his shows that we follow through his socials.
The way he delivered his set was an example of what happens when you invest in your craft and personal brand over the years. His storytelling prowess left tears and rib aches on me. The way every story came together, for me as a storyteller, was well thought out and deep. His first joke about his grandfather set the tone for me: “I asked for shoes, and my grandfather didn’t have money to buy me new shoes, but he said, ‘Don’t worry,’ and he made shoes from old car tyres, which left some trail of Dunlop on the way like a car was skipping to school…” (not verbatim).

This set is also tied to his reference to his lawsuit from Lebo M, the co-composer of the Circle of Life in The Lion King movie. Those who are not up to date with the story. Learnmore did a direct translation of the chant -Nants ingonyama bagithi baba, translating to, ‘look there’s a lion…oh my God, there’s a lion ‘, which didn’t sit well with the composer. He argued that there were many undertones that don’t come out from a simple translation by a Zimbabwean. A lot went into his anger, but resultantly Learnmore was served with papers while on stage!

The whole world-at least in my eyes-came together for Learnmore, arguing that suing a comedian for jokes was like impeding on his freedom of comic operation. His GoFundMe goal for his legal fees was quickly met, showing the resounding support from all over the world. The lawsuit felt targeted given how many other people had given similar translations, albeit on different stages.

When speaking on the lawsuit he tied this to his lawyer uncle joke, something that he did perfectly as one could really visualise a drunken lawyer arguing in court,
“Your honour…look at me…my client is innocent…”
To end the night, he tied his first joke of his grandfather improvising a lot to him also improvising.
“…my grandfather needed hearing aids and the quotation was so huge and I said grandpa DON’T WORRY…”

For me that was pure genius, storytelling that flowed over 60 minutes tying one story to the next. Learnmore has invested so much in his craft and hasn’t forgotten to also uplift others along the way exemplified by the curtain raisers he toured around Zimbabwe with.

What I would have loved to see as someone who loves pictures was a backdrop banner outside the auditorium where people could take pictures and a QR code to buy merch or follow his socials. Well, it’s the brand strategist in me speaking- a virtual or physical backdrop would have been nice. However, this doesn’t take away from the two-hour ride of the Whose lion is it anyway-a good investment for celebrating my birthday and seeing my brother fulfil one of his dreams- to support a comedian who was kind enough to support our business back then.