For many, the name Maraji sure rings a bell. She has become one of the most sensational Instagram comedians within her few years of posting comedy skits on her social media page. What started as merely a pastime for the 22-year-old Covenant University alumnus has blown up into a thriving occupation and one that has made her one of the faces of Instagram comedy in Nigeria, so to speak.
Who Is Maraji?
Born Gloria Oloruntobi but popularly known as Maraji, she is a creative, comedian, singer, dancer, and actor who hails from Edo State. She has one sister and two brothers. She attended Covenant University where she studied International Relations and graduated with a 2:1.
You might have come across a least two or three of her social media videos where she imitates several life situations for comic effect, mimics several accents, archetypes and portrays different characters all while dancing and singing. Maraji is indeed a bundle of talent and this is what has made her stand out in the new era of social media comedy.
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Rise To Fame
Like most creatives who have risen to fame, Maraji started out on social media by uploading lip sync videos as a hobby. Her first lip sync video was that of a Nicki Minaj song which she recorded and sent to her friend. Impressed by the video, her friend suggested she put it up on social media but Maraji was reluctant due to the fear that the video wouldn’t be received well. Despite Maraji’s reluctance, her friend put up the video and that’s where the journey began.
They started recording lip sync videos together and soon they started getting positive reactions on social media. Her big break came when she posted a lip-sync video of Reekado Banks’ hit single, Sugar Baby. The former Mavins star reposted the video and this drew a lot of attention to Maraji’s social media page. Seeing the success of her lip-sync videos, she then moved on to creating comedy skits and the rest, they say, is history.
Behind The Scenes
Anyone who comes across Maraji’s videos on Instagram would know it was created by a talented and creative individual but they may not know how much more work goes into the creative process.
“It starts off with the inspiration. I craft an idea and write it down so I can analyze it well. Then there is the shooting. I spend about 2 hours shooting and editing takes about a day or two as well before the final content is ready to go up,” she tells Bella Naija in an interview.
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Achievements
With a whopping 1.1 million followers on Instagram combined with the engagement she enjoys on Twitter, Youtube and Snapchat as well, Maraji is undeniably one of the most talented Instagram comedians at the moment. Asides from comedy, Maraji has also featured in some music videos and bagged numerous advertisement deals.
She shocked Nigeria when she told Ebuka-Obi-Uchendu on his show Rubbing Minds that she makes an average of N500 thousand to one million naira per post. This, again, proves that Maraji is a brand that has come to stay and she is one of the personalities that have greatly benefited from the platform of social media.
Featured Image Source: Woman NG
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