PDBY spoke to third year economics student, Thando Vokwana, on his collaboration with KFC. Thando is a YouTuber who does a weekly recap of trending social media stories called ‘Come Cav’. He started when COVID-19 first began in 2020 and has since grown his YouTube channel. Thando often collaborates with other Hatfield-based YouTubers and creators to produce content. His other creative spaces include Driponomics, a IGTV series with Bogo.she, and Abnormal Thrift, a thrifting store on Instagram.
What propelled you to enter the KFC Social Heatmaker competition?
Funny enough I saw it when Okay Wasabi was the person speaking about it the most. [I saw] KFC [was] launching [the Social Heatmaker competition]. […] I was like nah I don’t think I have what it takes so I didn’t do it. Dennis Ngango, who is a part of the Defining Channel on YouTube, sent me a DM of the Okay Wasabi video and [he] said ‘I believe you can do this’. Then I’m like if someone with a Youtube plaque said I can do this let me just try. […] I am forever grateful for him because if it wasn’t for Dennis, I wouldn’t have done it. One day I was in the shower and an idea came [to me]. I got out of the shower, still not dressed and started typing out the script and idea so I [wouldn’t] lose it. I shot it and I entered, that was literally the thought process behind it.
How have you experienced working with KFC so far?
It’s been mad, it has been crazy because it’s just a dream. We all used to eat KFC, we still do. I remember many nights coming back from school [asking] ‘mom can we get KFC’. There’s bread at home [she’d say]. Now I am getting to work with them, so it’s been really surreal because it’s a brand we all know in our homes. It’s really crazy and just everything we’ve been doing so far is really amazing. The team has been the best, has been so friendly, so welcoming, because I feel like I’m not like an Okay Wasabi or Thato Rampedi, these major names. I am just a guy who likes making funny videos. They haven’t diluted my creative process at all. I have been able to pitch things and wild idea[s] and they go for it. And working alongside and being mentored by Okay Wasabi has been a literal dream.
How do you come up with your scripts for your skits?
Literally the shower, I won’t lie I get the best ideas in the shower. Also, at times when I shouldn’t be thinking of content – [for example] I’ll be studying. Like the first KFC script, I told you I was in the shower. I got out [of the shower and] I wrote it out. The second one I was studying, and I got bored as we all do and my mind just started wandering off and I came up with an idea – I wrote up the script during my study break. My ideas just come at random times. Sometimes I’ll be in the back of a taxi, and I see two people arguing in a taxi and think this is entertaining, I use that as inspo for a script. I literally draw inspiration from any and everything.
As there are three of you in the team, could we look forward to content that includes everyone together in the future?Definitely. Our first video was the three of us together but because we are in different locations, we couldn’t actually be together, but we still have a lot coming up in the next few months […]. What we have dropped now is the first part of the campaign. We’re still going to drop crazy more, so you can definitely expect more with all three of us involved.
One of your favourite YouTubers is Okay Wasabi, what was it like working with him?
I remember when I entered, I was one of the very first few entries of the competition. When Okay Wasabi said ‘this was the best and it’s going to be hard to top this’. I was like it’s fine if I don’t win, we can leave it. [And] everything aside, Okay Wasabi thinks I’m dope.
It’s like a rapper getting a co-sign from Drake, that’s what it felt like. I’ve been watching him on my screen for years. Then there was a time during the competition where KFC had a pop up in Rosebank, so you could go and make content with Okay Wasabi. I took the Gautrain with my boys, we went, and I saw him in real life, and I was like ‘yoh’ this is crazy. We got there [and] we shot content and the lady there was like this is Okay Wasabi and Okay was like “my brother good seeing you” and it was crazy. We went there with a full script and idea. Watching him work was crazy ‘cause we showed him the script and these lines and he got it and fully went into character and seeing that was mad inspiring, ‘cause he’s just a regular guy. As he always says ‘Umuntu wase Vosloo, always eating amakota’ just a general guy drinking Kingsley who has really built a name for himself […].
What can we look forward to in the future regarding your collaboration with KFC?
More laughs, more laughs and more food. It’s literally what it is. Currently there’s a competition for artists to enter, to design some merch. It’s really just more food and opportunity for others. KFC is not just stopping with me and Ole and Talia (the other two winners). They really want to branch out and make a full team of young creatives and put people on. So really just more opportunities, more food, and more laughs.
How do you balance Come Cav, Driponomics and KFC while studying?
It’s a lot. I won’t lie last year I was freestyling, when I made content, I had no schedule, but I think as dumb and simple as it sounds, having a schedule and timetable helps a lot. Managing time is literally the best thing, because when I manage it, I know this is the time for work, this is time for Come Cav. Whereas last year I got it mixed up a bit – there were times I’d be writing a test tomorrow and I was editing, it was really a mess. So just following a good timetable. Making sure there’s time to rest is important. I used to struggle with rest. If someone said ‘can we shoot’ and I was going to rest today, I [would say] let me just do it ‘cause I’m not doing anything, but resting is doing something. So just having a good, structured timetable is how I balance it. I am doing better than last year.
How would you describe your past year in content creation in three words?
Dream. Fun. Hard.
I'm Thando Dlamini a second year Consumer Science Food retail student with a passion for cooking, writing and watching movies. I come from the sunny South Coast of KZN. I love the entertainment business and so I also do news and sports for TuksFM.