‘Comedy is not a joke’ in fact it is a craft that comedian Loyiso Madinga takes very seriously.

A lot of people would recognise him from the famous political satirical show Late Night News with Loyiso Gola (LNN) where he is part of the cast.

He is also a part of the brilliant writing team that includes Kagiso and Karabo Lediga.

“It’s a satirical show based on seriousness but people seem to buy into it. It’s not easy putting together that kind of a show in this country,” he says.

“It has really tested our freedom of speech; if LNN goes off show the air then we know freedom of speech is gone. People must just watch out for the show, if it’s gone then we must all move to Australia,” he jokes.

But as with most people, his rise to glory was not only challenging but involved multiple life changing risks.

Madinga is an advertising professional and had been working in advertising for years before he took up comedy. He had to choose between his day job and comedy when the opportunity knocked – when he won the Savanna Newcomer Award.

“Since winning it I have really dedicated my life to the craft of comedy. I left my day job at advertising and have dedicated my whole time to this comedy game,” he says.

As a previous winner of the Savanna Newcomer Award, Madinga will be handing over the reigns to this year’s winner.

He will be entertaining guests alongside the 2013 winner Schalk Bezuidenhout, Dillan Oliphant who won in 2012 and Deep Fried Man the 2011 winner.

He says people can look forward to great comedy.

“It’s a very fresh comedy and all four of us are different comics so you can expect a night of a very diverse comedy.

“I think I have grown as a comic, I’ve worked on newer more personal material in the past year since I have won, I have learned to tell my actual real life story better on stage.

“Like I do jokes about my father, which I hope he never hears,” he said.

Loyiso comes from a Xhosa family and his father is as strict as Xhosa parents come. He had to go to great lengths to convince his father advertising is a good career and even greater lengths to convince him the same about comedy.

“My father fought it for quite sometime but I kind of got where he was coming from because I think it comes from fear. I don’t think parents just don’t want you to do something, they are just afraid because they don’t quite understand it themselves they don’t know how you will live.”

He said that his father has always been scared about how he can make a proper living out advertising and comedy, especially since he came back from the initiation school.

“My dad has always told me ‘once I have educated you and sent you to the mountain, don’t come to my house to eat my pap’”.