Football fans worldwide will never forget the night of April 10, 2018, when AS Roma defied the odds and defeated the heavily favoured Barcelona to advance to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
The win was immortalised by Peter Drury’s passionate and unforgettable commentary, leading to a viral lip-sync video by Kenyan content creator Meshack Kiprop (moniker Arap Uria). The video went on to catch the attention of Premier League co-commentator Jim Beglin three years later, catapulting Kiprop to further social media stardom and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet legendary football commentator Dury at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Known for his popular football commentary lip-sync videos, Kiprop’s fame has risen over the years earning him 1.7 million followers on TikTok and more recently recognition as one of the top 15 TikTok Visionary voices in Africa.
What is it about Kiprop that gets the attention and following of millions of people?
The first thing you notice is his humorous, improvised look, where he uses talcum powder for facial hair, two cups for headphones, and a boiling ring rod for a microphone. But what keeps you watching is the precision in his facial expressions and gestures.
As a football fan and avid watcher of Kiprop’s videos, I’m eager to delve deeper into his creative process. How does he come up with these ingenious ideas?
Kiprop shows up on the Zoom call on time wearing a Nike Kenyan tracksuit and a smile. He’s taking the call from his parlour. Throughout our hour-long conversation, we explored his content creation journey, his process for generating ideas, and what success means to him.
Stumbling on content creation
As far back as 29-year-old Kiprop can remember, he has always been drawn to creating content. A younger version of Kiprop wanted to study mass communication but parental pressure influenced him to pursue a degree in education. Being a teacher was seen as a more noble career path.
As a student at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kiprop began his content creation journey by doing comedy skits in 2018.
“I used to create local comedy sketches with friends, exploring social life and family issues. I also incorporated lip-syncing of Kenyan political leaders.”
Given the divisive nature of politics, Kiprop decided to explore sports commentary the following year. His foray into football commentary proved to be an instant hit, and he stuck to it.
In retrospect, it seems obvious why the commentary lip-sync caught on. He primarily lip-syncs commentaries around goal-scoring moments — the most exciting and dramatic aspect of any match.
When questioned about the relevance of his education degree to content creation, Kiprop, who still identifies as a teacher of mathematics and geography, pauses and acknowledges that the two fields are distinct. Aside from the value of basic communication skills, there’s barely any transferable skill or knowledge to content creation.
Diversifying content format and audience
Over the years, the creative direction of Kiprop’s videos has extended beyond just the lipsyncing of commentaries.
He’s recently added athletics to his content mix, imitating popular runners and parody videos of races.
“I felt it was important to incorporate athletics into my content, as it resonates deeply with many Kenyans. My audience is approximately 40% Kenyan, 20% Nigerian, and the remaining 40% is from other countries including Senegal and South Africa. Athletics has a broader appeal compared to football, attracting a wider audience.”
Another clever content format is his ‘VAR’ series, where he uses the analogy of a football match video assistant referee (VAR) to analyse everyday life issues and deliver verdicts. Kiprop’s humorous VAR videos have garnered significant engagement.
The new technology, introduced to football in the past decade, has become popular for its ability to help on-field referees make accurate decisions.
“If someone is violating road or travel rules, I give them a red card. It’s a unique way to educate our people on road safety issues.”
But where do the video ideas come from?
“All these ideas only come from me. I just sleep overnight or maybe spend some time, thinking about it, and then I come up with an idea. But I also value feedback from my, audience. I often do grant commentary requests.”
It’s common to find viewers requesting for Kiprop to lipsync commentaries from their favourite matches.
Kiprop is more famous for his content on TikTok but he’s active on YouTube, having garnered 411,000 subscribers and over 41 million cumulative views since 2018.
Scrolling back to his early days on YouTube, you’d see a younger Kiprop making the typical parody skits before he introduced lip-syncing videos.
These days, Kiprop is struggling to balance creating content for the different platforms. A two-month break due to the 2024 summer football break led to a decline in views when he returned in August.
“During the two-month break, I went silent. People forgot about me. So when I returned at the start of the new Premier League season, there was no buzz.’”
The longest video on his YouTube channel is a 16-minute skit from three years ago. When I ask about creating more long-form content, he dismisses it.
“I’ve noticed that shorter videos tend to be more popular. They offer a quick way to entertain and convey a message. In terms of views, I’ve found that shorter videos often outperform longer ones.”
The fact that the videos are shorter doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a walk in the park to make them. How long does it take to prepare to make a regular 1 minute lip-sync commentary?
All day.
“I start practising from mid-day today till tomorrow when I’m going to shoot. By tomorrow, maybe at around noon, I upload it. The shooting can take up an hour because sometimes when I miss a part, I have to redo it. There are instances where I’ve had to redo a video 30 times.”
Making money and inspiring the next generation
As a content creator, Kiprop earns money primarily through endorsements. He recalls his first endorsement deal, which was substantial at the time.
“There was a guy who was paying me around 10,000 Kenyan shillings ($80) a month,” Kiprop says.
I interject, “For a video?”
He replies, “No, for 10 videos. Back then, it was a lot of money, but now it’s peanuts. I’m grateful for how far we’ve come.'”
Even though he won’t say how much he charges now for a video or ten, the fact that Kiprop is a full-time content creator makes it glaring that yesterday’s price is not today’s.
Today, he has a diverse range of sponsors, including online gaming firm Betika, Insurance powerhouse Africa Merchant Assurance Company (AMACO), and Pedrator energy drink. He’s also worked with global smartphone brand Techno phone and prominent sports broadcaster Super Sports during the World Cup.
But he’s not keen on just making money. He wants to be an inspiration to other content creators.
“I want to motivate someone somewhere — especially the younger generation — that everything is possible. You can earn from content creation, you can monetise your content, and you can earn from it so long as you have a niche.”
His single advice for the younger generation seeking to find their niche is to embrace their originality.
“You don’t have to copy me or others for you to succeed. Try as much as possible to be creative in your way. Your dreams are valid.”
