Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori, popularly known as KieKie, has stepped into new territory with The Kiekie Unscripted Experience, a vibrant talent game show set to spotlight Nigeria’s next big stars.
As an award-winning content creator, actress, and media entrepreneur, Kiekie has carved out a space for herself in the entertainment world. From her viral skits to sold out shows, her journey is built on consistency and continues to inspire a new generation of creators.
Now, she is creating a stage where young talent can be seen, heard, and celebrated. “We didn’t have mentors when we started, we learned everything on the job,” she shares. “So building a platform that helps others rise? That’s my biggest win.”
From content to community, Kiekie is showing what it means to build, empower, and leave a legacy.
Read the full interview below.
Kiekie Unscripted Experience is a fresh and exciting concept! What inspired you to create a talent game show, and what can audiences expect from it?
Kiekie Unscripted Experience is an expression of who I am, talent and games. Games equal to playful, excitement, fun, thrill or fire, adrenaline, you know, energy, vibe. Yeah. So the show literally mirrors me and what I do. I’m a talent, an actor, content creator, event host, brand influencer. So I just wanted a platform that would, you know cover all of that? And because I know that Nigeria is full of talented people, I wanted to create a platform that would give them a voice, that will let them be seen, be heard, and, maybe start up careers for a lot of people. That would actually be my biggest win in this.
You’ve worn so many hats—content creator, host, actor, fashion entrepreneur. How do you balance everything while staying innovative?
Well, I simply balance everything by doing what I need to do when I need to do it. So I live a life that is quite disciplined, on time and on schedule.
If I have to create content on Monday, I have to create content on Monday because I’m going on the movie set from Tuesday to Sunday. So my failure to create that content on Monday creates problem for me in my content space. So I have to remain extremely disciplined with my time and staying tuned to my schedule. It’s why a few people would tell you that, “oh my God, Kiekie is always so punctual” because I’m used to prioritizing time. Because once you lose 1:00 PM, 1st of April, 2025, it’s never coming back. You’ve lost that time, and you’ve lost it for life. So what you do with your time is important, and that’s what gives you the result that you have in your life.
Your rise in entertainment has been nothing short of inspiring. What was the biggest challenge you faced when you first started, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge I faced would have to be learning on the job. The internet happened to us, especially content creation.
It happened to us. There’s nobody ahead of us that we want to look up to or learn from. We were just doing our thing and learning from it. I had to learn a lot on the job. I had to learn photo editing on the job. I had to learn picture editing on the job. I had to learn how to monetize my platforms all by myself. I had to learn different social media tools all by myself. I had to learn how to create different content for different platforms. What content suits what platform, and these are things that we go to conferences and master classes to talk about. But there was nothing like that when we were starting up as content creators, but of course, that’s the prize you pay for being a pioneer in something.
For film, because film happened to me in a very exciting way. I’ve had the privilege of being called up by the biggest and the top producers and directors in Nigeria and they just give me roles, like, really pretty roles. And I’m like, “ah, this one is Big o”. And every single time. I think 2021, 2022, I will do it afraid. And once I’ve done it afraid, everybody’s like, “Omo, it’s in born, You’re a natural”. I’m like “okay okay”. So I’m doing this thinking and asking myself questions “am I really killing it?” Then when they say”cut”, everybody begins to clap. There was a particular scene I shot in the film that is coming soon directed by Biodun Stephens The Great. I was concerned about that articular scene, Immediately she said “cut”, everybody started clapping. And I was like “okay”. So yeah. So it’s, for me, it’s been learning on the job that has been a major challenge for me. I’m grateful to God that I’ve always gotten the right opportunities that would project my work.
Comedy is still a male-dominated space, especially in Africa. As a female comic, how do you navigate the industry and create a unique space for yourself?
I feel like it’s very important for you to be genuine and to be unique to yourself. You are a female. There are things you can do that a male can never, ever do. As for males, there are things that they can do that we cannot do. So, why are you trying to focus on what you cannot do when you have a big and deep well of things you can do, improve on and become better at.
My unique selling point includes drama, spontaneity and word play. And I’ll continue to focus on it. And word play also falls into that my interesting Yoruba English translations. Nobody does it the way I do it. And learning that I have that spontaneity going on for me, learning that I can be very dramatic, learning that I can also be true to myself and and I could excel in my natural state, these are the things that I’ve embraced as a person that continues to. give me the opportunity to grow, to expand, and regardless of how saturated the space might be, it just stands me out.
What has been your most memorable moment in entertainment so far?
My memorable moment is my first viral content ever, ‘mechanic versus tailor.’
My second memorable moment is going to be when I won AMVCAs in 2023 for Best Online and Digital Content. I’ve had quite a number of memorable moments too. There’s also Forbes. That one caught me on unawares. When they were calling me, I thought it was a scam, so I didn’t take the call. They had to call somebody in the industry to call me. You know, being spotlighted as one of the tops skip makers in Africa, that’s big. It’s amazing.
You’ve collaborated with some of the biggest names in content creation, from Brother Shaggi to Mr. Macaroni. What role do you think collaboration plays in uplifting women in entertainment?
Collaboration just helps people see you and what you can do. And like I always say to people, anytime you have the opportunity to collaborate, look at it like you’re going for a job interview.
So go with your best answers. Go with your credentials complete. If you’re having a fashion collaboration video, take your unique style element with you. If it’s a comedy collaboration. Take your unique presentation with you because that person you’re collaborating with definitely has a particular percentage of audience that have never seen you before. And if they’re going to see you, they have to see you at your best. So yes, it is good because it exposes you to a new audience. And if they love you enough, they embrace you and they stay with you.
You’ve built a massive and engaged online community. How do you use your platform to inspire and empower other women?
That’s what we are doing with Kiekie Unscripted Experience, empowering. Creating a platform where at the end of the season, someone is gonna win a brand new car, people who probably haven’t left the country before will be traveling to any country of their choice. Individuals will be working away with millions of naira.
What more can we do? Because this platform is given to us by the fans, but most importantly given to us because we have the gift from God. And how more can we make God proud, if not by empowering other people and giving them a platform to excel like ourself.
For women, it is a thing of I’m a woman and you can see me doing it. And there are a few other women in this space too who are big, who are excelling. I’m a mom, I’m a wife. We also have some who are moms and they are wives as well. So it just tells you that if this person can do it, I can also do it. And most importantly, it reminds you that you can even do better.
Fashion and confidence seem to go hand in hand for you. What advice would you give to women struggling to find their personal style and confidence?
Just know you and understand what works for you. And it starts with your body type and height. Two things you need in fashion, once you understand your body type and your height, you’re good. If you’re a tall person, you can wear anything short, the shortest of the shortest to your comfort or as long as you’re comfortable with it. And if you’re a short person, you have no business with long skirt because it will just only cover your legs.
It’s a basic logic in fashion. The taller you are, the longer your skirts can go. So if you’re very tall, a very long skirt. If you’re very short, a very short skirt. Now, if you are plus size, then you can do assymetricals or give yourself some fittings around the waist. Give yourself volume on the hip side. If you are apple shaped or pear, always conceal your lower bottom more.
So understanding your body type and your height is the key to getting confidence and style.
You’ve accomplished so much already, but what’s next for Kiekie? Any big dreams or projects you’re still looking to bring to life?
The big dream right now is for me to produce a very big film that tells the story of where I’m from.
I feel like we’ve had a lot of stories around the Oyo Empire. and then we’ve had the Egba people. We’ve had Lisabi, we’ve had the story of Ayinla who is also from the Egba side as well. But who is really telling the story of Ibadan? Ibadan is the biggest city in West Africa.
Somebody needs to tell that story. I can’t tell you if we are working on something or not, but it’s gonna happen someday.
When people look back at your journey years from now, what do you hope they remember most about Kiekie?
I hope they remember that very joyous girl, that very happy girl full of energy. The girl who proved to the world that you can be a jack of all trades and master of all.
