You have probably seen Sophie Chisom (more commonly known as Soso) selling pure water in a bowl while wearing a t-shirt and flowing skirt on one or more social media platforms, where she has a cumulative following of over 3.5 million. The beginnings of that now-infamous character were sown in Port Harcourt, as she told PiggyVest recently. 

In a conversation that stretched towards an hour, she told us more about her journey into becoming one of the most recognisable faces of social media comedy. 

Tell me about growing up.

I grew up in Port Harcourt, and I am from a family of five. I am the only daughter. My mum was working with PPMC and my dad is an engineer; he is one of those who bring out oil from the seas. My mum had a restaurant at some point and now she sells things for cars. I went to a convent in Anambra for secondary school. 

A convent?

[Laughs] Yes, a convent. 

Surprise, surprise. Did you show any artistic qualities when you were younger?

My classmates used to call me Basketmouth because they thought I was funny. And I played drums, too. I recently played drums at Antelope Club on the Island, and I was surprised that I could still do it. 

What did you want to study when you were in secondary school? 

Marketing. I was good at convincing people to buy things they probably didn’t want to buy. 

That’s an interesting skill to know you have as a kid.

Well, I was good at convincing my parents to buy things. I was also good at convincing people in school, but my dad wanted me to study engineering. 

Typical Naija parents. 

Yeah. I knew I couldn’t do it. There was a back and forth, but I still went in for Marketing. Unfortunately, I had a D7 in maths, so the school said I needed to change to a course that didn’t need maths. I chose Political Science, and that’s what I ended up studying. 

Speaking of, are your parents in support of your acting career?

My mum was always fine with it. My dad not as much. But he is coming around. Sometimes, he tells me his friends say they saw my video on Facebook, and he sounds excited by it. 

Did you get into any sort of business as an undergrad?

Yes. I did lots of promotional gigs and ushering jobs — for Star, Bacardi, Tecno and Martini. 

How did you get these gigs?

I auditioned. They’ll ask you how tall you are and look at how pretty you are. It was mostly on the weekends and at bars. I stayed off campus mostly and luckily I never had any incident of getting robbed. 

I think I was almost kidnapped once, but they dropped me off eventually. I was in one of those vehicles where the people inside say they want to change dollars. I said I didn’t want to go along and they just dropped me. I don’t think I had another incident of that sort outside of that. 

We thank God. How much were you getting paid?

It was about ₦5,000. But sometimes the people you are serving tell you to keep the change. Other times, you don’t bring the change at all and they forget. [Laughs]

What would have been a good month back then?

Like ₦40k. 

A bad month?

Maybe ₦5k, but I’ve always been good at saving money. 

That’s good. So, you did this till you finished school?

Yes. The last job I did was at a wedding in my final year. 

And after school?

I didn’t apply for NYSC immediately. I started a pageant afterwards. 

How did you get money to do that?

It was via sponsorship and it was a big deal. And to be fair, I wasn’t doing it alone. I think we made something between ₦500k and ₦1m. 

So what was your first real salary? 

During NYSC, I was at the Ministry of Petroleum. I was going home with ₦53k plus the NYSC allawee. 

What happened next? 

Even before NYSC, I was taking photos for the ‘gram, and I wasn’t wearing makeup. So people were like, “Who’s this fine girl?” The ministry wanted to retain me, but I was tired. I knew it was not for me. 

I also knew 9 to 5 was not for me. I stopped going to work during the pandemic and then afterwards, I did clearance. It was around this time that skits came into my life. 

Tell me about that. 

The person I was working with at the time came to me and said that pictures could only take me so far, that I should do skits. He said that he had the concept: I will play a girl selling pure water. 

I wasn’t sure how people would take it, but I decided to try. I opened my wardrobe and picked a top. Then, I added my mum’s skirt. I asked my brother to buy a bowl and a pair of slippers. 

Costume complete.

Yes. We shot and edited and posted. We got about 1,500 comments. 

Wow. 

[Laughs] I thought that maybe they were just surprised that I could do this. We dropped two more skits, but they didn’t do well. I was about to give up; my partner told me to stick to it, to be consistent. After a while, it started to get embraced. 

How long did it take before this embrace?

A couple of months. I think the big one was an ad I did. In the end, the girl disappeared. That one got people really excited. And then I did one with Baba Rex, and that one went well too. 

Before the skits, how many followers did you have?

About 100,000 followers. Those photos were really popular. I was on blogs very often. 

When was the first time you worked with a brand?

That was with a skincare brand. I think they saw my photos and because I have wonderful skin, they reached out and said they would like to work with me. That was in 2019 or 2020. I had about 50k followers. 

How much did you get paid?

That was ₦70,000 naira a month. 

After that?

I worked with a hair brand that paid even better. 

I take it that there’s been growth since then.

Yes. [Laughs]

What’s the figure these days? 

A skit could be about ₦2m. A regular video might be ₦700k. There’s a different figure for when I wear an outfit. When I wear clothes, it always trends on Twitter. I usually post on all platforms I am on. 

Which is the most lucrative?

YouTube! They pay me. 

And for brands?

It’s between Instagram and Tiktok. I do things for musicians on Tiktok, where I have 2.7m followers. 

Is it a different charge for musicians looking to get you to promote their songs on those platforms?

No. If you want both, that could be about 1m. But if it’s just Tiktok, we can do half of that. 

What is a good month and bad month for you these days?

A few millions. For both. 

Wow. I’ve been struggling with what to call you. Sophie or Soso? What do you call yourself? 

[Laughs] Call me any of those names. I want to call myself Sophie, but I go out and people say they know my name and they call me Soso. So let me stick to Soso. And it’s my name; it was coined from Sophia and Chisom. 

What’s next for you?

I am shooting for YouTube. Longer content. I want to have a Soso series on TV at some point. It’s a family brand so people can work with their kids. I am shooting a few films, too. 

What are the challenges you face?

Sometimes, you have to pay the cast in the skits. Sometimes, Instagram doesn’t promote content that is supposed to do really well. Sometimes, my mind is blank. Those are the three main challenges for me. But we are trying. 

Do skit makers charge you?

No. But the actors and actresses charge. You have to pay them because they didn’t send you to do skits. Some do it for free, though. Usually, I reach out to them. 

What would say to people who want to do skits?

Consistency is the first thing. You have to put it out whether it is booming or not. I have to thank Tunde Ednut. He boosted my career, and I didn’t pay him for it. Even if you pay for blogs to carry your skit, and people come to your page and don’t see anything else, they won’t stay. So you have to keep at it. 

You also have to be humble. Whether you are older than them or not. I find myself calling people “Mama,” and I may be older than them. People will annoy you, but you have to respect them. Then, you have to be prayerful. These three things will lead to money.