Michael Blackson

Michael Blackson
Michael Blackson
	Blackson in 2019
Born	Kojo Bediako; November 28, 1972 (age 51); Monrovia, Liberia
Occupations	Actor; comedian;
Years active	1989–present
Partner	Rada Darling
Children	4
Website	michaelblacksonfoundation.org

Michael Kojo Blackson (né Kojo Bediako, born November 28, 1972) is a Ghanaian-Liberian actor, and comedian based in the United States. His stage surname is a parody of pop singer, Michael Jackson.

Early life

Michael Kojo Blackson was born Kojo Bediako on November 28, 1972, in Liberia to a Liberian mother and Ghanaian Father.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] His family lived in the slum of Clara Town in Monrovia.^[5] He spent his young years in between Monrovia and Ghana before relocating to the United States in the mid-1980s. His father died in 2008.^[6] Michael lived in Newark, New Jersey, when he was 13, and then settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he was 15. He began pursuing comedy after his coworker at Domino's suggested he start open mic.^[7] He made one of his first appearances on screen as a student extra in the 1989 film Lean On Me.^[8]

Career

In 2005, he released a comedy sketch CD entitled Modasucka: Welcome to America.^[9] Also in 2005, he made an appearance on the TV series 30 Rock, P. Diddy Presents: The Bad Boys of Comedy on HBO,^[10] and starred in a commercial for Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central.

In 2011, Blackson appeared on Starz's Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment Stand-Up and Showtime's Shaquille O'Neal Presents All Star Comedy Jam.^[11]^[12]

In 2019, Blackson appeared in the "Wakonda" official music video by Akon.^[13]

Personal life

On July 31, 2021, Blackson proposed to his girlfriend, Rada Darling, during a radio interview on The Breakfast Club, they continue to be together as partners.^[14] On November 24, 2021, he became a U.S citizen.^[4] Blackson is the uncle of Miami Dolphins cornerback Eli Apple.^[15] As part of his work in philanthropy he built a school in Ghana that was commissioned in early January 2023. The school, which is eponymously named Michael Blackson Academy, is located at Agona Nsaba in the Agona East District of Ghana’s Central Region where he grew up.^[16]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Next Friday	Customer #1
2006	Repos	Coffee	Video
2006	The Last Stand	Comic #6
2007	The Savages	Howard
	Black Supaman	Akon	Video
	Banana Leaves	Chuks
	You're Triflin	Michael the Comedian	Video
2008	Internet Dating	Akeem the Dream	Video
2009	The Mail Man	Mohammed
2009	What We Do	Taxi Cab Driver	Video
2010	My American Nurse 2	Freddie
2010	Ex$pendable	-	Video
2011	Threading Needles	Landlord
2012	In Sickness and in Health	Yusuf	TV movie
2013	One Night in Vegas	Mr. Roland
	Coffin Dodgers	(Voice)	Short
	Mutumbo the Lost Prince	Mutumbo	Directed by Leevon Daniels
2014	Kony Montana	Kony Montana	Comedy
2015	Tooken	Fake Akon	Also starring: Reno Wilson, Lauren Stamile, Lee Tergesen
2015	More Money, More Family	Bootleg	Comedy
2016	Meet the Blacks	Mr. Wooky	Comedy/Horror
2018	Easy Money	Caine	Action
	The Stuff	Security Guard	Action/Comedy/Drama
	Nobody's Fool	Thug	Comedy/Drama/Romance
	Got My Hustle Up	Michael	Also starring: Thou Brown, Darnae Hill, Bambi Johnson
	Sliders	Caine	Also starring: Ron Byrd, Philla Brougham
2019	Angel and the Mailman	Akin	Drama
	I Got The Hook Up 2	Officer Midnight	Comedy
	The Lick Movie	Kofi	Action/Crime/Drama
2020	American Dream	John	Drama
2021	Coming 2 America	Nexdorian Lieutenant	Also starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley
	Someday Isles	Principal	Action/Comedy/Drama
	The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2	Mr. Wooky	Also starring: Mike Epps, Katt Williams, Lil Duval

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Snaps	Himself	Episode: "Episode #1.1"
2000	ComicView	Himself	Episode: "ComicView: New Orleans Party Gras"
2005	The Bad Boys of Comedy	Himself	Episode: "Episode #1.6"
2006	30 Rock	African Man	Episode: "Jack Meets Dennis"
2008	ComicView	Himself	Episode: "ComicView: One Mic Stand"
2009	1st Amendment Stand Up	Himself	Episode: "Cortney Gee/Mark Viera/Ronnie Jordan/Michael Blackson"
2011-12	Are We There Yet?	Various Roles	Recurring Guest
2014	The Arsenio Hall Show	Himself	Episode: "Episode #1.145"
2015	In the Cut	Customer	Episode: "The Ball's in Your Court"
2017	50 Central	African Traveler	Episode: "Amistad Travel Agency"
2017-18	Leave It to Stevie	Himself	Episode: "Standing Down" & "The Game of Faith"
2017-19	Wild 'N Out	Himself/Cast Member	Cast Member: Season 8 & 10 & 12 & 15
2017-19	Hip Hop Squares	Himself/Panelist	Recurring Panelist
2018	BET Social Awards	Himself/Host	Main Host
	Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta	Himself	Episode: "I'm Telling"
	Rich Africans	Michael	Main Cast
2019	Hollywood and African Prestigious Awards	Himself/Host	Main Host
	Transitions	Kodjoe	Episode: "Nigerian Nightmare"
	Dr. Blackson	Dr. Blackson	Main Cast
2020	Casting One Mo' Chance	Himself/Judge	Main Judge: Season 1
2021	VH1 Couples Retreat	Himself	Main Cast: Season 1
2021	MTV Cribs	Himself	Episode: "Michael Blackson/Ashlee Simpson & Evan Ross/Johnny Weir"
2022	Sherman's Showcase	Fada	Episode: "Sherman From Africa: Live from Lagos"
2023	The Michael Blackson Show	Mr. Michael Blackson	Main Cast