Radio Raps’ Rikus de Beer was revealed to be under the mask of King Pie on the latest episode of the Masked Singer SA. He sat down for a Q&A with The South African.

RADIO RAPS RIKUS DE BEER UNMASKED ON ‘MASKED SINGER SA’

King Pie kept the Masked Singer South Africa detectives hungry for answers for the past few weeks. Somizi Mhlongo, J’Something, Sithelo Shozi and Skhumba were shocked when Radio Raps’ Rikus de Beer was under the mask of King Pie on the latest episode of the suspense-filled series.

Since then, Rikus – or Radio Raps, as most people have come to call him – has packed theatres at home and abroad, taken his famous character to the big screen and conquered television, online and streaming entertainment with his tongue-in-cheek comedy enterprise.

This week, five Masks set the stage alight with electrifying solo performances – Leopard, Chopsticks, Mosquito, Spotty and King Pie. However, King Pie was the one to be unmasked. The only thing the four detectives could confidently pin down was that King Pie was an amazing performer. As for the man filling the Mask, their theories remained pie in the sky. 

J’Something deduced that it was international cricket legend AB de Villiers, who has also released a music album. Somizi, however, struggled to follow King Pie’s crumbs and admitted he was simply throwing out a random name – kwaito king Kabelo Mabalane.

Sithelo realised she was likely on the wrong track with her identification of King Pie as comedian Darren Maule in a previous episode, especially in light of this week’s clue about the pie king enjoying moments alone. So, she changed course and opted for singer and music producer Ruan Josh. But the sporting references and King Pie’s desire to be a coach stood out to Skhumba, who picked assistant Springbok coach Mzwandile Stick.

But before losing his crown, the detectives made their final calls. J’Something stuck with AB de Villiers, Somizi with Kabelo Mabalane, and Skhumba with Mzwandile Stick. However, Sithelo changed her mind. Although she admitted she was still clueless about who King Pie was, she reverted to her previous guess of Darren Maule.

The detective panel’s jaws were on the floor when comedic force Rikus de Beer – widely known as Radio Raps – emerged as the guyinsideThe Masked Singer South Africa’s pastry sensation, King Pie. 

Q&A WITH RADIO RAPS RIKUS

Why did you decide to be part of The Masked Singer South Africa?

I decided to be apart of the Masked Singer after I saw that my friend Dricus du Plessis was in it and when I was approached I decided I will do it and see if I can do better than him.

Did your comedy background make it easier or more difficult to be a mask on the show? Why?

My comedy background did not make it easier to be on Masked Singer, you are actually in a mask and you can’t make any eye contact. You can’t use your hands and your linbs that much and there is not a lot of opportunity to play and roll your eyes and look around. It’s not really easier, it’s a brand new experience that you need to adjust to and execute it.

You have accomplished quite a lot across different fields – comedy, entrepreneurship and more. What are you most proud of?

I can’t say what I’m most proud of… I don’t like sitting and reflecting. I’m more focused on my next project, that’s what creating the most curiousity within me. We are all here to be the best versions of ourselves and to have an experience… I just kind of sit back and see what excites me, what interests me, then in that particular space of time I do something that creates some kind of escapism for people, whatever that medium might be – whether it is singing, comedy, a business or a project or anything else similar.

What was the highlight of being on Masked Singer SA?

I think the highlight was getting the judges views on who they think I am based on my clues. It’s very easy to see how the clue might lead to someone or may suggest someone. But I must say my clues, when I listen to them myself, it was like, it’s not a dominating aspect of me, although there’s an important aspect of me so it might have been a bit difficult. It was interesting and I enjoyed listening to the judges views on who I might be.

What was the most difficult part of being on the show?

The most challenging part was the performance because you have to be aware where you walk, where you stand, where the judges are. You don’t have a lot of assets in your arsenal that you have use to perform. You have to do your best in that limited time that you can. Depending on the different types of masks, it can be quite challenging. Me singing English and me singing the types of songs that I chose, my history and my story is one that is up and down and it crazy… it is a difficult person to zero out, out of all the possibilities. I have some understanding as to why they struggled to understand that it was me.

Do you know any of the detetives personally?

I do not know any of the detectives personally.

How did your fans react when they discovered you were King Pie?

With my fans, there is a bit of a divide, some of them didn’t see it coming at all. Quite earlier on I got a couple of inboxes of people saying ‘this may be you.’ I think there is a split between people not seeing it coming at all and realising through my voice, that ‘ahh okay, I know this voice’ maybe it is him.