Meet SeJoe – Entertainer and Entrepreneur
"An enthusiastic, witty and amusing young man, Sejoe’s mission is to highlight the positive essence of his Haitian culture"
By Victoria Spedale via The 509 Exchange Project
“If I can make people happy by making them laugh, I have fulfilled my purpose by utilizing one of the gifts God has given me, my sense of humor.” A comedian, producer, actor, model, videographer, artist manager and more, Entertainer and Entrepreneur Joseph “Sejoe” Ducasse is a Haitian comedic success in the entertainment industry.
“My first venture in the entertainment industry was during my senior year in college where I majored in biology at Florida State University because my mother had a dream of me becoming a doctor but my heart wasn’t in it Yet, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Feeling down and lonely, I wanted to feel close to my people and culture so I went searching on the Internet for jokes in Creole. To my surprise, there were hardly any jokes in Haitian Creole. Always the class clown, I decided to tell myself a joke to lift my own spirits. I turned on the camera from my laptop, recorded myself telling a joke and posted it online. Suddenly, I started to receive comments by others telling me how much they loved it and that I should post more. So I did. And so my ‘new career’ started.”
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sejoe’s start in entertainment began with that first joke, followed by many others, five years of creating his own animated cartoon, producing shows for rappers like Big Sean and Sean Paul (as well as rappers A$AP Rocky, Daddy Yankee and Flo-Rida), and founding Sejoe Entertainment (which is involved in creating, directing, producing and editing commercials, fashion shows, music videos and photo shoots).
Fluent in Creole, English and French, Sejoe is considered a unique stand-up comedian because he can successfully communicate his humor and make audiences laugh.
“I like to make people laugh but to also teach them something. My jokes allow people to remember what I’m talking about — they are learning about Haitian humor without even realizing it.”
An enthusiastic, witty and amusing young man, Sejoe’s mission is to highlight the positive essence of his Haitian culture, including its Creole language, by educating others about it through his comedy. In this quest, he recently launched two ventures: the Haitian Humor Series, The Sejoe Show, which is broadcast in Haitian Creole (with some English thrown in) and geared towards a rising generation of Haitian Diaspora and an app to learn the Creole language that contains over 25,000 words, including translations, jokes and videos. Sejoe is also a contributor to The 509 Exchange Project.
“I intend to contribute to The 509 Exchange Project by sharing their efforts with my fans and encouraging them to get engaged in any way they can. The 509 Exchange Project team and I are equally passionate about sharing the beauty and richness of the Haitian culture with as many people as possible. I also plan to participate in future Discover Haiti trips and the 509 Exchange Project events. My fans know me as a comedian, and I will continue sharing my sense of humor with them, but I look forward to growing as an entertainer while exploring new avenues and possibilities. I believe that the best chance of success for a social media project like The 509 Exchange Project is for people who like what we do to make their voices heard by liking, subscribing and following us online. I, for one, will do anything I can to help.”