Where did your passion for comedy come from, and how did it all begin? I loved comedy ever since I was a kid. When I was a little, little kid, I would be left home alone a lot, and my grandmother would have old Richard Pryor records, George Carlin records, Eddie Murphy records. I would put them on and listen to them in my headphones and just giggle my butt off. Like, how are they saying these things? This is amazing!
Fast forward to me being an adult, I was a singer for a long time, and then I had to quit that because I had my daughter, and my sister called me up one day and she’s like, ‘Hey, I’m doing these acting classes, and they want me to spread my wings and do stand up.’ I was like, ‘OK, weird, but sure. You’re not funny, but OK.’
She wanted me to take this comedy class with her, and I was like sure; why not? I’m not doing anything creative, and I would love to start doing something creative again. So, sure, and $250 later, she does not sign up. Now, I’m stuck in these classes, but the first time I hit the stage, I exploded the audience. That feeling, I couldn’t let it go. I just went back and back and back and back.Related article: Cocktails and Celebrity Tea with Ross Mathews Can you tell us more about your aesthetic? What kind of comedy do you tend to gravitate towards? I like comedy that speaks to who I am as a human, how that interacts with the world, and I try to send out messages that I feel like people can relate to. I try to find some levity and solace in their personal misery or kind of, like, elevate the joy that’s in someone’s life. I think the best way I can describe my comedy is, I’m more of a storyteller. I do some punch, punch, bang jokes, but I prefer stories that have a little bit of myself in them. Something that’s obviously funny and then also have something that you can take away and think about later. I talk a little bit about race and talk a lot about family and being a mom, and just kind of different observations that I have seen in the world. Being a bisexual woman of color, have you encountered any challenges within this field of work? Not specifically related to my sexuality, but definitely being a black woman in the world. I feel like in any industry, women are kind of pushed to the side, and then as you add different issues, that separation becomes greater. I’m a woman, so I’m over here. I’m black, so I’m scooched over a little more, and I’m a queer woman, so then I’m, like, pushed over a little bit more. In a lot of ways, I ignore it. Not in the sense of allowing people to be offensive or do negative things as it relates to those issues, but when some people say you can’t do that because you’re black, or you’re a women, or you’re this, that’s when I’m like, ‘Well, why don’t you take a seat and just watch for a minute, and I bet that I can do it.’ My grandmother always said that I am so headstrong that it’s ridiculous. That’s just always been the kind of person I am. Do you believe there are some topics that should never be joked about? No, I don’t. I think that, especially my life experience, my mom passed away from AIDS years ago. She was a survivor of incest and sexual assault. My backstory is bananas. We really sat down and dug into it, and it’s absolutely crazy. If I wasn’t allowed to talk about those things, that’s limiting me telling my story, and I don’t think anyone has the right to do that to anyone else. If that’s a part of you, and you have a perspective that isn’t with the intent of hurting other people, then you should be able to. There are a lot of people that experience and go through those types of things, but they don’t talk about it. They don’t share it with people, and then they harbor that and hold on to it. Their souls and spirits are beaten down because they can’t let that out and release it. So, being able to tell those stories and talk about those topics, even if they are considered taboo, definitely helps. It’s going to help somebody. You’re going to be like, ‘Thank God somebody said that. I can come out of this depression and get the power and motivation to maybe go talk to someone and get help. Let me share this with them, and maybe that will open the door to help them.’ So, no, I don’t think any topic should be off limits. Make sure it’s funny, and then make sure it’s appropriate.
Related article: Margaret Cho, FBI- Feminist, Bisexual, Iconic Do you think some entertainers and comedians are too afraid to talk about taboo subjects because of today’s PC culture? Absolutely. A lot of comics are scared. I wouldn’t count myself in that number; I kind of say what I feel needs to be said, or what’s on my mind, or what’s on my heart. You know, what moves me and inspires me. But yes, absolutely, a lot of comedians and entertainers just in general, they won’t take a stance, which is sad because they have these large platforms but won’t say something because they are afraid of damaging their reputation. In my opinion, in reality, getting this information out and reaching a multitude of people is more important than your personal thing. What’s next? Are there any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for? Yes! I had my first general meeting with the network, and they have a lot of ideas and plans for me that I really can’t talk about just yet, but I think you’ll definitely see me on TV in the next 12 months or sooner. My personal goals, I would love to have my own standup special, and I would love to do late-night, but my ultimate goal, I would love to create and produce my own TV show.
Photos by Nicholas Karlin
