Episode 517 w/ Mojo Brookzz

Drink Champs

Mojo Brookzz joins N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on Drink Champs to discuss his rapid rise in comedy, balancing traditional stand-up with viral internet skits, and navigating the pressures

Key takeaways

• Mojo Brookzz argues that social media has replaced traditional club grinding as a comedian's primary resume, allowing artists to bypass years of industry gatekeeping.
• He emphasizes the intense pressure of stand-up comedy, where every performance must be unique due to unpredictable crowd work and audience dynamics.

Main topics

• Stand-up comedy vs. internet skits
• Crowd work and audience dynamics

Notable quotes

"Social media is your resume. You know what I'm saying? And people can go and look at it and say, okay, well, he didn't convince 3 million people to follow him based on what he's doing. He must be doing something right."

Conclusion

The episode provides a candid look at the modern comedian's journey, blending

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) This is an iHeart Podcast. Speaker 3 (0:02) Guaranteed human. I'm Carrie Champion, and in this new season of Biggest Rivalries of All Time podcast, we take you back to the very first rivalry of the WNBA. The Comets were the real deal. I mean, come on. Speaker 6 (0:16) The Liberty was just tough. Oh, God. Speaker 3 (0:19) The New York Liberty versus the Houston Comets. When we hit the floor, it was hot, heated fights, elbows, competition, trash talking. Who is the better team? People lie, but numbers don't. Listen to Biggest Rivalries of All Time on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (0:41) You broke me. You do not deserve happiness. Speaker 4 (0:44) I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of Betrayal, Carl thought he was living a normal, drama-free life. Until the messages started. Speaker 6 (0:54) Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. Speaker 4 (0:56) Every piece of evidence pointed to the wrong guy. Speaker 6 (1:00) He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Speaker 4 (1:03) Listen to Betrayal Season 6 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 8 (1:32) Listen to the Questlove Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Peace. Speaker 5 (1:40) The miles change how you move, but more importantly, they change how you show up for your life. I'm Emily Abadie. On the Hurdle with Emily Abadie podcast, I sit down with elite athletes, record holders, coaches, and everyday runners to unpack the mindset behind pushing through when things get tough. Because the discipline, grace, and grit you build out there on the pavement, that's what helps you show up as your best self everywhere else. I just love to say I never know who's watching. So you want to make sure you're you through and through, and you just stay true to who you are. Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abadi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (2:16) I'm Mimi Brown, and every day on Front Page Podcasts, I help you make sense of the stories shaping our world. Each day, I break down the biggest headlines. Canada's trade fight with the U.S. just escalated again and Americans could fill it in their wallets. And when a story deserves a deeper conversation, I'll sit down with experts, newsmakers and thought leaders to help you better understand the issue behind the headlines. Listen to Front Page from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 2 (2:59) And it's Dream Chats motherfucking podcast. Make some noise. Speaker 8 (3:02) He's a legendary Queens rapper. Hey, hey, Speaker 2 (3:05) it's your boy N.O.R.E. He's a Speaker 8 (3:07) Miami hip-hop pioneer. Speaker 1 (3:08) One of his DJ Speaker 8 (3:09) EFN. Together, they drink it up with some of the biggest players. You know what I mean? In the most professional, unprofessional podcast. And your number one source for drunk facts. It's Dream Chats motherfucking podcast. Where every day is New Year's Eve. It's time. Drink champs, drink up, motherfucker. Speaker 2 (3:31) What a good B-hop is when it's your boy N-A-O-L-A-A. Speaker 7 (3:35) Yeah, yo, it's me, Cypher Seth. Very famous in New York. What's good? Just New York. This is Drink Speaker 2 (3:42) Champs. Military Crazy Hour. Make some noise. Speaker 2 (3:48) Now, I know this man doesn't know this, but the person that I'm about to introduce is hands down my favorite new comedian. I know he doesn't know this. I don't know that. I know he doesn't know this. This man can go on stage. He can go with any crowd. He will light it up. He'll make you call your spouse. He'll make you call. He'll make you find out you're gay and you didn't even know you was gay. You're just like, man, I went on a date, a man date, and I didn't even know it. Like, he is one of the funniest people on the planet. I call one of the other funniest people on the planet to come in and guest host with me. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, this man, I'm telling you, from skits to whatever, he is the undeniable, the renaissance man. He's the guy. If you don't know who he is, then you are under a rock. And the motherfucking... Speaker 2 (4:36) But Speaker 1 (4:36) this is how ghetto I am. I spelled your name with a Z. Okay, no, that's cool. That's how I spell it. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, ZZ. Speaker 2 (4:42) Okay, all right, because when the white people spelled it with K-A-S. Yeah, K-A-S. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They've been trying to get me to, Speaker 1 (4:47) the white people have been trying to get me to change it just to ask for like the last two years. Okay, Speaker 2 (4:51) hold on, hold on. Are the white people trying to get you to put the S in it? They want me to change it to like how Speaker 1 (4:56) my name is really spelled with the S. They're like, man, you should Speaker 2 (4:58) do it like that. Oh, so the Z is for the Zolpown. They feel like the Z Speaker 1 (5:02) is like ghetto. They feel like the Z is ghetto, but I like the Z. So you can hold down two Zs. Two Z's on that. Yeah. So now if I'm going to get rid of them, it's going to be one at a time. Let Speaker 2 (5:13) me tell you something, Syph and Ojo. One of the things about being an artist is having that art to react on stage. Right? It's one thing to have a hit record. You ever see a guy have a hit record and then they go on stage and you're like, man, he didn't even care. One thing about you, bro. From the beginning of when you walk on stage to the end, you, it's like you detect your fucking audience. Like you tear that shit apart. Like my DJ, right? My DJ goes in the crowd and he'll tell me what we're going to perform before we perform. But he has that time. Speaker 1 (5:55) How do you do that when you go on? Man, it just happened right there. Like, you know, when I first walk out there. But, you know, I don't think a lot of people really understand the way the mind of a comedian really works. And you've been on stage, so you definitely know. But, you know, a lot of times what's coming out of our mouth is not what we're actually thinking. Right. So what I'm saying. I could be saying something, but I can be really thinking about what I'm about to say 10 minutes from now. All while observing the room and just paying attention to different tendencies. I look at everything. If it's a guy and a lady sitting next to each other, I'm watching. As I'm performing, I'm watching how they interact with each other. Are they together? Do this look like a first date? I'm observing the room like that. Even if it's two dudes, that's going to raise an eyebrow right away. Speaker 2 (6:46) What y'all doing in here? What a Speaker 1 (6:47) hoes. I Speaker 2 (6:48) believe it was two dudes you had in the audience. But they were like masculine dudes. Yeah. But they were on a date. They Speaker 1 (6:58) were Speaker 2 (6:58) on Speaker 1 (6:58) a Speaker 2 (6:58) date, yeah. And Speaker 1 (6:59) you Speaker 2 (6:59) caught it like, no, no, no. The Miami guys. I think I was in, Speaker 1 (7:02) I think that's when I was. I think it's Atlanta. No, no. Because I heard it happen twice. But one of the times, the dudes was actually gay. Oh, wow. And they was sitting in, they was kind of sitting in the back. But one of the dudes, he wasn't ready for the world to know. Okay, okay, Speaker 2 (7:19) okay. Speaker 1 (7:19) You know what I'm saying? But I seen it. Okay, this wasn't the bus driver. This wasn't the bus Speaker 2 (7:24) driver guy, Speaker 1 (7:24) right? This was the bus driver guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool, cool, cool. So what was his name? Speaker 2 (7:28) Why you telling me because I'm talking to this? Yeah. Speaker 1 (7:31) So I seen something when I seen him, bro. And that was when I finally said something. It was the end of my set. And I had been seeing it all night long. And I was like, you know what? Let me find out what I'm thinking. Most times it be me trying to figure out if I didn't guess this shit right the whole show. So when I went over there to him, you know, the one dude was really, like, loud about it. And the other dude, like I said, you know, he put his head down. Like, man, they caught us. We caught. But, no, man, just, you know, just being able to just, you know. I always tell people this is that if you just have a conversation with just any random person in the world, you're going to find out something interesting about them just based off the questions that you ask. So if I'm sitting in a room of 400 or 500 people, it's something in here, you know what I'm saying, that we're going to be able to laugh at or, you know what I'm saying, or there's going to be something interesting to learn just about just a regular person that we sit next to. Right. Speaker 2 (8:28) Now, um... internet sketch comedy, right? It's like, a lot of people say that because, you know, you have the edits. Like, Like a lot of the comedians who got famous through Instagram, a lot of the comedians who got famous through the rawness just hitting the stage, they critique them sometimes, not in like a bad way, but just saying like, Speaker 1 (8:48) you Speaker 2 (8:48) know what? It's Speaker 1 (8:48) in a Speaker 2 (8:48) bad way. It is in Speaker 1 (8:50) a Speaker 2 (8:50) bad Speaker 1 (8:50) way? Speaker 2 (8:50) Yeah, Speaker 1 (8:51) you ain't got to shitcoat that shit. Them old niggas be mad, man. Speaker 2 (8:57) Here's my point I'm trying to make, right? How did you balance? Because you got the skits. Like, you got funny skits. You got to sit this up-to-date stage there. But you balance it by killing on the stage. Now, I'm going to be honest. This is the reason why I said you're my favorite comedian as of now. It's because I don't see other people having that balance. Like, to me, if you ask me hands down right now, when it comes to sketch comedy, I'm giving it to Drewski. Sketch, internet. Instagram comedy. Like, if it comes to just that, one alone, like, every fucking skit, yeah. Like, the OG, the OG that's, oh, where is he? Like, I know him! Speaker 7 (9:37) I know Speaker 8 (9:38) that Speaker 1 (9:38) guy! The Joe Speaker 7 (9:39) Jackson skit Speaker 1 (9:40) was funny as fuck. Every time he got to go in and get that film. Yeah, Speaker 7 (9:44) yeah, Speaker 1 (9:44) yeah. Janet got offended Speaker 2 (9:46) by that. That's Speaker 7 (9:47) how Speaker 2 (9:47) you know it was real. Janet came out and was like, fuck you! She didn't say that, but she said something like that. But what I'm saying is, now, I would bet my money, like, if someone said, hey, like, even, I would put him against Dave Chappelle. Like, I know that's being disrespectful. I'm not being disrespectful. You Speaker 1 (10:04) put him against Speaker 2 (10:04) Dave Chappelle. No, I'm talking about Drewski, like, as far as just the sketch comedy, just for three minutes. Like, I'm not saying the 28, 28, you know, Dave Chappelle whole show. I'm saying for that, for it to fit Instagram. Yeah. Like, I feel like Drewski is up there with anybody. But now. Yeah. Can I bring him to the Apollo? Speaker 1 (10:24) You know, here's Speaker 2 (10:26) the Speaker 1 (10:26) thing, man. I haven't seen Drewski. you know, on stage. And that honestly may not be his thing. You know what I'm saying? That might not be his thing. And I think a lot of times, you know, they try to group the comedians as, okay, if you do stand-up, then you a real comedian. But if you do skits, then you just a skit comedian. I just think if you make, if your job, if the end goal is to make people laugh, then you a comedian. You may be a comedic actor. Right. You may be a stand-up comedian. You may do both. But I don't think that that takes away from it. So I don't think Drewski has to do stand-up to kind of solidify himself in the comedy game. Because here's the thing. If Dave Chappelle never went off and did stand-up, would we not be saying that the Chappelle show was one of the greatest shows of all time? I Speaker 2 (11:15) have to agree and disagree because I believe. I believe his stand-up is what got him them roles in the movies, which trickled down to the Chappelle show. Yeah, so I believe a little bit what you're about to say. I'm Speaker 1 (11:29) going to be Speaker 2 (11:29) honest with you. Speaker 1 (11:30) I've seen the Chappelle show. I don't really recall any stand-up specials from him. back way then. I more so remember seeing him in the movies. Oh, okay. I Speaker 8 (11:42) hear Speaker 1 (11:42) what you're saying. Speaker 2 (11:43) I remember that. Speaker 1 (11:45) It's not a Chappelle stand-up from back then. It wasn't classic. It wasn't classic Chappelle stand-ups. You are correct. It wasn't anything from back then that we can pull from that and be like... Speaker 2 (11:56) His stand-up stand-ups came out after the Chappelle show. I would have to agree with you. Once he came back from when Speaker 1 (12:02) he left and he started dropping the stand-ups, then it was like, damn, now this really... You know what I'm saying? Because he already had us hooked from the show. Right, right. I just want to ask, Speaker 7 (12:11) how old are you? 36. Yeah, he was doing stand Speaker 1 (12:15) -up way before. No, I know that he was, but what I'm saying is, tell me a classic stand-up special from back then. It's like Speaker 2 (12:22) Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt. His first Speaker 7 (12:24) one, Killing Me Softly, is a classic. Yeah, that's right. I'm on Speaker 2 (12:30) Brooklyn, right? Was it that in Brooklyn or was it in Jersey? Speaker 7 (12:35) I forgot where he did that one. It Speaker 2 (12:36) was Brooklyn, New Jersey. Yeah, Speaker 7 (12:38) but that one is a classic, but you have to be a real fan. The Chappelle show is what took him over the top. Yeah, that's Speaker 2 (12:45) all Speaker 7 (12:45) I was saying. He's always been doing stand-up. And the thing that you're saying about these internet comics, not all of them. necessarily want to be stand-up. Stand-up is a very specific thing. This guy is skilled enough to do it all. But the problem that he said old niggas got a problem with is these internet comedians that then go on stage, but they don't have the stage presence or the jokes. So they're like, well, why are you going on stage then? Drewski said, I remember Kevin Hart yelled at Drewski. He was like, get on stage. And he was like, I don't really... I Speaker 2 (13:19) would Speaker 7 (13:19) do stand-up. That's cool Speaker 2 (13:20) that we have technology now that we can skip certain levels. If we had to, like, you know, like. It's not skipping. I don't think it's skipping. I just think Speaker 1 (13:28) it's a different. Okay. So I'll put it like this in the way you're saying it, right? What took them 20 years back then to do. It can take someone like me, too. Right. Even less. With social media, you can cut it in half. Yeah. But one thing about me, and I can just really speak on my experience, if we look at a lot of the other dudes that kind of blew up from social media and jumped into the stand-up world, like the DC Young Flies and the Country Wings and the Desi Banks, you got to think, when they blew up, They wasn't doing stand-up. You know what I'm saying? It turned into... You got to do stand-up now. So they had to go and try to learn his skill as they were already gaining all of this notoriety. And that's hard in itself because you're not getting the opportunity to go into rooms where people don't know you and you can try to work it out. They was going into rooms where everybody knows you and they waiting for you to be funny. Where am I? You know, I tell people all the time, my rise to where I'm at, it was a slow rise. Speaker 1 (14:38) while my sketches probably was taking a little longer to hit, I was doing stand-up, but I was able to go in rooms. People didn't know me. So I was able to kind of work that muscle. So when I finally popped, I was ready. So I'm walking in the rooms, and people are like, damn, he polished. How he polished like this? Because I had already been putting in the work. Speaker 2 (14:59) Now, you come from Chicago, correct? How does a person, because when you think of Chicago, you don't think of comedians, but Bernie Mac? Who we got? That we got. Okay, so I'm Bernie Mac. Yeah, we probably have D-Ray. D-Ray, yeah. Yeah, Gordon. David Williams. Yeah, Dale Speaker 1 (15:16) Gibbons. Speaker 1 (15:19) Damon Williams, Robin Harris. Robin Harris from Chicago? Yeah. Oh, I didn't know that. Chicago had a Speaker 7 (15:26) lot. Speaker 1 (15:26) He Speaker 7 (15:26) was from Speaker 1 (15:26) Peoria, Illinois. Okay, which is your cousin. He left the block. Yeah, he left the Speaker 7 (15:29) block. He's Speaker 2 (15:30) from Speaker 7 (15:30) Yonkers. Okay, okay. I'm Speaker 1 (15:32) from Speaker 7 (15:32) Chicago. So Speaker 2 (15:33) how does a person that's coming up from Chicago, how do they get into this game? Because, again, like you said, you use the tools of Instagram. Well, I said it, and you co-signed it. Is that... The end-all, be-all right now for a new comedian? Speaker 1 (15:48) What is that? Like, you know, is it social media? I mean, here's Speaker 2 (15:51) the Speaker 1 (15:51) thing. I think social media is very important. And if you want to be in the entertainment industry, social media is very important. Right. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's just, there's no way around it. And I think a lot of times people just think that you just got to be funny. And it's just really a business, too, at the same time. You got to market yourself. And, you know, you got to attract the people that's going to like what you're putting out. Right. So if you, you know, we go back to back in the day when comedians was in New York and they going from the cellar to this spot, to that spot, to this spot. They doing five shows, five, six shows a night just to be able to get up and, you know what I'm saying, to get on stage and hopefully be seen by some agent or some executive or something like that. Where now you can. Your social media is your resume. You know what I'm saying? And people can go and look at it and say, okay, well, he didn't convince 3 million people to follow him based on what he's doing. He must be doing something right. Let's take a deeper dive. Whereas they go see a guy, yeah, this dude funny. We go to his page. He got 1,500 followers, and it's like, yeah, okay, he playing, but Speaker 6 (16:56) who Speaker 1 (16:56) cares? You know what I'm saying? So I think the social media is definitely, it's just a big part of it. Ain't nowhere around it. And what I be trying to get the old heads to understand is that instead of sitting around, okay, instead of sitting around, you know, complaining about how this shit going, how I ain't doing that social media shit, listen. Speaker 1 (17:19) A nigga like me didn't complain when I had to learn how to do it y'all way. I didn't complain. I didn't say, I ain't finna go do no damn open mic thing. I ain't say that. They told me this is what it took to get to where I need to go. This is what I'm gonna do. So if we telling y'all Speaker 2 (17:35) this Speaker 1 (17:36) is what it take, you know what I'm saying, in order for you to get where you trying to go, I just really don't even understand why you wouldn't do it. It's like social media is gonna put you in a place where You ain't got to work nearly as hard as you had to back then. You could be right at your crib. Speaker 2 (17:54) Find Speaker 1 (17:54) out what your niche is and put that out. Speaker 2 (17:57) Because Speaker 1 (17:57) I'm telling you, that's the only way. People talking about they not selling tickets, but I see so many comedians complaining about, oh, ain't nobody buying tickets. That's because people are paying for what they want to see. Like, if you go on my page and you see my clips, you like. damn, I want to experience this live. Show me what I'm getting. Because like you said, it's been a lot of dudes blow up from social media and they get to the show and it's like, oh no, this ain't it. This ain't what I was seeing online. You know what I'm saying? So I would encourage all the old heads, figure it out. Get you one of these YNs and show you how to work this show. Exactly. Speaker 5 (18:38) Whether you're stepping up to the starting line of a marathon or just trying to take the first step toward a big, scary goal, the conversation in your head is usually the same. Do I have what it takes? I'm Emily Abadi, and on Hurdle with Emily Abadi, we dive into the grit, vulnerability, and mindset that fuels our greatest comebacks. I talk to elite athletes, Olympic champions, industry changemakers, and everyday runners about how they face self-doubt, redefine success, and keep moving forward when life gets heavy. I just love to say I never know who's watching. So you want to make sure you you through and through and you just stay true to who you are. Yeah, your path might change because different things come on your path to disrupt it. But it's just putting you on a new path and the skills you have to have faith that the skills that you've learned and developed over time are going to continue to bring you success. When the world is burning and crashing around you, will you still say fight for your dream? Will you still say it's possible? Will you still believe you're a good person? Can you still see the brighter side of tomorrow? It's motivation, real talk, and practical wisdom for life on and off the run. Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abadi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (19:47) You broke me. You do not deserve happiness. Speaker 4 (19:50) I'm Andrea Gunning. On this season of Betrayal, we meet Carl Bryant. Carl thought he was living a normal, drama-free life until the messages started. Speaker 6 (20:01) You will have hell to pay. Speaker 4 (20:04) For nine months, someone infiltrated every aspect of Carl's life, threatening to ruin him. Speaker 6 (20:12) Cyberstalking, swatting, extortion, impersonation. Speaker 4 (20:16) And then the text threats escalated. Speaker 6 (20:20) Someone's not going to make it out of this alive. Speaker 6 (20:24) It's playing out in real life, not just on the phone. Speaker 4 (20:28) Every piece of evidence pointed to one man. But every piece of evidence was a lie. Speaker 6 (20:35) He was not going to stop unless we stopped him. Speaker 4 (20:40) Listen to Betrayal Season 6 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 6 (20:49) Hey, everybody. It's me, W. Kamau Bell. This season of my podcast, who's with me, I speak with two-time Emmy winner and weirdly one of my best friends, Kevin Avery. Everything up to that point, Bill G was a comic. Us going on the road, doing Battle Mountain and Ely and all Speaker 1 (21:04) this shit. Yeah, you Speaker 6 (21:04) were one of the first people who took me on the road, which is funny because at the time I was like, I don't know if I like this guy. With Speaker 8 (21:11) rapper, actor, Daveed Diggs. The jump off for me was Hamilton, and it was the most popular thing. In a very long time. Yeah. But it was still, for me, it was me and my friends making something dumb. Bruce Lee's daughter and Brandon Lee's sister, Shannon Speaker 6 (21:27) Lee. Speaker 3 (21:27) Back to your initial point of stewarding my father's legacy and giving my energy to that. You're lending your life to stewarding somebody else's life. Speaker 6 (21:39) Listen to Who's With Me with Debbie Kamau Bell on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (21:47) Welcome aboard season six of The Girlfriends, Flight or Fight, which takes place 30,000 feet in the sky. There's great food, comfortable chairs, and attentive stewardesses. The stewardesses were so beautiful. But in reality, the stewardess job is far less glamorous than it appears. It was the most sexist job I think you could have. Speaker 3 (22:16) In this era, the airlines told these stewardesses they have to be single. They had no good excuse for why they wouldn't let women be married. They have to be skinny. We were starving ourselves. And they have to be young. You would retire at age 32. But one day, a group of stewardesses said, This has got to stop. They risked it all, turning a fight for fairness into a revolution. Speaker 3 (22:47) Listen to The Girlfriends, Flight or Fight, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Is there an epidemic against literature? More specifically, Black literature. Our books are being banned, scanned by AI, and destroyed. I'm Jacquees Peace Thomas, and on this season of the Black Lit Podcast, we're outside asking some of the custodians of our stories, teachers, and our modern-day writers why. They don't want a whole bunch of little Ella Bakers, Malcolm Xs, and Martin Luther Kings running around. They want to build children who have no empathy. That's really the ultimate goal. We want books that don't make white kids feel bad. So is the war on literacy and information or our ability to connect? We want people to know how sexy reading is and how fun it could be and not always associated with education. It could be an escape. It could be entertainment. And that is the beauty of reading. It can be all of those things. And considering this is Black Reading Month, the only real question is, What are you reading next? Listen to Black Lit from the Black Effect Podcast Network on our iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 2 (24:03) So, um, like I'm bouncing around, but, um, I wanted to correlate this because, um, a friend of mine's right. As I'm researching you, a friend of mine's had an album release party, Busta Rhymes. Right. And, um, he actually did the exact opposite of you. Right. So you, you. On one hand, you let everyone film. You kind of encourage people to film at the shows. Oh, really? That's what it seems like. Speaker 1 (24:28) No, no, no. At my shows, we're at the point now where we lock and phone up. Lock and phone up. The Speaker 2 (24:34) Yonder bag. That's Speaker 1 (24:38) what Speaker 2 (24:38) they call Speaker 1 (24:38) it. Speaker 2 (24:38) I got to take that. Speaker 8 (24:40) That's what they call it. That's what they Speaker 1 (24:43) call it. Speaker 1 (24:50) Definitely, you know, you want this stuff locked up because, you know, we do have a routine, and you don't want people to record that and put that out on social media. Right. Because now it's like, now people that came to the show and they done already heard the Speaker 2 (25:05) shit. Speaker 1 (25:05) They know your jokes. Yeah. Speaker 2 (25:06) That was my point because a lot of your things when you were on stage, I can see it being promoted from a third party, right? So that's like... That's like a good thing, right? But then I'm watching Busta Rhymes. And he's making everyone, like, kind of, like, lock their phones up. And he's telling people not to do it. So I'm like, damn, is it a good thing? Because it's a good thing because your music doesn't get bootlegged, right? But sometimes, like, that one little snippet of something, somebody having that and they're going out and people being so thirsty of it, that's Speaker 1 (25:40) the Speaker 2 (25:40) viral moment. Like, viral doesn't have permission. Like, to go viral, you don't Speaker 1 (25:44) need permission. I feel like when it comes to the music, it's like... Y'all should let them have their phones out. Only because it's like. No. Just hear me out. No, I'm just saying. I'm just saying, right? Chris Brown and Usher now are out right now. Yeah, Speaker 2 (26:00) yeah. Them niggas are fucking, yeah. Speaker 1 (26:01) They doing the same songs that we all know. Hits. Hits. They doing hits. Like, we all know these songs when we go, we know Usher gonna do Nice and Slow. You know, we know Chris Brown gonna do Run It. Like, we know all these songs. Like, we know them. So, to me, it's like, like, show the atmosphere. Show the vibe. Show, you know, show how much of a good time it is. I just don't, you know, I guess when you do get certain parts of your show, like, I think Rod Wave had the thing one time where he was falling off of the... you know, off of the... Who, the big guy right away? Yeah, right away. Remember? He Speaker 7 (26:36) be Speaker 1 (26:36) falling off and shit? Hell yeah. No, I didn't know that. Man, look at him. Yeah, okay, okay. He was stage night? No, no, no. He was on the balcony or some shit and just fell back. Oh, shit. Yeah, love the crowd. That's what made him like Speaker 7 (26:50) that. He like, man, Speaker 8 (26:51) they ain't even Speaker 1 (26:52) catch Speaker 7 (26:52) that, man. No. But, Speaker 1 (26:54) girl, all these big niggas in the front right away, just imagine being down there like, no, you ain't from the farm. But no, he in a park. So, you know, I guess it is stuff like that where you may want that to be like an element of surprise for the people who bought the tickets. So, you know, I can see it. I can see it, you know, both ways. But I feel like for the comedian, it's just a little different. We could hear the same song a hundred times. You know what I'm saying? But you hear the same joke a hundred times. Yeah, it's not the same. The comedy is based on the surprise. Speaker 7 (27:25) Yes. You said, yeah, something relatable, something you know, boom, punch. It's Speaker 2 (27:29) the Speaker 7 (27:29) surprise. You don't Speaker 2 (27:30) want Speaker 7 (27:30) to ruin that. You know what's fucked up? Speaker 2 (27:32) And I noticed that. Because I've started to become friends with comedians. I'm spoiled when it comes to comedy. Like... Like, if I go to Dave Chappelle's show on Friday and I know he's going to do the same show on Sunday, I probably only will go on Sunday because I see how he perfected it from Friday to Sunday. But I'm like, spoil you. I'm like, all right, cool. I'm going to go to the next show when he uses another more material. And it's like, damn, that's so much pressure I'm putting on y'all. I didn't even know that. Bro, listen to me. Speaker 1 (28:02) I done had people, like, down here, I broke the record for the most sold out show. Goddamn. Speaker 2 (28:10) We got that monster too. We got that monster. Let's go. Let's go. But Speaker 1 (28:14) God damn it. God damn it. So, so when you do it, so when you got, you know, you got nine different shows, every show, you know, every show going to be different. But I've had people this weekend. that was at the show Thursday. Yes. And then we performed last night. Uh-huh. And they was like, man, I was here Thursday, bro. But it's a whole different show than it was Thursday. So, but it does put pressure on us like when they asked. Hey, I'm coming to see you in Tampa later this year. Is it going to be the same thing we have tonight or is it going to be something different? It's just like. Speaker 2 (28:46) People Speaker 1 (28:46) ask you that. Hell yeah. Sometimes they talk a Speaker 7 (28:49) little greasy when they talk to comics. Like, you want to do the same jokes? Bro, if you. Speaker 1 (28:55) That's the biggest thing that I'm learning about, you know, being in this space and, you know, and continuing to grow. I Speaker 2 (29:01) didn't even Speaker 1 (29:01) realize that. Speaker 2 (29:02) What? I didn't realize how much more pressure. People will stop coming to see Speaker 1 (29:06) you. If you use it. Yeah. You got two times. Especially with black people. That's it. You better come with some new shit the second time they come and see you. And even if it's not all the way new, at least let 60 % of it be. Come with some shit they ain't heard. And the uniqueness about what I'm doing is my crowd work is going to be different every show. Because Speaker 2 (29:30) the crowd is different every show. So my Speaker 1 (29:32) shows are different every time I get on stage. The material though, You know what I'm saying? That could be, you know, right now, like the tour that I did last year, the tour that I'm doing this year are two different, way different material. So, you know, but it's about you got to get in the clubs, you know what I'm saying, to kind of work on this stuff because now I'm at a point where I'm trying out new shit in front of people who didn't pay that money to want to laugh. So I got to bring it. Right. Like, I got to make sure the new shit hitting. So it's a lot of pressure. Stop doing us like that. Right. Speaker 7 (30:05) No, it's hard with comedy because I tell people all the time, because I was a DJ first, right? You can sit in your room for two, three hours a day, practice your DJ, and you're going to get better. You can't practice comedy in your room. You have to do it on stage. Well, Speaker 2 (30:19) you can't practice funny. Speaker 7 (30:21) You need the audience. It's a give and take with the audience. You can practice the words, but it's how they're going to react. Comedy's got to be on stage. Speaker 1 (30:30) It's the timing and everything. You Speaker 7 (30:32) got a built-in device. It's different every time. Listen, Speaker 2 (30:36) I studied the shit out of your shows. That's what's crazy about your shows. At least, everything I've been seeing and saw is... Your crowd and you have an understanding. That shit is, like, listen, listen to me. That's not normal. Yeah. That's not normal. Like, you have, for lack of a better term, because I really have lack of a better term, you have a cult following. Yeah. Speaker 1 (31:01) So they know how to get to that point. I mean, everything that I say, they know, like, even when it go to the phone calls, when I'm about to call, before I even can say it, they in the crowd call them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's wicked, man. I think I was talking to me and Kevin Hart was talking. He had came to my show in New York, and he was like, man, he was like, if your fans can almost feel like they know you, you're going to be all right. Oh, that's great advice. And after he came to the show, and he was like. Oh yeah, they feel like they know you. Yeah, I feel like I know you. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And I'm Speaker 2 (31:41) a Speaker 1 (31:41) fan. The first time I met him, he was at, I don't know if y'all seen his Wild N Out episode. Oh yeah, I was talking to him. He was fucked. Yeah. That's all they were talking about back then. He was fucked up. Yes, I was. When he came in and he saw me, he looked, he was like. I know you. Just walked up. And then he went on. I wasn't on the episode, but I'm backstage. He told us what was up on TV. Let's Speaker 2 (32:05) make some Speaker 1 (32:05) noise. Speaker 2 (32:07) I ain't gonna lie. Now, Nick is another one. Nick is another one where I appreciate his sketch comedy so much. And I appreciate him catering to his sketches online. Like, he'd be funny. But then if I see him live on stage, I love Nick. But I'm not going to Nick's show on the stage. No, no, no, that's my man. That's my man. But, you know, I'm going to Speaker 1 (32:28) be Speaker 2 (32:28) honest. He might not come to my Spanish shows. You know what I'm saying? It's okay. It's okay. We have an agreement. Was he going to be Spanish Speaker 1 (32:35) with Manel? Speaker 2 (32:36) Motherfucking right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did Nick come in? I forgot he had a great name. People didn't figure. But that's what's crazy. It's like, for me, with you, it's like, and I know I can't probably say this with a lot of people, but I feel like you have a crowd, but I feel like you don't have a crowd. Meaning, what I say about that is, like, you can... actually cater to each audience. Like I told you earlier, my DJ used to tell me, yo, listen, tonight we're going to do some Spanish records. Then he'll come back, he'll Speaker 1 (33:08) be Speaker 2 (33:08) like, listen, we all black tonight. Like, you know what I'm saying? We all on T-O-N-Y. We all on like some rough guy shit. And then he'll come back and say, hey man, we know we're going to do a little bit more R &B. It's a lot more girls in the crowd tonight. But for you, this is me asking you, because this is for me seeing, like, If they say Wichita, Kansas, right? Yeah. And then they say Atlanta. Yeah. Is that the same show? No. Okay, yeah. Speaker 1 (33:36) Here's the thing, you know. Speaker 1 (33:40) For me, my thing is, as far as the material, I'm writing material that is, you know, that anybody can understand. It don't matter what color you is. Universal. Yeah, it's just very universal. Like, I'm talking about shit that we all done been through, and if you ain't been through it, you know somebody. Yep. You know who's been through it. Now, what I will say is that when you go to certain cities, you might got to say it a little different. Speaker 2 (34:05) So Speaker 1 (34:05) when I go to Atlanta, you know what I'm saying, I might got to put a little extra sauce on it. Shawty? Yeah. When I go to Wichita, Kansas, I may not have to be that aggressive with it. I may can say it in a way where, you know, they get it. Like, it's just all in the delivery. But, yeah, you change it. But I don't. It's certain jokes that I will do if I'm like, okay, I got a joke. Speaker 1 (34:30) about Mexicans, right? If I see it's a lot of, and it ain't even really necessarily about Mexicans, but it's a Mexican twist in the joke. But if I see that we got Mexicans there tonight, then, you know, I look at the room, I be like, okay, well, I'm going to throw this in there tonight. So it's just really... So you catered to them. I catered to Speaker 2 (34:48) them. Speaker 1 (34:48) Whoever's there, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it all goes back to me wanting to make sure that every show is different because now I've reached a status where... People are, you know, flying from different cities to, you know, come and see me. So, you know Speaker 7 (35:02) what Speaker 1 (35:02) I'm Speaker 7 (35:02) saying? Bless, Speaker 1 (35:02) bro. Yeah. God bless. Speaker 7 (35:05) Wait, but you ever do, like, an older black show or, like, even might be, like, a church show? I did a church show. I ain't did one in a long time, yeah. You gotta be like, how do I curse? Church show? Speaker 2 (35:18) Yeah. Because Speaker 7 (35:18) you can't curse. Yeah. Speaker 2 (35:19) And you can't even say penis. Why would you say that in church? Speaker 1 (35:23) I don't Speaker 2 (35:23) know. Speaker 1 (35:24) Why is that called? Why is penis the one like you can't dance? I don't know. You can't say penis in a church. Speaker 2 (35:32) I'm saying because that's clean, right? That's not a bad word technically. You could have said you can't say coochie. Like I Speaker 1 (35:37) would have preferred that. Penis, I don't know. Speaker 7 (35:43) But you could do it. You could turn the cursor off. Speaker 1 (35:45) Yeah, I can turn it off. If it's like, if I go in there and they're like, you cannot curse, and I'd be like, okay. It's rough for me, bro. It's hard, bro. I'm Speaker 2 (35:53) from Speaker 1 (35:53) the Middle Speaker 2 (35:54) East. No curses. Yeah, yeah. I just had to do the Speaker 1 (35:57) TV track. Speaker 2 (35:58) Oh, yeah. Overseas, yeah. It's certain Speaker 1 (36:01) stuff. Like, they was talking about me coming over there to do a show, and they was like, yeah, it's certain shit you can't. We're in Dubai? Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. They say it's certain shit you cannot. And if you say it, they say they'll take you to Speaker 2 (36:12) the Speaker 1 (36:12) dance Speaker 2 (36:12) floor. Speaker 1 (36:12) It's Speaker 2 (36:12) not Speaker 1 (36:12) that Speaker 2 (36:12) much, bro. Speaker 1 (36:12) There's people there Speaker 2 (36:13) that's there for that to monitor your dialect. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It Speaker 7 (36:20) ain't Speaker 2 (36:20) much, bro. There's a lot of people like that. There's Speaker 7 (36:21) a Speaker 2 (36:21) lot of places like Speaker 7 (36:22) that. I did Speaker 2 (36:22) a lot of shows Speaker 7 (36:22) out there. This monster Speaker 2 (36:23) shit got me going Speaker 7 (36:24) crazy. It ain't much. Now you can't say that you can't say. Yeah, like it's changing a lot, right? I went out there with Chappelle. I went out there with Moama, who's Arab, that don't talk about. the religion. Okay. Don't talk about the royals. Okay. Don't disrespect the religion. Other than that, they let us fly. Speaker 1 (36:41) Nah, I heard. They said they don't want you to talk about no gay shit. They don't want you to talk about that. I don't think Speaker 2 (36:47) you should talk about that gay shit out there. That's what I'm saying, but I'm just saying like... You can't say dick and pussy out there either? I did. You did? I did. Yeah. I ain't gonna let him say Speaker 8 (36:56) that. No, no. Speaker 7 (36:57) You said like you ain't believe him at all. Speaker 8 (37:00) They say I know where my fucking dad Speaker 7 (37:02) lives in the desert. Speaker 2 (37:03) I'm Speaker 8 (37:03) a Speaker 2 (37:03) gambler. You know what I'm saying? You like future DJ now. You're 56 days. This motherfucker do what? Oh, my God. So, one time, right, I was doing a reggae throwing show, right? Mm-hmm. Speaker 2 (37:16) That's Spanish music. Hold on. Just check in. He's from Chicago, man. I'm Speaker 1 (37:23) from Chicago. But you're not from Humboldt Speaker 7 (37:25) Park? And I'm from Speaker 1 (37:25) Humboldt Park. You're from there? I'm from Humboldt Park. Oh, he's fishing. Yeah, he's fishing. He's stabbed a couple of people. He's stabbed a couple of people. We know that. Puerto Rican stabbed. I was best friends with a bunch of Latin kids. I want to apologize. Speaker 2 (37:42) I'm sorry, bro. So check it, right? The promoter told me that a certain artist did not want to come on after me. Like, I had to close the show, right? Like, he was really weird. I don't want to say it right now. I was done with them all. Yeah, Speaker 1 (37:54) yeah, Speaker 2 (37:54) done with them all. We weren't going to say it. I said it. I said it. He said it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, I mean, it wasn't said to me, right? So what I'm trying to say to you is I have read a story or heard a story where you was caught in an airport. Mm-hmm. And Mike Epps was the closer. Speaker 1 (38:10) Yeah. Speaker 2 (38:11) But you wanted to make the show. You did an Instagram post. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You Speaker 1 (38:15) posted it. Yeah, I wasn't going to make it. My flight had got canceled. And this was on the We The Ones tour, so it was me, 85 South. Yeah. And I think it was me, 85 South. I think TK Kirkland was on there and Mike Epps was the headliner. This was my third year. Doing it in the first year, I was the opener. You know what I'm saying? Then the second year, they moved me up maybe about a slot or two. And then this past year was kind of like, you know, I was walking out. getting standing ovations at the show. It didn't matter where they hit me at. Like, I was just, like, these people was going crazy when I was walking out. But that particular show was Memphis. Memphis easily, like, one of my biggest markets. And I could just feel, like, how excited they was. Like, they was DMing Speaker 2 (39:03) me, man. Speaker 1 (39:03) We can't wait for you to get here. So now we at the airport, and the weather was bad that day. So the first, our first flight got canceled. So then we try to go get on American Airlines. So we switch over to American. They got a flight, everything looking good. We getting ready to board. And then they had a flight to Tennessee. So we sitting there and it's over. And I ain't going to lie to you, bro. It wasn't even like about nothing else other than that I just really wanted to do the show. So I waited to the last minute. The show had probably started by then. It was about 8, 8.30. I make the video like, yo, Memphis, I'm not going to make it. I'm going to make it up to y'all. And, I mean, it was people pissed. Like, I mean, they sent me messages like, hey, you ain't going to make it. You should have brought your ass out here the day before. Are they thinking you Speaker 2 (39:45) pranking them at the time? No, you can really see it in my face. Okay, okay, okay. Like, Speaker 1 (39:51) this Speaker 2 (39:51) shit was real. Speaker 1 (39:52) So, maybe about 15, 20 minutes, like, me and the promoter, man, and shout out to my boy Blake with BME Entertainment. But me and the promoter, we get on the phone, and he was like, hey, listen, we're going to hold a show as long as we can. Just let me know if you're able to get out. So out of nowhere, the flight attendants come. We get on the plane, bro. Speaker 2 (40:11) Y'all start clapping for the flight attendants, right? They started clapping. The bitch should have been there. I Speaker 1 (40:17) would have missed his money, man. This shit crazy, man. But no, bro, we get on the plane. And I was sitting next to this white lady on the plane, bro. And she was a stud. And I normally don't, you know, I like to get on a plane, put my headphones on, go to sleep. But I talked to this lady. All the way there. And she just kept on telling me, oh, you're going to make it. You're going to make it. I'm like, no. I'm like, I'm looking at the time right now. You know, we just now taking off. Like, I'm not going to make it. She's like, no, you're going to make it. You're going to make it. So as soon as we land, the promoter called me. It's like 1030. The show normally ends at about 1030. Wow. So he called me. He said, yo. Where you at? I said, we just landed. I said, Mike is getting ready to, you know, they say, he said, Mike, well, Mike getting ready to go up. He said, man, it would be player if Mike go ahead and let you close. Now, the thing about it is, is that, you know. Now, this is big Speaker 2 (41:08) in Speaker 1 (41:08) the Speaker 2 (41:08) comedian world, right? I just want, I don't want the fans to understand. That's the reason why I said that story earlier. So, Speaker 1 (41:15) you know, when the headliner goes on stage, that's it. That's it. Ain't no. Ain't no special Speaker 2 (41:23) guest. Speaker 1 (41:24) Everybody leaving. Like, that's it. And most headliners don't want anyone else to go up on stage after them. You know what I'm saying? Like, it just is what it is. I've seen it. So, and I mean, I'm guilty of it. Like, I done done shows and a motherfucker pop in like, hey, man, can I go up? I mean, not after me. Shit over with. Speaker 8 (41:43) Right, right, right. You missed it. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaker 1 (41:47) So, um. Man, so he was like, man, we play and Mike let you close. So they hit me back about 10 minutes and was like, yo, hurry up and get here. Mike going to let you close. You know, we're going to stretch the show out as much as we can. Had you met Mike prior to that? Yeah, Speaker 2 (41:59) yeah, yeah. Speaker 1 (41:59) This was like, this was the third tour we was doing together. So, you know, by this time, me and Mike was cool. And, you know, Mike had already kind of like, kind of had, you know, started recognizing me as the new young dude that's coming up, you know. And so they called me back. They said, man, Mike going to let you close. So now Mike on stage and Mike doing anything he can to keep the people there. He's stretching the show. Like, yo, y'all, Mojo coming. Like, he's 10 minutes away. That's crazy. So we get there. And I get out the car, bro. I get to the stage. And somebody just pushed me, like, just go. So I walk up on the stage, man. I walk out. And Mike was trying to introduce me. But by this time, I'm already out on the stage. Bro, the arena, I just ain't never seen nothing like that shit, man. I mean, it went crazy. I Speaker 3 (42:48) ended Speaker 1 (42:48) up doing my set, but even when I walked out, I still had chills from how, like, I've never seen, like, it was people leaving. When I got on stage, I saw people walking back to come to their seats. Wow. That's fire. It was like, at that moment, it was just like, Hey, you different. And, you know, being on that tour for three years, I talked to a lot of dudes that was like, hey, I don't want to close. I don't want to close. Like, I don't want to go after all these comedians. I don't want to do this. So that was kind of in the back of my head. Like, you know, this was a hard thing to do. Or this was a thing like that was frowned upon that just the other comedians didn't want to do. And when I did it