But Puffy/Diddy/Sean John, could you please STOP? I know I’m not the only one who wishes that Puffy would stop making albums. That’s really not his gift. “Stunt with a stallion or somethin’ Italian or maybe Puerto Rican, you can catch me in Paris”???? WHAT? Just be rich Puff… Stop being greedy. Just make clothes, throw parties and be fabulous. You’re really good at that. Boo!
Tony Soprano ovah heah
I road tripped to Jersey today because the university I graduated from was playing Rutgers University. which is in my hometown, We didn’t expect that we’d win. Rutgers is looking pretty good this year… and our team… well, let’s just say our band is the bomb :) During the third quarter I walked a few rows down to talk to someone I hadn’t seen in a while and I happened to glance to the left and realize I’m standing right next to James Gandolfini. I touched his arm and said, “You’re Jim Gandolfini.” DUH, like he didn’t know that… You’d think that as a stand-up I’d be better on my feet… but this was a pretty big. I mean I am a Jersey Girl fo’ sho’ and The Sopranos is just sooooo Jersey. Nobody seemed to see him but me, but I KNOW he was real :) I think… Apparently he graduated from Rutgers and he came to the game to see our band (ahem, ahem… that’s the world famous Showtime Marching Band in case you were wondering). But really, how cool is that? I talked to Tony Soprano… I swear I miss Jersey so much.
Opinions
I’ve never been short on opinions… I guess that helps in this line of work, but I’m always very wary of offering up my opinions on material to other comics when they haven’t asked. Some folks have no problem doing it. They’ll walk up right after your set and hand you an index card full of suggestions… but it always makes me uncomfortable… You never know how people will receive it. And if you really don’t like something, how do you diplomatically tell someone that their idea is weak? I usually end up doing more “I hope you don’t mind, but”s and “well, it’s just my opinion”s and “maybe it’s just not my style”s than anything constructive. I hate it, hate it, hate it… But last nite I sucked it up and offered a few unsolicited suggestions on a bit or two to a fellow comic and she was very receptive. It wasn’t any rocket science. Just stuff folks have said to me, but she got it and it made me feel good to pass on those few nuggets… So………… from now on this journal is going to be dedicated solely to my opinions on other people’s material. What’s good. What blows… complete with website links and bios. It’s gonna be so liberating! :)
Tee hee…
That would be awful wouldn’t it? I bet the traffic on my site would super-quadruple :) The end. Oh and I’m putting the Jamie Foxx joint back up for all y’all who missed it. It’s a couple years old, but still funny as all hell.
We be Jammin’
So as you probably know, the new season of Def Jam has begun airing. I’m happy it’s back. And it’s even better for me now, because I had no idea I’d become a comic back when that show was on the air originally. And now I watch it in a totally different way. I know and have worked with some of those comedians. That’s so wild to me! I’ve heard some comics talk about how Def Jam’s “time is up.” How there’s no money in urban comedy anyway, how the show is really only for Black audiences… That’s ridiculous to me, because the show is on HBO. Do you think HBO would put a show on the air if they thought it wouldn’t make any money and would only be watched by Black folks? That would be dumb on their part. We’re only like 10% of the population in this country. Other people are watching.
Good buddy Vince Morris kicked off the second episode of this season of Def Jam and did an awesome job. He’s not what most would call an “urban” comedian, but he did what he does uncompromisingly and got a standing ovation. YAY for that. Vince has been one of the biggest influences so far in my short career. He’s helped to show me that you don’t have to fit into anyone’s neat little box to make it in this business. And the fact that he was so embraced by the Def Jam audience showed me once again that you don’t have to compromise who you are to play to a particular audience. I’ve had people question my ability to work in Black clubs — My comedy is too accessible to other groups, they say. Will Black audiences find me funny? I have to believe the answer is YES. And not because I’m arrogant enough to think that everyone will find me funny, but because believing otherwise would imply that all Black people were the same — had the same taste. It’d be like saying people like me don’t exist.
I know this entry was jumpy, but I needed to get this off my chest. Thanks for reading. Def Jam rocks.
Ummm… are you serious?
OK… so this morning while I was waiting for the bus, there was this other woman waiting there with her son – He was maybe 2 or 3… I got on to my bus and they were still waiting for the next one. And the bus driver asks me “Is that your little grandson?” GRANDSON? Now granted my face was covered a bit by my jacket hood, but damn if I look like someone’s grandma…
So I’m cool at first like “HA! You really think I look old enough to have a grandkid?” And he’s like, “Well you know these days, people get started so early.” And I’m like WHAT? I’m 28 years old… and so stops for a second and looks at me hard and I’m thinking now he’s gonna look at me and be like oh, my bad… But instead he looks at me and then says YOU’RE 28? – like he couldn’t believe it. Are you SERIOUS? Y’all I was about to cry. For real.
Geography
Toothpaste for Dinner is THE coolest website. The humor may be a little abstract, but it’s HI-larious to me!!! This is a cartoon from last week. I’m still cracking up… Way to blackmail your boss… My mom came to visit me over the long weekend. And she came with me to a show I did on Sunday nite… which was great. I wonder sometimes about how she’ll react to certain material, but she’s always super supportive. It’s awesome to have someone who’s in your corner, no matter what… I’m going to Arizona on Friday for a show. I’m going and coming back all within a 24 hr. period, but it should be a fun time. I hate checking my bags for short trips like that but since you can’t bring ANYTHING on a plane anymore, I guess I’ll have to. Talk to y’all on the other side of the trip!