TaTa Sherise : Survival, Comedy & Turning Pain Into Purpose

0:044 secondsWelcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Taste Music here podcast show.
0:1313 secondsI am your host Ed Porter.
0:1717 secondsThis is the place for full music and culture and how do you all connect?
0:2323 secondsOh, dude, I’m going to watch it now. I think it’s dope. Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of the Taste Music here Food Podcast Show.
0:3131 secondsI am your host Ed Porter and this is the destination for food, music, and culture and how they all connect. My guest
0:3939 secondstonight is uh is first off hilarious as hell. How I came across her. I I binged
0:4848 secondsa bunch of videos non-stop and I was in tears. And uh and then I then I then I
0:5656 secondssaw um little little you know little light network show on Netflix. I was like, “Okay, I got to I’m so I I DM’d
1:051 minute, 5 secondsher and and just shot my shop like, “Yo, you got to I need to have you on the show.” So I’m going to attempt to pay
1:131 minute, 13 secondsyou your just flowers with this intro here. So here we go. Some comedians tell jokes. Some comedians tell truths
1:201 minute, 20 secondsdisguised as jokes. And then there are comics who walk on stage with charisma, chaos, trauma, beauty, rhythm, and
1:281 minute, 28 secondshonesty all at once. Born in Camden, New Jersey, Philly made, Jamaican rooted NYC sharpened, this guest has become one of
1:371 minute, 37 secondsthe fastest rising voices in comedy by turning survival into storytelling and pain into punchlines. Her comedy is raw,
1:451 minute, 45 secondsphysical, vulnerable, loud, honest, and deeply human. She’s been named a New York Comedy Festival comic to watch,
1:521 minute, 52 secondsappeared on Netflix Funny AF, made history as the first black woman to win Philly’s Funniest, and built a cult following through viral clips, live
2:012 minutes, 1 secondshows, and the Girls Got Giggles universe. On this episode of Taste Music Here Food, we’re talking about comedy as therapy, survival as art, Jamaican
2:102 minutes, 10 secondsculture, body image, internet fame, dating, trauma, femininity, moving on stage, and why some of the funniest people often carry the heaviest stories.
2:202 minutes, 20 secondsThis is episode is not just about comedy. This is frequency. This is flavor. Welcome to the Taste Music Food podcast show, Miss Tata Sharice.
2:332 minutes, 33 secondsWhat’s going on is What’s going on? What’s going on? Thank you for being here.
2:372 minutes, 37 secondsFirst of all, you might need to send that to me. That one might need to go on the website. I got you.
2:432 minutes, 43 secondsThat bio that intro might need to it. You got it. It it’s it’s it’s sent.
2:482 minutes, 48 secondsIt’ll be in your inbox for sure. For sure. Thank you so much for for for being here. And yeah, I like it. Thank you so much. No, I appreciate that.
2:562 minutes, 56 secondsOkay, so let’s let’s let’s jump hearing it on the other end. Oh, yeah. You know, so here’s the thing.
3:013 minutes, 1 secondSo, as a as a creative myself, we two things. One, we’re so we’re terrible self-promoters, and we never ever take
3:103 minutes, 10 secondsthe time to celebrate any WS. We’re too busy doing to appreciate the stuff that we put out into the universe and how it
3:193 minutes, 19 secondsaffects other people. So, I my number one job, the thing I take the most time on with doing this show is the intros
3:273 minutes, 27 secondsfor the guests that I have on cuz I appreciate people taking the time to do such and everybody that comes on here is always in the thick of something going on. So, I understand and I appreciate
3:363 minutes, 36 secondsyou taking the time to do this and it’s it’s it’s good for I think people to hear how other people receive it. So,
3:443 minutes, 44 secondsthat’s why I do what I do in speaking and such. Let’s Let’s jump right the hell in. Absolutely. Let’s jump right in. Thank you for having me here.
3:523 minutes, 52 secondsThank Thank you for being here. So, when did you realize that humor wasn’t just something that
3:593 minutes, 59 secondsyou had, but something that you could literally save your life with?
4:074 minutes, 7 secondsUh I realized that at a young age, probably elementary school, when I started breaking out of that quiet shell and I got to school, you know, going
4:154 minutes, 15 secondsthrough things back home. uh you know, my mom becoming a a drug addict and my dad was in jail at the time. And so when
4:234 minutes, 23 secondsI was going kids to school, I uh connected more with the silly kids because it just felt good and it helped
4:324 minutes, 32 secondsme find the silly in me, you know, even though I grew up, you know, around a pretty comical family and we all enjoy standup and stuff, but you know, it was
4:414 minutes, 41 secondsmore about finding my own voice, right, when I’ll go away to school. And I’m like, “Oh, wow. I’m actually kind of funny.” And I I did the whole class clown thing. I was a class clown for for
4:494 minutes, 49 secondsmy time in in school from elementary, middle school, and high school.
4:544 minutes, 54 secondsYeah. I I I had uh I was labeled that as well. I was again for me, I don’t I don’t know about you, but school for me
5:025 minutes, 2 secondswas super slow. Like I I just wanted to I was one of them kids that wanted to go to school. Give me all my work. I want to finish this [ __ ] in two weeks, and I
5:095 minutes, 9 secondsdon’t want to see y’all no more this year. And so because it was super slow, right? I um you know I I was a jovial
5:175 minutes, 17 secondsyou know kid that and I was watching all the [ __ ] So like I was the kid that was at school reciting Delirious you know
5:265 minutes, 26 secondsI was that was the kid that I was. So I you know I I can relate. Um,
5:345 minutes, 34 secondswhat pain has comedy helped you process like totally into be? Like I know that most people find a way to channel
5:435 minutes, 43 secondswhatever they’re going through in in ways and it seems like you you took all of the the bad and and and turned it
5:505 minutes, 50 secondsinto good in a way that not only made people notice you, but also was a way to turn the negative into a super positive.
6:026 minutes, 2 secondsSo, I did comedy was comedy just that that that therapy session that you never knew you
6:106 minutes, 10 secondsneeded or or how did that all translate to how how would people laughing at the trauma? How did that affect you?
6:186 minutes, 18 secondsWell, I wouldn’t say that uh I don’t need therapy, especially now that I hit my uh when I hit my 30s, I realized, oh, this this
6:276 minutes, 27 secondstherapy [ __ ] might might have to be a thing, huh? you know, I uh definitely am considering not even considering it. I I
6:346 minutes, 34 secondsdefinitely want to and will, you know, do go to therapy, but um it it served as
6:416 minutes, 41 secondsa replacement for therapy for quite some time. Okay.
6:446 minutes, 44 secondsIt really did. Laughing is therapeutic and it literally releases endorphins and uh you know, in your brain and and you
6:526 minutes, 52 secondsfeel better. It’s it’s it’s scientific as well.
6:556 minutes, 55 secondsSo, having people laugh at it was one thing.
6:596 minutes, 59 secondsIt’s after shows when people come up to me and they tell me how they relate to it.
7:037 minutes, 3 secondsLike I’ll always have someone come up to me and tell me something about their parent um something they’ve gone through
7:107 minutes, 10 secondsand growing up Jamaican, all those things that I talk about on stage.
7:147 minutes, 14 secondsI had people come up to me afterwards and be like, you know, I went through that too and man, my dad this and my mom this and um that’s the part that, you
7:237 minutes, 23 secondsknow, really touches me or if they’re going through something themselves.
7:267 minutes, 26 secondsRight. Right. and they just they they tell me like, “Hey, I haven’t laughed like this, you know, in a long time.” Uh
7:337 minutes, 33 secondsthat that right there is the reason like you really do keep doing it, right?
7:387 minutes, 38 secondsRealize like, “Oh, okay. I’m a part of I’m not only am I healing myself, I’m a part of helping to heal others.” Yeah. No, that’s huge. Like I I think of the
7:467 minutes, 46 secondsum the comics that I resonate with um over the years that I’ve watched, it’s
7:537 minutes, 53 secondsalways been the pain that their pain that they’re displaying in a way that
8:028 minutes, 2 secondseven if I haven’t related in my in my own life, the fact that they’re so vulnerable with it, that’s the endearing
8:098 minutes, 9 secondsquality. So, I I remember watching I was a kid watching, you know, Richard P on Sunset Strip. Like, I didn’t know nothing about Freemasoning, but I I know
8:178 minutes, 17 secondsI know enough to know that uh that that’s some crazy [ __ ] But the fact of, you know, him saying he was like a match. What’s this match running down
8:258 minutes, 25 secondsthe street? Oh, Rich P on that. To me, that was hilarious. Um all the things.
8:308 minutes, 30 secondsAll the things. Uh all right, we’re going to jump right into a segment I call One Got to Go. This one got to go
8:378 minutes, 37 secondsthough is going to be the 50 worst dates edition. Now these the 50 worst dates or the are the videos that I was saying
8:458 minutes, 45 secondsthat had me in stitches. I was watch I’ve you know listen [ __ ] is hilarious to me and it’s really funny because
8:528 minutes, 52 secondsthese are situations that you have either been involved in seen you know a friend that’s been through some [ __ ] or
9:009 minutesit just so so damn funny. So this is how it’s going to go. I’m going to uh give you three
9:089 minutes, 8 secondsitems or things and you’re going to pick one to eliminate forever. The others stay in the dating pool. Okay.
9:169 minutes, 16 secondsAll right. All right. So, here they go.
9:219 minutes, 21 secondsSo, dirty car, dirty bathroom, dirty fingernails. One got to go. Dirty fingernails.
9:289 minutes, 28 secondsDirty fingernails. So, you can deal with the dirty bathroom and the dirty car, but the dirty fingernails. Yeah, because I can help with the dirty bathroom.
9:379 minutes, 37 secondsYou keep your [ __ ] dirty. I just won’t be in it. I need you there. You know, we take my car.
9:429 minutes, 42 secondsExactly. Absolutely not. You know what I mean? Yeah. Dirty. Yeah. That’s disgusting. That’s disgusting.
9:469 minutes, 46 secondsYeah. And then, you know, especially if they trying to do a little foreplay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You can’t have that.
9:519 minutes, 51 secondsI’m pretty sure that that’s the that’s that’s yeast infection city, right? Okay. All right.
9:569 minutes, 56 secondsTrying to season your [ __ ] up. Like, I want my season down on there. Like, don’t season my booy.
10:0210 minutes, 2 secondsAll right. shows up drunk, shows up with her friend, brings up astrology compatibility immediately.
10:1010 minutes, 10 secondsUh, shows up Oh, man. I kind of am cool with all three of those.
10:1810 minutes, 18 secondsI’m kind of cool. I’m like, I’m not I’m not I mean, it’s crazy because I know we can all say we’re easily annoyed, but um it’s certain things that
10:2710 minutes, 27 secondsI’m really am an easygoing person. Like if you show up drunk, I’m hoping you you know I’ll have to choose that one. If anything, if I have to make a choice,
10:3610 minutes, 36 secondsit’ll be show up drunk because like how you gonna do it without me? Like that’s selfish. That’s selfish. Yeah, that’s selfish.
10:4110 minutes, 41 secondsYeah. Or at least I mean, but I wouldn’t be pissed off about that. I would want to catch up. Okay. Oh [ __ ] I probably probably if I’m sitting there wait if
10:4910 minutes, 49 secondsI’m sitting there waiting for you, I probably already had a drink my damn self. And there you go. There’s that. Okay.
10:5410 minutes, 54 secondsThat and um but what was the other one you said? show shows up with a friend or brings up astrology compatibility immediately.
11:0111 minutes, 1 secondShows up with a friend. If this is like a date or something, that would be a little awkward, I guess. But I I wouldn’t be too mad about that. I
11:0911 minutes, 9 secondsThen I might might have to Is this a date? Yeah, these are dates. Yeah. Oh, shows up with a friend.
11:1711 minutes, 17 secondsI don’t mind showing up drunk cuz I’m I’m a fun girl. I’m Oh, somebody got started a little early, huh?
11:2411 minutes, 24 secondsA head start. We got a headquarter in here. Okay. Somebody I would play catchup. Okay. All right. So, show us a friend.
11:2911 minutes, 29 secondsAstrology. I’m actually one of those people that likes to talk about astrology. Okay. Okay. What’s your sign? I’m a Capricorn.
11:3711 minutes, 37 secondsOkay. You’re a I’m a Scorpio. How about you? I’m a Scorpio.
11:4011 minutes, 40 secondsOkay. I like Scorpios. I always end up being cool with Scorpios. Yeah. Yeah. Until you’re not. All right.
11:4611 minutes, 46 secondsSo, all right. Then I do not play the you too pretty to be [ __ ] the you too pretty to be single dude.
11:5511 minutes, 55 secondsSomeone asking your body count immediately or someone asking your income immediately. Which one of those? Body count. Body count.
12:0212 minutes, 2 secondsOkay. What? All right. Why? Because mine is high.
12:1012 minutes, 10 secondsOkay. So that you know I’m like what you trying to know? Come on now. Yeah. This guy you know it works.
12:1912 minutes, 19 secondsI live life. Yeah. I there’s nothing. It works. I’ve lived a great life. Okay.
12:2512 minutes, 25 secondsNo, no, honestly, I’m I’m talking like I’m, you know, like a horse, like a [ __ ] bag. But, um, I just had fun in college, right along with the white girls.
12:3312 minutes, 33 secondsFacts. Yeah. You know, I mean, they was wilding even more than me.
12:3712 minutes, 37 secondsYeah. College is a as Speaking as Listen, I’m I’m a girl that I got five daughters. I got two that are currently this was their freshman year in college.
12:4612 minutes, 46 secondsAnd I I’m pretty sure I’ve I’ve done enough dirt in my life that I’m getting that’s why I’m bald now. So, I used to
12:5412 minutes, 54 secondsbe long and luxurious. I these damn girls is driving me crazy and I can’t The thought of it is is deafening, you know. I I Yeah. Yeah.
13:0213 minutes, 2 secondsA girl. You have five girls. Five daughters. One son, five daughters. My son is the oldest.
13:0813 minutes, 8 secondsOkay. So, you used to get down back in the day, too. They say anytime a man get that many girls, that many daughters.
13:1313 minutes, 13 secondsThat’s what they say. You know, it checks. It I mean, listen, you know, again, I I was I’ve been cool my whole life. Yeah. So, I mean, they always said
13:2013 minutes, 20 secondsI was going to be surrounded I was going to be surrounded by women. Uh, I didn’t know it was going to be all daughters though at the end, you know.
13:2713 minutes, 27 secondsBut, you know, it’ll be fine.
13:3013 minutes, 30 secondsCollege is just a a place where you have fun. Yeah. You might you might end up having sex, you know. I I I tell young ladies, don’t especially I’m like, you won’t have fun.
13:4013 minutes, 40 secondsEspecially my younger, you know, nieces and cousins and all that stuff like that. M have your fun, but don’t be hooking up with men on the same team.
13:4913 minutes, 49 secondsLike, you shouldn’t have three basketball players.
13:5313 minutes, 53 secondsLike, get a [ __ ] from the soccer team, the basketball team, and the track team.
13:5713 minutes, 57 secondsSpit them out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Spit them out.
13:5913 minutes, 59 secondsCuz then you want to be the talk in the locker room for real.
14:0114 minutes, 1 secondI mean, that’s going see that’s the other thing. So, like for me, just knowing how like I remember like you don’t want to be that girl. That’s my
14:0914 minutes, 9 secondsthing. So I was like, “Yo, you don’t never want to be the girl getting caught sugging dick in a stairway either.” Oh, yeah. That Yeah, that’s Nobody forget that girl.
14:1814 minutes, 18 secondsShe can she can cure cancer. You heard about Teresa?
14:2314 minutes, 23 secondsYeah, she cured cancer. Oh, did you sucking dick in the hallway? Yeah. Yeah, that’s Yeah, that’s her. That’s her.
14:2914 minutes, 29 secondsBut women, we we they they have us hold on to shame a little longer than men.
14:3414 minutes, 34 secondsExactly. That’s the thing. And so I know the double standard. So I’m, you know, my goal is to try to, you know, prepare my girls for, you know, I I teach them offense and my son defense.
14:4514 minutes, 45 secondsSo, so like don’t don’t let no cat out here shake your shake you to your core to where you don’t know who you hell with
14:5214 minutes, 52 secondsthat. Yeah. No, we’re not we’re never going to do that. Okay.
14:5614 minutes, 56 secondsBut young ladies too, I know you’re about to move on. Just like respecting your body as much as possible and everybody don’t got to have a piece of it, right? Everybody don’t get access.
15:0415 minutes, 4 secondsPut that Yep. You can put that in a young lady’s ear, you you’ll do wonders.
15:0915 minutes, 9 secondsYeah, absolutely. Yeah, they gonna watch that. They gonna watch this [ __ ] Anyway, uh what’s the biggest red flag in modern dating that people keep
15:1815 minutes, 18 secondspretending is normal? I think this is a good segue for that.
15:2215 minutes, 22 secondsThe biggest red flag in modern dating because dating is different. I’m Listen, I’m so First off,
15:3015 minutes, 30 secondsyou uh you boot up or you know, you got you got Oh, I boot up.
15:3315 minutes, 33 secondsYeah, you boot up. I I have I have a boo, but I’m single. Yeah. So So, okay.
15:4215 minutes, 42 secondsMy lifestyle is different. And you know, I feel you.
15:4515 minutes, 45 secondsMy lifestyle was a little different where I I’m always gone.
15:4915 minutes, 49 secondsSo, you know, this particular boo, you know, he he does want more someone who can be home a little more, but you know, he loves me.
15:5815 minutes, 58 secondsOkay. Okay. She said, “Uh, yeah, my my husband’s married, but I’m not hurt.” Okay. hurt.
16:0716 minutes, 7 secondsOkay. So, speaking of which, since you have a boob, but you’re single, what’s the biggest red flag in modern dating that people keep pretending is normal?
16:1916 minutes, 19 secondsH the biggest modern I mean, I’m I’m saying this this whole 50-50 talk and
16:2516 minutes, 25 secondsall that on the first date, that’s that’s that’s it is weird. I I I’ve never like, you know, I ain’t
16:3316 minutes, 33 secondstrying to date myself, but still like just the thought of when you if you ask a young lady out on a date.
16:4116 minutes, 41 secondsUm it’s just in my head automatically if I listen if I ask some of my partner like if I call some of my homeboys like,
16:4816 minutes, 48 seconds”Yo, let’s go do such and such.” My my my friends know that if whoever asks for to for the ticket, usually you can leave your wallet at home.
16:5716 minutes, 57 secondsOkay?
16:5716 minutes, 57 secondsThat’s just how that’s just how we get down. we you know so and so especially when you talking about courting a a young lady now now if it’s
17:0617 minutes, 6 secondsTeresa from the staircase she going to have to kick she like you said they got caught sucking dick in the stairway she
17:1317 minutes, 13 secondsmight have to kick in cuz this is not this is going nowhere we we know what this is matter of fact where there’s no date we trying to go back to the
17:2017 minutes, 20 secondsstairwell because that’s what it is but if you asking a young lady out on a date I I would think that automatically you
17:2717 minutes, 27 secondsare approaching that situation issue knowing that you are treating. So I don’t I I just don’t I I don’t understand it. That’s
17:3517 minutes, 35 secondsYeah. And then on top of that um how these dates come about. I feel like uh both sides can handle it better.
17:4317 minutes, 43 secondsLike you got some women out there who saying, you know, there’s a spending limit on a date,
17:5117 minutes, 51 secondsyou know, like or they they Yeah. A first date can’t be coffee or a first date can’t be like I’m not actually I’m
17:5917 minutes, 59 secondsactually against that. I don’t mind a first date being something light and small because I’m easily annoyed. So I want to even know if I’m going to like
18:0618 minutes, 6 seconds[ __ ] like listen I enjoy steak. If you want to take me to a steak house an amazing
18:1318 minutes, 13 secondsexpensive fancy place on the very first date I’mma go.
18:1718 minutes, 17 secondsI’mma go. But I’m just saying it’s not always necessary because uh people in general are annoying. So you figure out
18:2518 minutes, 25 secondsif you even like a person, right? Yeah. Like I can figure out that I don’t like how you chew over two slices in a soda. So you know this ain’t
18:3218 minutes, 32 secondsgoing to work. You breathe a little heavy.
18:3418 minutes, 34 secondsYeah. Yeah. That’s Yeah, that too. That the way like the way you think, the way you talk to people, the way you interact with others. I’m watching and observing.
18:4218 minutes, 42 secondsAnd then um some men need to realize it’s actually not that difficult to plan a date. you know, they think if they have uh if they’re not rich, then they’re not able to be creative.
18:5318 minutes, 53 secondsYeah. Yeah. That’s true. Creativity creativity will always trump um what you can buy. Like especially when you have
19:0119 minutes, 1 secondaccess when money is not a thing, the it’s really about the thought that went into whatever it is. It doesn’t matter what it is.
19:1019 minutes, 10 secondsSo, a handwritten letter will trump the the the most expensive card out there. I can I can say that from from experience
19:1819 minutes, 18 secondslike I I I if I not with these [ __ ] today.
19:2219 minutes, 22 secondsYeah. Well, it’s Yeah, that was cute. Well, no. All my spins.
19:2719 minutes, 27 secondsWell, that so listen that I I appreciate them too because they they they let me understand where they’re at and how we ain’t you know we ain’t you ain’t it.
19:3819 minutes, 38 secondsYeah. You weeding yourself out. You doing me the favor. And the the day you you know you try to put a a a a minimum
19:4619 minutes, 46 secondsthat has to be spent then I know that you know nah this you’re not really into to me you into what you the vision of
19:5319 minutes, 53 secondswhat you think and you know you’re going to be a lonely a lonely rug.
19:5819 minutes, 58 secondsUm your your comedy specific to me in my opinion there’s a rhythm to it there’s movement there’s pacing there’s energy
20:0620 minutes, 6 secondschanges. Who has been your comedic cadence muse?
20:1320 minutes, 13 secondsUh, this crazy how she popped up in my head, but my mother. I know that um a lot of people say, you know, a big time
20:2120 minutes, 21 secondscomedian, which I’m am huge fans of so many comics. I came up on a lot of u you know, black comedy and then as I gotten
20:2920 minutes, 29 secondsolder, I started to sprinkle in getting to know the white guys, you know, and I work amongst some like really great comics now. But um I’ll
20:3720 minutes, 37 secondshave to say my mom, the way she talked, the way she her delivery and everything.
20:4020 minutes, 40 secondsWell, her dream was to be a comedic actress. So, I watched her be this person while I was growing up before, you know, she took a turn in life, right?
20:4920 minutes, 49 secondsI watched her. She was always doing a set now that I think about it. Now that I’m older. Yeah.
20:5520 minutes, 55 secondsI watched how she interacted with people and the way she told stories to family and friends at cookouts and all that. This lady was doing comedy.
21:0221 minutes, 2 secondsYeah. And I do have her uh I have her um her her rhythm. I have her cadence. I
21:1021 minutes, 10 secondstalk like her. I walk like her. I I deliver like her. And I’m like, “Oh, damn.” Like she really is in me. So, and if I have
21:1921 minutes, 19 secondsto like give a famous person besides my mother, um this is non-comdic, but um my movement is heavily Missy Elliott.
21:2821 minutes, 28 secondsYeah.
21:2921 minutes, 29 secondsMissy Elliott up there. I’m a he he use the stage. I use the stage. I use my space.
21:3721 minutes, 37 secondsYeah.
21:3821 minutes, 38 secondsUm Yep. Miss Elliot is a is a big inspiration to me. No, that’s that’s dope. That’s dope.
21:4521 minutes, 45 secondsAnd as far as diversity within myself, Queen Latifah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
21:5121 minutes, 51 secondsI can give a range of myself, you know, um because I can go from hood to suburban. It don’t matter. I lived in both places, right?
21:5921 minutes, 59 secondsAnd uh Yeah. But if I have to name a comic now.
22:0322 minutes, 3 secondsOkay, I’m going to name a comic. Uh, Adele Given.
22:1122 minutes, 11 secondsSamore. Yeah. Mon’nique. Yep. Cheryl Underwood. Yeah. And uh, Miss Pat.
22:1922 minutes, 19 secondsMiss. Yeah. Miss.
22:2122 minutes, 21 secondsThose are women I look at in the way they tell stories, how they deliver jokes and everything, you know. Um I feel like I got a little piece of them all up in me.
22:3022 minutes, 30 secondsYeah. And all of them all of those women suck the energy out of the room. Like like Yeah. Like for real for real. Like it’s not even Yeah.
22:3822 minutes, 38 secondsYou know when they there you know when they left. Yes. That’s real.
22:4322 minutes, 43 secondsAnd when I got older, I appreciated Wanda Sykes even more the older I got because she’s such an intelligent comic.
22:4922 minutes, 49 secondsYeah. Yeah. um that you know the more my intelligence grew and the more I learned about the world I was able to appreciate Wanda Sykes.
22:5722 minutes, 57 secondsYeah.
22:5822 minutes, 58 secondsThan I than when I would see her as a child.
23:0023 minutesYeah. No, that’s dope. That’s dope. All let’s let’s let’s talk about Jamaican culture because the c Jamaican culture is I grew up in
23:0823 minutes, 8 secondsthe Bronx so you know you know we we you know there is such a connection with music and food and and and all of the things.
23:1823 minutes, 18 secondsWhat what did your household sound and smell like growing up?
23:2423 minutes, 24 secondsMan, I was raised by my uh Jamaican aunt. Mhm. It was a full house.
23:3023 minutes, 30 secondsOf course, full house. About 10 [ __ ] up in there. Threebedroom house. Okay.
23:3823 minutes, 38 secondsI remember I shared a bed with some of my siblings until I went away to college. Like like that. And it was very much humble.
23:4623 minutes, 46 secondsMhm.
23:4723 minutes, 47 secondsAnd uh it smelt like a and saltfish in the morning. Smelt like spices throughout the day. It smelt like jerk chicken at night
23:5523 minutes, 55 secondsor some oxtails. She was the most phenomenal cook. My aunt is still my favorite cook. Even when I go to the island and when I now when I go to
24:0424 minutes, 4 secondsJamaica, which I’ve been there several times over the years, um of course the best cuisine in the world in my opinion, right? But um something about my aunt is
24:1324 minutes, 13 secondsvery special. I wish she was into actually owning a restaurant. I wish that was her thing. She just likes to cook for family and that’s it. Yeah.
24:2124 minutes, 21 secondsAnd I still haven’t tasted an oxtail that compares to hers. It don’t matter where I go.
24:2724 minutes, 27 secondsYeah. No, it’s a different it’s a different So, my like my first real girlfriend is Jamaican
24:3324 minutes, 33 secondsand uh there’s something when when you got to be in like the family, you got to be you got to be a part of the family or you’re not. You know, it’s either you are or you’re not one or the other.
24:4324 minutes, 43 secondsAnd so she Yeah. I I the the the the thing. So in college she would on on a hot plate.
24:5324 minutes, 53 secondsOn a hot plate with just a a regular ass little one pan, you know. Yeah. Listen.
25:0025 minutesChicken stew. She was there. She she she got busy. She got busy. So I I mean I have an affinity for those flavors and
25:0725 minutes, 7 secondsand the love that goes into that. Like it’s it’s it’s it’s a it’s a thing. It really is a thing. And yeah, I think they mix spices that
25:1625 minutes, 16 secondspeople I mean like there’s don’t get me wrong, there’s some amazing cuisine out there, but Jamaicans the spice the mixture of the spices is is incomparable.
25:2625 minutes, 26 secondsYeah. Yeah. Yeah. The warming spices and then, you know, grape nut ice cream. I I who ever thought, you know, like who who ever thought, you know?
25:3625 minutes, 36 secondsHave you ever had cornmeal porridge from scratch? Yes. Yes. Yes.
25:4025 minutes, 40 secondsYeah. I grew up in a house smelling like that. Yeah.
25:4425 minutes, 44 secondsOkay. Hey, listen. I I blast in and blasted and everything.
25:4825 minutes, 48 secondsYeah. Yeah. I need to I need to broom and h I need to come I need to Yeah. I need to I need to visit. That’s the That’s the
25:5625 minutes, 56 secondsthing. That’s the thing for sure. What What What genre of music best describes your personality offstage?
26:0326 minutes, 3 secondsDamn, that’s a tough one.
26:0626 minutes, 6 secondsI’m all over the place. I listen to everything, including rock. Only thing I don’t listen to a lot is country. Um, oh man.
26:1626 minutes, 16 secondsA genre off stage that describes my personality. I’m very much into I I love I’m a dancer.
26:2326 minutes, 23 secondsSo, I grew up listening to a lot of house and Jersey club. Okay. Okay.
26:2726 minutes, 27 secondsAnd um like house Jersey club music, Philly club music, Baltimore and all that stuff like that. And and heavy heavy house music. I know how to do footwork and everything.
26:3626 minutes, 36 secondsOkay.
26:3726 minutes, 37 secondsthat. And then um a very close close close second would be uh it’ll have to be rea like Lovers Rock.
26:4626 minutes, 46 secondsYeah. Yeah.
26:4726 minutes, 47 secondsOr like Bington and all that stuff like that. The old the classics. Yeah. The classics. Classics. Yeah. Yep. Okay.
26:5426 minutes, 54 secondsI’m down with all that. That that’s that’s amazing. You’ve you’ve talked openly about body image and and losing
27:0127 minutes, 1 secondweight publicly and and how that affected everything. Did you notice people treating you differently once your appearance changed?
27:0927 minutes, 9 secondsYeah, I mean I’m still in the middle of my journey. Um, so I think when I reach my major goal, I’ll be able to answer that even better. But you know, when
27:1827 minutes, 18 secondspeople see you, anytime people see fat ass people working out, they always cheer in the morning. And like here’s the this is the thing that I
27:2627 minutes, 26 secondsthink and the reason why I asked that is because unlike your male counterparts, Yeah. female female comedians like
27:3427 minutes, 34 secondsfemales in any industry honestly there’s there’s all the things right it’s the appearance
27:4127 minutes, 41 secondsuh uh how you you you you come across to people likability we ain’t even touched being just a good
27:4827 minutes, 48 secondscomedian yet so you have all these things have to be simultaneously worked on in order to just to be
27:5527 minutes, 55 secondsin the pantheon and and how how have you you how are you balancing all of this [ __ ] cuz It’s like to me it’s it’s crazy
28:0428 minutes, 4 secondslike there’s only a handful of comedians and matter of fact this is why I respect Whoopy Goldberg so much because she her approach to the whole thing was like
28:1128 minutes, 11 secondsokay yeah you going to you know maybe aesthetically not the most you know jump out gorgeous at you but all the other things I’m I’m going to make it
28:1928 minutes, 19 secondsundeniable when you have yeah it is no so when you when you when you have to balance all these things
28:2628 minutes, 26 secondslike how and when you could just see you your male counterpart just roll out of bed crossing his I just going and you
28:3328 minutes, 33 secondsknow worried about being funny if that you know how does that how are you managing and dealing with all the things
28:4228 minutes, 42 secondsespecially being cognizant of knowing what the other side looks like?
28:4728 minutes, 47 secondsOh yeah. Well, first and foremost um Whoopy Goldberg I don’t know if you ever seen older pictures of her. She was actually fine.
28:5528 minutes, 55 secondsShe was No, that’s what I’m saying. She dumped She dumped herself down. She dumped herself down on purpose. that that wasn’t beauty, you know.
29:0329 minutes, 3 secondsNo, no, she d that’s what I’m saying.
29:0429 minutes, 4 secondsShe dumbed herself down to to fit what what the opposition would be whatever. It’s like the reverse of 8
29:1329 minutes, 13 secondsMile with So like whatever you can say that was that’s going to be damning and what you think is going to be damning I’m going to put on full
29:2029 minutes, 20 secondsdisplay in your face and just go murder and kill, you know. So she Well, I mean I was raised really confidently. Mhm.
29:2829 minutes, 28 secondsMy uh my mom used to make me stand in the mirror before I left the house as a little girl and point out all the things I love about myself because she noticed I started getting
29:3629 minutes, 36 secondspicked on for being like the chunky kid, you know?
29:3929 minutes, 39 secondsAnd I look back at pictures, I was like, I just had a little pot belly. I wasn’t even like all that. You look back like them kids was evil.
29:4829 minutes, 48 secondsBut like kids are mean as hell. Kids are mean as hell.
29:5029 minutes, 50 secondsYeah. But no, she just taught me uh she gave me my first lesson in self-love through imagery and looking at myself
29:5729 minutes, 57 secondsand liking what I see and accepting who I am no matter what. And I’m going to be honest, that stayed with me up until this point in my life.
30:0430 minutes, 4 secondsNow, being in a male-dominated field, of course, you know, you don’t want to just be a pretty face or just be a sex
30:1230 minutes, 12 secondssymbol and all that stuff, but that’s when your writing and your intellect comes into play because what’s wrong with I mean, what’s wrong with being sexy? What’s wrong with being pretty?
30:2030 minutes, 20 secondsNothing. Now, when you open your mouth, let’s see what comes out of it, you know? Let’s see how talented you are. Let’s see how creative you are,
30:2730 minutes, 27 secondsyou know? So, I I kind of lean on that like, all right, I know I’mma grab y’all with with beauty a little bit. I know that. Um and and I got basketballs
30:3630 minutes, 36 secondssitting on my chest. I completely understand what’s going on here. This is a lot.
30:4330 minutes, 43 secondsYeah, it’s a lot. Yeah. You know, but what I really wanted you to leave here, not
30:5030 minutes, 50 secondsjust saying, “Oh, yeah, she was pretty with big titties. She was hilarious and she was smart and she was fun.” Mhm.
30:5830 minutes, 58 secondsYou know, so I’m used to prejudgment, right?
31:0231 minutes, 2 secondsHonestly, I don’t even care about that part. I care about when I’m done, what is being said. That’s That’s dope. How do How do these people feel?
31:1031 minutes, 10 secondsThat’s a That’s a great point. So I walk into it not really trying to control the narrative initially. I I’m not trying to
31:1831 minutes, 18 secondscontrol whatever narrative they have of me when I initially walk into a space. Whatever judgment prejudgment they have.
31:2431 minutes, 24 secondsIt’s really about what I do on that stage. What are we talking about after that?
31:2831 minutes, 28 secondsRight. Yeah. Like my grandmother used to always say to uh specifically like all my cousins and sisters and everything that uh a bomb only goes off once. So
31:3831 minutes, 38 secondsmeaning yes, you’re you’re attractive, but you have to have you have to have something of relevance after that bomb
31:4631 minutes, 46 secondsgoes off to make somebody, you know, uh stay around and stick around. So it’s about substance. Um so that’s important.
31:5331 minutes, 53 secondsWhat What’s the difference in your opinion between being liked online and genuinely respected in comedy?
32:0232 minutes, 2 secondsOh man, I’m going through a little kabuk right now. I’m going through a little bit of [ __ ] right now.
32:0732 minutes, 7 secondsYeah, cuz you got the light. You got the glow on you right now. So, there’s going to be some [ __ ] There’s going to be some [ __ ] I heard every time you do something great in this business, a little bit of [ __ ] comes with it.
32:1632 minutes, 16 secondsYeah. It’s that’s how you know that’s how you’re about to you know that you’re you’re you’re going to another level. So,
32:2232 minutes, 22 secondswhenever the [ __ ] you see that means you’re you’re about to ascend to another under a magnifying glass. Even you do something wrong or make a mistake. Yeah.
32:3332 minutes, 33 secondsyou know, it doesn’t matter. That is going to be magnified on a larger scale.
32:3932 minutes, 39 secondsExcuse me. Um, I’m not I’m I’m learning since this is my first little thing that I’m going through. Um, I’m learning
32:4832 minutes, 48 secondsI’m learning how to not give it life, not to give negativity life. Like, the more you talk about it, the more you
32:5632 minutes, 56 secondsthink about it, the more you keep up with it. Unless it’s affecting your bag, unless it’s affecting bookings, you do not get to give it life.
33:0533 minutes, 5 secondsSo, that’s what I’m learning. But I also am feeling challenged at this time. And I don’t mean that in a
33:1233 minutes, 12 secondsbad way. I’m feeling challenged to, oh yeah, now I got to show [ __ ] what’s up, you know, because I do actually value
33:2133 minutes, 21 secondsthe respect of my comedy peers and um the ones before me and the ones after me. I do want to be looked at in mostly
33:3033 minutes, 30 secondsgood light, you know, and uh be respected for being a strong comic, you know.
33:3733 minutes, 37 secondsUh that means something to me. It do because I wasn’t always popular on the internet when it was just me, a open mic, and a joke book, right?
33:4633 minutes, 46 secondsYou know, that’s that that is a real thing for me. So, gaining internet popularity
33:5233 minutes, 52 secondsis cool and it’s necessary and Thank you, But at the end of the day, I do respect the game.
34:0234 minutes, 2 secondsAnd I, you know, you’ll get reminded throughout your journey when you need to push your pen a little harder, right?
34:0834 minutes, 8 secondsAnd when you need to sit down back at the drawing board and reorganize some of these jokes, see what you got going on, pull from a different place. Because
34:1634 minutes, 16 secondscomedians, we’re drawing from our life anyway.
34:1934 minutes, 19 secondsSo, you know, yeah, you comedians can get lazy. You don’t want to be known as a lazy comic. So
34:2634 minutes, 26 secondsthings will happen that make you okay let me tighten up my game right you know if you care about
34:3434 minutes, 34 secondsyeah if that’s what yeah if you if you’re curious if you’re if you are you know that’s I I would like to say I believe in my in my head of heads when I
34:4234 minutes, 42 secondsthink about comedians or just art forms in general u me being artsy person you you have to have life experiences to
34:5134 minutes, 51 secondsthen translate that into the best works right and best of comedians, all of them, Carllins,
34:5934 minutes, 59 secondsRodney Dangerfield, all of the best ones were able to take lived life experiences and translate them into story in a way
35:0835 minutes, 8 secondsthat move the masses. And you take out lived experiences then then what what you got like like
35:1735 minutes, 17 secondsSo you got to go through in some ways you got to go through [ __ ] You know, you just do you got to go through pain in order to grow. Exactly. You know.
35:2335 minutes, 23 secondsYeah. Yeah. Yeah, I don’t want to be stagnant. Like I feel like this past I’ll be nine years in comedy in October.
35:3035 minutes, 30 secondsAnd I feel like this past eight, nine years, I have definitely showed I’m a great performer.
35:3835 minutes, 38 secondsI showed that I’m funny. I showed that, okay, you got some jokes, you got some some really good jokes, but I can show
35:4635 minutes, 46 secondseven more, right? You know, so I’m at that point in my career where I’m pivoting into, okay, now your joke writing, that’s the one
35:5535 minutes, 55 secondsyou want to amp up even more, right?
35:5735 minutes, 57 secondsYou know, so you have I have all the other things. I’m great at all the other things, right? You don’t want to keep skating by.
36:0436 minutes, 4 secondsYeah. Yeah. And well, that this is a good segue, too. So we I’m gonna do something that that I know that you probably never do for yourself. So we
36:1236 minutes, 12 secondsgonna talk about accolades and recognition. So, I’m I’m going to speak on it. Um, because what you’re saying
36:1936 minutes, 19 secondsbut not saying is you have range. So, there’s there’s there there’s tons of range. So, from becoming the first black woman to win Philly’s Funniest, which
36:2736 minutes, 27 secondswas a huge thing. Um, yeah.
36:3036 minutes, 30 secondsUh, recognized by New York Comedy Festival multiple times as creator and comic to watch. You know, like we said in the intro, appeared on shows ranging
36:3836 minutes, 38 secondsfrom Drew Barrymore to a little show on Netflix. Um, stand up. Crazy.
36:4536 minutes, 45 secondsYeah. Yeah. Something like kind of music.
36:4736 minutes, 47 secondsExactly. So, standup, sketches, podcasting, or acting, which version of yourself feels the most authentic.
37:0037 minutesPodcast can go out. I’m I’m good with that. Uh, no shade.
37:0637 minutes, 6 secondsNo shade. No shade. Yeah. Yeah. [ __ ] them podcast. And uh I would have to say acting and
37:1437 minutes, 14 secondsstandup is so head and head is neck and neck acting and standup.
37:1837 minutes, 18 secondsBut I I will say that I’m naturally a really great actor.
37:2237 minutes, 22 secondsSo I’ll say acting. Okay. Okay. Okay. Like that. What’s what’s harder?
37:2937 minutes, 29 secondsGetting attention or sustaining relevance once people are watching?
37:3537 minutes, 35 secondsI think getting the attention is harder if you want quality attention. Gotcha.
37:4037 minutes, 40 secondsYou can get attention by doing dumb [ __ ] all day. Facts. Speakers online doing it every day. Yeah.
37:4637 minutes, 46 secondsBut if you want to get you want quality attention, you want a certain type of people um you know, respecting your art
37:5337 minutes, 53 secondsand and being there and a part of your you know, your fan base, then you want to put something quality out there that you can see yourself doing every day.
38:0338 minutes, 3 secondsYeah. whether that’s the internet or whatever you do on stage. So getting attention and it takes time to think about that. So that’s why I put it in the harder category. It takes time to
38:1138 minutes, 11 secondsthink about what is this what is it going to be the thing that really makes people fall in love with me and want to keep up with me. Yeah.
38:1838 minutes, 18 secondsBecause keeping the attention honestly only means it’s just being consistent.
38:2238 minutes, 22 secondsRight. Right. Well, then and the beauty of it is too that when I believe in in in any line of work, when it comes down
38:3238 minutes, 32 secondsto you as a person, people fall in love with the with with who you are, right?
38:3738 minutes, 37 secondsWhen it’s not because you can see the the greatest thespians can’t keep up the act, you know that like eventually there’s going to be cracks in the
38:4438 minutes, 44 secondsinfrastructure. So you need to people fall in love with with who you are at your core. And that’s where you have,
38:5138 minutes, 51 secondsyou know, a thousand raving fans will beat a million followers all day long cuz those thousand people are going to spend a dime with you, you know,
38:5938 minutes, 59 secondsconsistently and show up when they need to. Um, somebody all you need is 10,000 people to [ __ ] with you.
39:0439 minutes, 4 secondsThat’s it. Yeah, that’s that’s that’s really it. What’s the emotional cost of always being the funny one in every room?
39:1339 minutes, 13 secondsYou didn’t know there was gonna be you didn’t know there was gonna be some real questions around you.
39:1839 minutes, 18 secondsI’m like you just All right. So yeah, the emotional cause is someone wanting you to be funny 24/7.
39:2839 minutes, 28 secondsI mean like now it’s a little different.
39:3039 minutes, 30 secondsI’m in New York City. I’m surrounded by comedians.
39:3239 minutes, 32 secondsRight. So right, you know, everybody in there is pretty funny or you know trying to be. Um, but yeah, like uh I’ll say when I’m out
39:4039 minutes, 40 secondsabout in the in the not around a bunch of comics and I’m the person in there, uh, you you got you’re responsible to keep the party going.
39:4939 minutes, 49 secondsIt ends up in your hands at this point. Yeah. You are the vibe curator. Yeah.
39:5439 minutes, 54 secondsOkay. So I But I a part of me likes it and enjoys it. So listen, I always tell people like so like I’m a chef, right? So, normally if
40:0340 minutes, 3 secondsI get invited over people’s houses, they’re like, “Yeah, don’t forget your knives, though.
40:0740 minutes, 7 secondsBring your [ __ ] with you.” Like, and my my respon my response to that is like dentists don’t pull teeth on their day off. Like, why don’t Yeah. I some
40:1540 minutes, 15 secondsListen, here’s the other thing. Because I I cook for a living and have for for eons. Like, I’m good with a box of
40:2140 minutes, 21 secondsCounta, you know, like like like I’m really not that that picky. I say that [ __ ] but I’m you know, I It is what it is.
40:2940 minutes, 29 secondsCan you imagine? Can you imagine someone saying, “Don’t forget to bring your personality.” Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. They they expect you to be on. Like, here’s the thing.
40:3640 minutes, 36 secondsWe’re we’re not And this is why I really started this podcast because I was always told I’m I’m a person that have that that has multiple things that I’m
40:4540 minutes, 45 secondsinterested in that I do that I do well, but and I was always told to do one thing. And we’re not monolithic beings.
40:5140 minutes, 51 secondsSo just because I am funny, I’m not only funny, which is why it’s important for me to state that you have the range like the the the acting that you and that’s
40:5940 minutes, 59 secondsnot just comedic acting. That’s just acting period and and all the other things. So I just I find it imperative
41:0741 minutes, 7 secondsto understand that that most people are not monolithic. we have there’s other things
41:1541 minutes, 15 secondsthat we can do and do and and at some point in time of the day, you know, that has to be respected and and and
41:2241 minutes, 22 secondscultivated for sure. Um, you’ve turned trauma into art, but does does
41:2941 minutes, 29 secondsrevisiting the pain and and stories on stage. Does that does that open or reopen old wounds or is it
41:3841 minutes, 38 secondsstill in a process of that’s still how you until these therapy sessions kick in? Is that still I’m still figuring this [ __ ] out.
41:5241 minutes, 52 secondsI’m just telling y’all about it. I don’t know how I feel, but I figure if I tell somebody, somebody gonna be like, I feel you. You know, so that definitely the leader.
42:0242 minutes, 2 secondsRight. Right. Right. Or ladder, I should say.
42:0542 minutes, 5 secondsOkay. Let me ask you this then. What part of yourself are you still afraid for people to fully see?
42:1442 minutes, 14 secondsH um
42:2142 minutes, 21 secondsI guess my little mean moments. I there’s a boss in me. My father was a kingpin Jamaican drug dealer.
42:2742 minutes, 27 secondsI was about to say you you still are Jamaican. So anybody that knows knows that that exists. So yeah. So there’s a little bit of it in
42:3442 minutes, 34 secondsme. I’m a sweet girl, but I definitely can be a [ __ ] Um but I’m apologetic.
42:4042 minutes, 40 secondsSo it’s like I’m Come on. you you get what you get. You know, I’m apologetic.
42:4642 minutes, 46 secondsI’m definitely a pull you to the side person. Like, hey, I know I was a little hard on you earlier.
42:5042 minutes, 50 secondsI want to apologize. Like, I am one of those people. And um yeah, I think I I
42:5742 minutes, 57 secondssometimes I know my greatness inside and I just want to make sure I stay grounded because I know I know how to talk big
43:0643 minutes, 6 secondsboss talk. I know how to I got a little bit of cockiness up in me and I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing
43:1243 minutes, 12 secondsor I don’t really know. I I was just when you were told as a child how amazing you are and how great you are and that you can do anything like these
43:2243 minutes, 22 secondsare the things that were like embedded in me and my parents were [ __ ] up and they were still saying that. Right. My dad saying that from the jail cell.
43:2943 minutes, 29 secondsThat’s real though. Oh, my mom my mom on drugs saying, “Yeah, you you you know you the baddest thing walking around this motherfucker.” Like, you know, my mom crack telling me I’m the greatest,
43:3743 minutes, 37 secondsright? So, like I was instilled with a lot of confidence in knowing that nothing can break me and that
43:4543 minutes, 45 secondsI can really do anything. So, I I do like to I like to pop my [ __ ] and I hope when I do pop my [ __ ] that people
43:5243 minutes, 52 secondsunderstand that it really has nothing to do with how I actually treat people.
43:5643 minutes, 56 secondsLike, I’m going to treat people good, right? I’m going to be kind. I’m going to be nice. But yeah, I do I do I do talk like a boss from time to time. So I
44:0344 minutes, 3 secondshave to like suppress that in me a little bit. No, as you should. Here’s the thing.
44:0644 minutes, 6 secondsThis is I I I am a firm believer. I tell my daughters this. I tell my son this too. Like the [ __ ] being humble. Like do
44:1444 minutes, 14 secondsnever dim your light for the comfortability of somebody else. The hell with I I am I am not I am not about that light. Some people get so uncomfortable.
44:2344 minutes, 23 secondsYeah. I am not about listen if you are uncomfortable by my shine prepared to get sick of me because I there is no
44:3044 minutes, 30 secondsdimming you know I yeah I I listen I I am not there’s a way to be that person and now if you’re being that person but you’re
44:3844 minutes, 38 secondstreating people like you absolutely no so I’m not it’s never about that story no there’s there’s something to be there’s something to be said be upset at you loving yourself out loud
44:4744 minutes, 47 secondsI’ll put it that way yeah and that’s really that’s really all we talking about so like I’m never I’m not a uh I am a a uber confident being.
44:5644 minutes, 56 secondsI’m super good in my own skin and but that I’m not ever putting someone down
45:0345 minutes, 3 secondsfor whatever they are. I just love me and hopefully some of that [ __ ] rubs off on on whomever else. Like look, love.
45:1245 minutes, 12 secondsYeah. Love you like I love me.
45:1345 minutes, 13 secondsI love running into people like that. I feel like but I’m also a fan of Kanye West and Hoof. Like Ditto, my mind is my mind I might be a little [ __ ] up.
45:2145 minutes, 21 secondsYeah. No, no. I I I [ __ ] with them both and and [ __ ] was god body and I be feeling like I like that. Me too.
45:2945 minutes, 29 secondsI mean like but when I run into somebody like yourself, right, somebody else who is like that, I’m like gang, what’s up? Like you know me.
45:3745 minutes, 37 secondsExactly. No. And so I I I really I really do believe that that when it’s uh
45:4445 minutes, 44 secondspeople that have that type of uh that aura, it’s it’s really a mirror up to people who are super duper not confident
45:5245 minutes, 52 secondsin themselves that like it shows their deficiencies, right? And it’s less that’s not the intent. The intent is
45:5845 minutes, 58 secondsnever about Here’s the other thing. I’m not too deep. I’m too busy in my own [ __ ] to be worried about or looking at
46:0746 minutes, 7 secondswhere you lacking at. I ain’t even thinking about that to be completely honest. I’m just just trying to live and walk in my path to the best of my
46:1346 minutes, 13 secondsability using up every single heartbeat that I have I’m bestowed upon by by the creator to live and and and like my my
46:2246 minutes, 22 secondsmy grandmother used to always say the most the richest place on this planet is a cemetery because people die with their dreams.
46:3046 minutes, 30 secondsWhen you die, die empty. And I am on a neverending quest to die empty.
46:3746 minutes, 37 secondsPeriod. I love that. Yeah, I love that. Your grandma ate that up. Yeah. Yeah, she ate that. Yeah, she ate.
46:4246 minutes, 42 secondsShe She also told me I wasn’t [ __ ] No, she didn’t. She was They got to keep you strong for the world.
46:4846 minutes, 48 secondsNo, that’s that’s real. That’s real. Um, do you think in my opinion, this is my belief. I believe that comedians are the
46:5746 minutes, 57 secondsthe the the last of the the truth tellers because most musicians and politicians and definitely these media
47:0547 minutes, 5 secondspersonalities have become way too filtered and worried about being cancelled.
47:1047 minutes, 10 secondsIs that something that you resonate with?
47:1447 minutes, 14 secondsUh yeah. I mean like I I I’m back and forth because I’m against cancel culture.
47:2247 minutes, 22 secondsYeah. Oh, for sure. My thing is, [ __ ] turn the channel, right?
47:2647 minutes, 26 secondsScroll go to somebody else’s page. Why you here to be mad, right?
47:2947 minutes, 29 secondsYou know, just unsubscribe. Like, you know, I I’m against cancel culture. Um, unless children or something are involved, you know, outside of that, I
47:3847 minutes, 38 secondsdo think people have free speech and can say what they want. Um, me, I’m I’m I’m doing a sketch tomorrow that may shake the table a little bit,
47:4747 minutes, 47 secondsyou know. Um, I’m doing a sketch, you know, making fun of some far right [ __ ] within politics. So, it’s going to be
47:5547 minutes, 55 secondsfunny, you know, but like it’s it can it can shake the table, you know, when um I I think I think I’m mostly trying to
48:0248 minutes, 2 secondssay I don’t give a [ __ ] I was trying to find the words. I’m like in uh Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just go ahead.
48:1048 minutes, 10 secondsSometimes you gota Yeah. I think I don’t care.
48:1248 minutes, 12 secondsYeah. Um, I do get I I I’m growing and learning how to tune things out
48:1948 minutes, 19 secondsand really just create my art, but not be tonedeaf when there are certain situations in the world going on. You don’t want to be tonedeaf. Absolutely. Absolutely.
48:2648 minutes, 26 secondsYou know, um, and and you want to be respectful for the most part, but you you can’t you got to realize you can’t please everybody.
48:3348 minutes, 33 secondsYeah. Yeah. You’re going to piss somebody off regardless. So, uh, at the end of the day, you might want to lean on making sure that you’re appeased with
48:4048 minutes, 40 secondswhat you’re doing. You the one that got to live with it at the end.
48:4248 minutes, 42 secondsI got to make sure the punch line is worth it.
48:4548 minutes, 45 secondsYes. If the if it’s if the punch line is funny enough. Yeah. For the backlash. [ __ ] it.
48:5148 minutes, 51 secondsIf the punch line is worth the backlash and it’s getting [ __ ] you might shock. Let it rip.
49:0049 minutesThis one going to get them talking, ain’t it?
49:0249 minutes, 2 secondsUnderstood. Understood. If you think about like all the like the biggest the biggest ones like like Eddie Murphy had a bunch of them. He like I know I know
49:1049 minutes, 10 secondsthis is g this is gonna [ __ ] him up but you know 50 years later you know that’s what they talking realize that people only stay mad for a
49:1949 minutes, 19 secondscouple weeks and you’ll have a few folks keep bringing it up but right it’s honestly just noise for a few weeks.
49:2549 minutes, 25 secondsYeah. And and unfortunately in this in this climate that noise is attention and you know as they say any any publicity
49:3349 minutes, 33 secondsis good publicity right? Any So that’s that’s crazy. What what does success look like beyond money and followers for you?
49:4349 minutes, 43 secondsUh success success looks like uh peace because I’ve been chasing peace my entire life. Um I don’t you know mean to
49:5349 minutes, 53 secondstrauma dump or anything but there was a lot of trauma in my upbringing and it continued on even in my adulthood no
49:5949 minutes, 59 secondsmatter how much I beautified my life up by you know making something of myself having good jobs graduating college
50:0750 minutes, 7 secondsdoing all those things there still was always that attachment to the trauma from my childhood throughout my whole life
50:1650 minutes, 16 secondsum because of the the people are still there my mom you know she still call me acting crazy. You know, she’s on drugs.
50:2250 minutes, 22 secondsSo, um I’ll have to say peace.
50:2750 minutes, 27 secondsDefinitely just overall finally having peace. Like I see something major happens in my life every single year. Yeah.
50:3550 minutes, 35 secondsIs that thing for you? Yeah. No, for sure.
50:3850 minutes, 38 secondsSomething like that. You’re like, “Fuck, I can’t believe this happened or I can’t believe this.” At least once a year I got some [ __ ] Yeah. So I’m like I’m
50:4650 minutes, 46 secondslike damn I can’t wait to have a smooth ass year.
50:5050 minutes, 50 secondsYeah. But so that’s what it does look like to me. [ __ ] This is this is I’mma tell you something that um again so I I tend to always want
50:5950 minutes, 59 secondsto be around the elders cuz they say [ __ ] to you like my grandfather my grandmother too would always talk to me like I was a grown man when I was a little boy that she said that [ __ ] I
51:0751 minutes, 7 secondssaid to you when I was like six. I that [ __ ] went over my head. But they’re like knowledge grenades. So like they go off like 20 30 years later. So there’s
51:1751 minutes, 17 secondswhenever there’s there the growth happens on the other side of the pain. So like it’s like if you’re in the gym, you know,
51:2551 minutes, 25 secondsyou’re in the gym right now, right? This [ __ ] hurts, right? So without the pain, there is no growth. The growth, they say when you’re in the gym, you lift to
51:3351 minutes, 33 secondsfailure, right? When that failure happens, that is when the muscle is growing. So we ask people when you if
51:4151 minutes, 41 secondsyou’re always comfortable then you’re not growing. You’re stagnant and and that that what you deem to be
51:4951 minutes, 49 secondscomfortability or or good a good place to be in is actually a place of complacency and and no person
51:5751 minutes, 57 secondsthat is that has aspirations can can live in complacency. The two
52:0352 minutes, 3 secondsdon’t the two are not related at all at all. I’ve been through so much [ __ ] in life. I’ll be cool with complacency by the time I’m
52:1152 minutes, 11 secondsBut by the time I’m 60, you can complacent. Well, yeah. Yeah. Complacency now. Complacent.
52:2152 minutes, 21 secondsHeard this. Yeah. I’m ready to be complacent now.
52:2452 minutes, 24 secondsI know all the life lessons and the hard trials and tribulations. I got you. I got you. But baby, I’m 67. Close this [ __ ] down.
52:3252 minutes, 32 secondsI hear you. I hear.
52:3352 minutes, 33 secondsOkay. Never know, but I definitely think agree with what you said.
52:3752 minutes, 37 secondsYeah, that that’s dope, though. Yeah, I’ll take a little bit of I’ll take a side dish of complacency. All right.
52:4352 minutes, 43 secondsAll right. So, now, baby, I’m up there.
52:4552 minutes, 45 secondsYes. Yes. All right. We going we going to get into the lightning round right now. This is a a a quick play a quick pace
52:5352 minutes, 53 secondsclose out segment that we call the lightning round. What I’m going to do is I’m going to ask you a question and and all you got to do is give me the first thing that pops into your head. Okay.
53:0453 minutes, 4 secondsOkay. All right. A food you refuse to eat.
53:1653 minutes, 16 secondsUh uh in down south they do like these.
53:2053 minutes, 20 secondsThey they be eating grasshoppers and [ __ ] And uh who the [ __ ] eating grasshoppers? Who eating grasshoppers?
53:2553 minutes, 25 secondsI mean like where they doing this [ __ ] at? Frog legs. Just say for frog legs.
53:3253 minutes, 32 secondsFrog leg. Okay. Okay. All right. Frog leg.
53:3453 minutes, 34 secondsI think I’m cool off I think I’m cool off the ribbits. Yeah.
53:3853 minutes, 38 secondsHey. Oh, quiet as kept. It tastes like chicken.
53:4253 minutes, 42 secondsNo. No. For real. For real. I mean, as someone I have had frog legs as a chef.
53:4853 minutes, 48 secondsFrog leg. It does taste like chicken. It does. I mean, we ain’t talking about your, you know, your pond, your pond frogs, you know, your little wild
53:5653 minutes, 56 secondsribbits. I’m sure. But anyway, I understand. Duck is still growing on me.
54:0054 minutesDuck is delicious. I I prefer duck to chicken growing on me.
54:0354 minutes, 3 secondsDuck duck is delicious. You know, hey, you ain’t lived till you had that jerk duck. Jerk duck. Yeah, look at you.
54:1154 minutes, 11 secondsThere you go. All right. One celebrity you’d risk it all for.
54:2254 minutes, 22 secondsI don’t have no celebrity. Yeah, you do.
54:2854 minutes, 28 secondsOh, he’s married. And like I just said, what do you risk it off or? I mean,
54:3354 minutes, 33 seconds[ __ ]54:3354 minutes, 33 secondsEpic, man. Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cliff. Cliff. You know you doing that. Mhm. Favorite comedy city?
54:4254 minutes, 42 secondsFavorite comedy city? Philadelphia. Okay.
54:4654 minutes, 46 secondsOne thing Jamaican parents never play about.
54:5454 minutes, 54 secondsQuite a few things. But um Oh my god. I I don’t know why my aunt used to she used to keep plastic running throughout
55:0155 minutes, 1 secondthe house so we couldn’t step on the carpet.
55:0355 minutes, 3 secondsYeah. Have you ever had that [ __ ] flip over on you and step on them spikes? Yeah.
55:0855 minutes, 8 secondsAnd uh she did not want footprints in her carpet. But um I’ll say she does not we did not play about they do not play
55:1655 minutes, 16 secondsabout this is so hard because it’s so many things.
55:2855 minutes, 28 secondsI had to say I’ll have to say running around whipping and running around the streets. Okay. Okay. Real big on go your yard.
55:3655 minutes, 36 secondsYeah. Yeah. Okay. Hood snack that always slaps.
55:4355 minutes, 43 secondsHood snack that always slaps.
55:5055 minutes, 50 secondsI see. See, my problem is I think a cheese stick is a snack. That’s my problem.
55:5855 minutes, 58 secondsYou know, that’s why I’m in the predicament, man.
55:5955 minutes, 59 secondsI’m in, you know, you like I’m like [ __ ] Cheesecake, mayo, and ketchup. But, um,
56:0756 minutes, 7 secondsa hood snack that always I love the little fruit nuts. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
56:1156 minutes, 11 secondsCandy Pruners. And you can’t go wrong You can’t go wrong with some homeg girl chips. The chips rap snack. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This dope.
56:1856 minutes, 18 secondsOkay. Most overrated thing in comedy. Crow.
56:2856 minutes, 28 secondsWhy do you say that?
56:3056 minutes, 30 secondsBecause there are now full crowd work shoes. True.
56:3456 minutes, 34 secondsWhere there is a Q&A for the entire show. Yeah.
56:3856 minutes, 38 secondsAnd get it while you get, you know, get that money. Yeah. It’s just not something I’m into.
56:4256 minutes, 42 secondsGotcha. Gotcha. A song that instantly improves your mood. H anything. Uh, Shade Paradise.
56:5156 minutes, 51 secondsOkay. I love me some Shade. Yeah, I like Helen. I like Helen, too.
56:5556 minutes, 55 secondsWe on a firstname basis. Her name is Helen. Her name is Helen.
57:0157 minutes, 1 secondIf your comedy style was a cocktail, what’s in it?
57:0557 minutes, 5 secondsDefinitely. Uh, a little bit of tequila, some lime. Mhm.
57:1157 minutes, 11 secondsMaybe a little bit of strawberry flavoring to sweeten it up a bit. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. More tequila.
57:1757 minutes, 17 secondsYeah. in and alum and some coconut rum.
57:2157 minutes, 21 secondsOh. Oh [ __ ] Okay. You you you only one ingredient from a Long Island iced tea, which is which we already know. We know how that ends.
57:2757 minutes, 27 secondsHow many bigger? I’mma just do I’m in Long Island, right? We know how that ends. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
57:3457 minutes, 34 secondsAnd no tea and a long ice tea, by the way. Um what’s your I got to leave this function signal. You at a place you at you at you at a somewhere a party or
57:4257 minutes, 42 secondssomething with with one of your home girls or one of your one of your home boys and you ready to go. What’s your I got
57:4957 minutes, 49 secondsto leave dysfunction signal if it’s overly crowded and it’s funky.
57:5857 minutes, 58 secondsOkay, cuz we can do dirty but we can’t do funky. Hurt.
58:0258 minutes, 2 secondsAll right, finish this sentence. Healing really starts when you accept the fact that you’re not healed.
58:1158 minutes, 11 secondsYeah. Damn. That’s a real one. That’s a real one. Okay.
58:1958 minutes, 19 secondsTata, you you you’re amazing.
58:2258 minutes, 22 secondsUm Oh, thank you so much.
58:2358 minutes, 23 secondsYou are you are you you got some of the best Yeah. some of the best energy out there. Um I You like to go by You like to go by Ed Porter. Ed Porter.
58:3258 minutes, 32 secondsHere’s the thing. So like most people to be completely honest call me chef. I got 20 names too.
58:3758 minutes, 37 secondsNo, most people call me chef. Everybody calls me chef. Like everybody, you know, so it’s just a thing, you know. So I I
58:4458 minutes, 44 secondsstarted going by Ed years ago. Uh cuz I was always the young cat in the kitchen.
58:4858 minutes, 48 secondsSo my everybody my family called me Eddie. Eddie sounds a little young unless you Eddie Murphy. So I was like, “Yeah, I wanted to.” But now I’m the old
58:5558 minutes, 55 seconds[ __ ] around. So now now So now, you know, it is what it is. But yeah, most people just call me Chef to be completely honest. And so, okay, it is what it is.
59:0459 minutes, 4 secondsYou you you are amazing. You are um about to do some major things. So, you know, all these headaches you getting right
59:1259 minutes, 12 secondsnow are for a reason. You are ascending the mountain top. So, so you know, take that [ __ ] in stride. Um I thank you for
59:1959 minutes, 19 secondscoming on and and and doing this. Um I’m going continue to be watching all the things. So, at this time, tell everybody
59:2659 minutes, 26 secondswhere they can see, follow, and support all the things you got going on.
59:3159 minutes, 31 secondsYes. Um, you can see, follow and support me online at tatasharice.com. Follow me on Instagram at tatasharice.
59:3959 minutes, 39 secondsIt’s tata. Shares is spelled like she rise because that’s what I’m doing. I’m on uh funny af on Netflix. Um, you’ll
59:4759 minutes, 47 secondscatch me on episode one, first comic you’ll see. Uh, so and do watch the whole show because it’s actually really
59:5559 minutes, 55 secondscool. It’s entertaining and you’ll dis definitely discover like a new comic that you like. Um, and I have a web series called 50 Worst Dates that is
1:00:031 hour, 3 secondsblowing up right now. And um, you can find that on YouTube for the longer episodes and a few of the shorts. And definitely follow the page on Instagram.
1:00:121 hour, 12 secondsYeah. 50 Worst Dates.
1:00:131 hour, 13 secondsDefinitely definitely catch the 50 Worst Dates. This this [ __ ] is hilarious. I I can vouch for it myself. Uh, yeah. It’s it’s funny as [ __ ] Um, again, thank you
1:00:231 hour, 23 secondsso much for coming and and being here. I appreciate you so much. Um, this have been the Taste Music Here Food Podcast Show. I am your host Ed Porter. If you
1:00:311 hour, 31 secondsfind value in content like this, like, comment, and follow. And don’t forget to share. Tap in with us at tastemusicfood.com.
1:00:401 hour, 40 secondsTill next time, I’m your boy Edporter. Peace.