EARTHQUAKE - The Grilled Cheese Sandwich Classic

lot of comics can do for me. We're very few, kid, but we won't. We won't say no names. No, we won't. We won't. And I'm a critic problem. Um, so what do you have us eating today? Well, I'm ready to give you one of my legendary mills and it is called the grilled cheese sandwich. You understand real cheese? Is it? Uh? Had it when I was broke. I'm eating it down that I'm rich, um two weeks ago for real? Yes,

you're like, okay, grilled cheese, go deep. Now are you on those people that put the butter on the bread directly or on the pan? No? I put it on the bread, you spread it across the bread, and you make sure. See when when I was broke, you know, I didn't have individual slices of cheese like that government cheese. Had to have a knife a jackhammer to get it off. And it took like this playing right here. This ain't gonna do it nine thousand degrees to milk it, you know,

to get it to milt. You know, I'm fresh on it. But now I have money, you know, I see you got the individual slice of cheese, the American cheese. Do you still eat American cheese or do you get the real cheese down? No, I eat that. I don't like the real cheese. I didn't know that wasn't real cheese. So please do not tell me that's not real cheese. I just found that out when I was pregnant. Well, please don't tell me it's real cheese. To me, Me and that cheese ain't never had no problems. We ain't

gonna have no problem out to leave in your show. Okay, okay, why don't you get started making the classic of all classics? Well, first thing you have to do when you're doing you got to get the bread right there. And you lay it on there. You get this head with the buttom and you have to come on through here and you have to run it all the way across is evenly. See, some people just put it right here. Then when you eat your grilled cheese, you're sitting there, you gotta spack

of butter on there. Cholesterol, hot, blood pressure a lot, but that's not a lot of people die stroke right there. So you want to make sure spread it all the way across, just like if it was mayonnaise when you go out to restaurants. So you want those people that you know, you get the butter and you slather it on the bread when they bring it to the table. No, I like to do it the same way I'm doing right here. It's like a woman. You want to make

it even. You know, you put it all over. You don't want to just give it just a piece of it. If you wanted to have all of it. That what I'm doing about. And then you throw this down here by yourself. You just put it on a pan. Okay, let me stop back back thinking to mind your business. Let me get all up in your business. What was going on at the time when you were eating drilled cheese sandwiches because you had to. At what point in my life when I was young my mother didn't cook?

Is it this one? O? Um? I see I was. I was staying out your business. You wasn't. You just had to tell me I turn on the wrong eye and I would took you to rest. Um. Younger life when I ate girl cheese is my mother worked a lot. So this was the only dish that I could cook for myself. Now that that in centiment to sliding underneath the baller put two uh butter on a cinnamon on it. Anyway, Um, as I got older to eat it quick meal, give

you what you need real good. Don't take the time now where I'm at now just missing you know it? Set it off? You know it would be good today. Grill cheese ya, that's the thing. God damn it. Yeah, I want a grill cheese sounds So that's how it is. Do you eat out now a lot? I try not to, but I do. I say about it three times a week. I eat out other times. Um eat that all. Now that you have more money, are you the type that's

like more restrictive with your diet? Because I noticed a lot of celebrities, they'll they'll switch to vegan or you know, no, I think I believe in moderation. I think anything of too much is bad for you. I don't eat any fries, fried food, any of it. Um. I try to stay away from that. If I do it occasionally, here fry here there, um bake everything and fish. I'm sorry. Yeah, everything is baked as much as possible. Fry, fry, fry

and food. It's not good for you, especially man can't keep this kind of complexion, you know, all that fried chicken. As a comic, do you feel like there's pressure on image? No, I don't. I think you're juice. Your jokes is the number one UM product that you have. I mean, if you stay funny, then whatever rapid come out don't matter, you know what I mean? So you know, I mean you look, you see obese comics that made it, such

as John Canny. You can be good looking, the d raised, the beyond, I mean Bell Bellamy, those good looking brothers, the average looking brothers such as myself, Cam the rest of us. You know, that's kind of brother. So it doesn't really matter. You know, Kevin is the most in shape coming that we have, right now he's very physical, um conscious, Well you know, brothers, you know, so it is what it is. Our majority of your fans and women are I believe they are black women. My favorite

thing God has ever put on this earth. I think women are my number one and perily black women. I really write my jokes to them. Yeah, quite honest with So when you first got your start, so you you you grew up in in I would say you're saying like a low income household four right, We weren't pour We just I had a mother and father which you know raised man. We was right now you will say lower middle class. You know what I mean. We never missed for anything or um wanted anything. But we had

to planet. But no spontaneous ship like it's going vacation at save up for it, that type of thing. See what you're looking for now and let it brown a little bits it brown right there, put the cheese on top of it, butter the other one on there. Didn't put that pressure on that. So why comedy, Like what was going on where you transitioned to comedy or was it like a couple of pivots and landing into comedy. No. I was in the military for nine years, and I

wanted to do twenty years. But the war broke out and I was like, man, I on mined on mind practicing for war, but you'll talk about fighting for real. I ain't your real soldier. You need to joined this to get out of my motherhouse. Becauld have stayed and they see to get shot at. So I had to make a decision, you know, his true story. And I

turn on CNN. I remember like it was yesterday. And you know how they always do the pole where is the best city for black men to be for the best, you know, the those opportunities for him to prosper in the corporate world and anything, And they say Atlanta, Georgia. And I've never been Atlanta, Georgia. I say that's where I'm going. So I got three of my friends who also did mony fight in the war, say, man, we're

going to Atlanta. And we moved to Atlanta, all four of us, and shared the two bad room apartment and each one of them went to find different jobs. And I went out and tried comedy while I was still collecting my unemployment from on Sam And uh, when did you actually get that inkling that you wanted to do? It though it was deep. See I'm not and see for me, I don't make plans and stuff. So it wasn't no epiphany this is what I want to do.

It was more of this is the best decision. I tell young people all ain't I don't get the pressure of what you should do, just put down what you shouldn't do. I knew what I wasn't gonna do. I an't gonna go to jail. I ain't gonna see I no sell No, I wasn't gonna do this. Now everything is open. So to get to answer your question is comedy was the best decision that day, and a better decision hasn't came this way. So it ended up being my destiny or would you say your destiny my destiny?

When you're that as talent as you are, Well, I guess what's the difference between purpose and destiny? Because I would look at someone like you and be like, wow, you found your purpose like you are. You know what I'm saying. I mean, I'm different with that. I knew I was going to be successful anything that anything, once I decided what I wanted to do. But comedy is one of the hardest, It would say it's not only the hardest, but I would imagine you failed quite a

few times before you were good from the job. From day one. You never had a bomb. You never had a bomb. I had one hiccup, and this because it was emotional. A good friend of my rest in peace. UM. He portrayed me at the highest level, and I told my agents and everything. Did not let him be on none of my shows, No nothing, We don't have nothing.

And for some reason he was on my show and UM who was at North Carolina and ten teams at college, UM show and and I had just seen him, and I haven't seen him since the time that he did what it is and it threw off all everything. See, I don't write, I don't have a set set. A lot of comedians have a set set. I go up there and it comes to me, and I followed where it takes me and right there, that was one of the times that it just didn't come and it was

it was frustrating, but I waver it through it. But the bomb part, Wait a minute, are you still like that? You still do your sets like that where you don't so when we watch you on Netflix or what have you, it's not like a pre I already knew what I wanted to talk about, but it's never UM choreograph. Each is to say this, this and this. It's a lot. That's why I never watched my UM specials because I always know I can come back like damn, I forgot

to do this. And I finally watched my legendary spot um Um legendary special that was done by Dave Chappelle, and I was like, damn, I forgot to put in on January six, when I was back back, been like I'm i'd be like John walking the back back. I forgot all that part. It was a lot of partsitive forget. I forgot. You didn't have to do like two different tapings. I would assume we had to do too, right, I

did too, but it was two different days. One of the day well, and Dave said that we did the first one and he said, we don't even have to do the second. We got it in one take quick, Yeah, and we was there. We got that looks good. Then you get a big you got to get the cheese, gotta get it right here, right here, So you step out into comedy in Atlianta, and then what happens, Well, they had a historic comedy club and it was called um it was called the Comedy Act Theater. It was historic.

You know, broke some may through. Robin Hurts had the one here in l A. And they had one and around him and black people. You know, you tell a woman you're a comedian first day, then, were you gonna be at the comedy act? I said, well, I'm not at the comedy act. I'm down. You're working for a white man, Charlie. You know the white clubs and the

well call me when you come to comedy act. So anyway, I told her, I said, okay, Oh, I finally went to the You had to go on open mic, and uh proved that you deserve to be on that stage. So I went there and proved it. He gave me a date. He said, man, I'm a finally book you have been asked. I said, look me, book me. Yeah, tell me. I said, up, I say you're donna book me. Say I'm gonna let you open up for Paul Mooney. So I went to the girl. I was like, hey, Maan,

I finally got it. Come on, come and see me this Friday. I'm on two shows. I ain't told a girl to come she came in anything at the show. I go up to the owner. I say, man, when what time am I going? He said, you were't working here there? I said, you said I was gonna work it. I don't let nobody open up for Paul Paul and I said you did say it. I said, I didn't say it. In this comedian who was a good friend of mine, stood up to him, say you did tell

him that his name was Sherman. Golden said, I think you did tell him that. So um, he said, I didn't tell us. The girl say, see how knew he was lying? You know, damn comedian. So I said, that's all right. So I called my mother and told her what happens to this and this? And my mother that she always do get me tough love. She said, why are you upset? Whatever I told you? You can told you when you're a little boy, you can't get mad at a kid that don't let you ride their bike,

even if they promised you. So why you beat up the other boy from not letting them ride your bike? You even get your own comedy club or go somewhere else somebody else. And that was motivated me to open my own company club. I opened up Uptown Comedy Corner and closed his club. That's crazy. I was wondering. I was gonna ask you when when did the comedy club.

I was motivated to the point that I had nowhere in Atlanta to perform and he had the only club, and he jerked me around, and I thought I was gonna get some sympathy from my mother, and she gave me real hard love, like get your own. And that's where I happened. And and I in turn, when you got my club and called it Uptown Comedy. Yeah, I'm still here today. I mean, I don't know no longer on a part of it, but shout out to you uptown. So but now you go from a comic on stage

to do in the business. And I'm sure there hasn't been like a world one of education that you had to pick up or how how did that whole trans well. To be honest with you again, I try to tell people, which you might look as as a slight or a dish, could be the best blessing God that ever gave you for me opening up my own club comedy act being so strong. He told every comedian in the line of black comedian if you work his club, you'll never work

my club. You can't work your black ball And you know you got the biggest club, Minarge open up for the first time. So what they did was I had to do all the time and didn't have other comedians there. When he said that, oh, that's still the rule for a lot of comedians comedy clubs. You should do that all the time. You work and prov you can't work the funny Bone, you work comedy store, you can't work I didn't know that. Yes, it's it's always because they

feel it's the competition. So if they're sitting hire, if you go over there, pick what's out, and comedians like, we just want to work. So they boy caught you and they'll tell you right now, if you worked this one club, you couldn't worked out and you know that was the rule. So they wouldn't come work my club because, um, because they didn't want to be, you know, excommunicated from here. In l a comedy act, you gotta understand, Robin Hurd was high the Tories. It was it was the staple

I'm Brandon club. So now you end up doing most of your stand up and owning the club exactly. So and nobody wouldn't do it. That's why me and Steve Harvey is so tight. Called Steve because we was friends. I said, none of these mothers would do my club, and this and this and that. He said, fun, then I do it, and he called me and he came. And once he came, he was hosting showtime at the follow at the time, and he did My club sold him out. Everybody came to see him, but discovered me.

So from that point on, we was. We was rolling and plus we was better. We was uptown. We had food, we had that balet service. He was downtown and a bad part of town, which was midtown when people are breaking in the car. That's why I called my um My Club uptown because at that particular time, black people wasn't going on to Buckhead. It was staying away from Buckhead. It was kind of like Cobb County and Marietta. Now that's black people. I've just left Atlanta there there and then.

But back then, that's when them cocaine and people like hit the line, don't bring your black heads up here. It was Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, and um they told him they can't. And I was from Washington, d C. Over the hell you say we can't come up here, I'm coming up here. So I went on and put my club up there and called an uptown comedy Corner. How did you finance everything? Well, you know what happened is I had this partner, his name was Gary. He was

doing like um he was. He was doing one nighters and one night is is just where you just have comedy that night. He was doing them in like Taco Max and little Speakeasies and shon. So I said, man, we need to open up a club. And he was like the club and like hen a black comic. So I took him down to the comedy act and said, look at this. They got four other people in here, two waitresses, no food service, and bad and they used

the same comics for the whole months. If you see this motherfucker this Friday and thurtaty, you don't see the same act next Friday and hurdy and which is against the law in being comedy. So he um he said, I ain't beat. So he we both went out and tried to get some people to um finance the club. Of course, I went to all my brothers who's in basketball, like Dion. I mean sports athletes like Dion and all of them and all different, none of them an get

me no money. He found a plastic surgeon, the number one last day surgery in the in Georgia in the country at that time. He gave us a half a million hours to start the club. And did you guys know him or was it just around well he know him, I didn't know him, and he was he a black guy? Was he was wit and he financed half a million dollars, gave us a half a million dollars to start the club.

First before he gave us the half a million dow, he gave us like twenty dollars and say, I flipped that twenty on comedy and show me y'all can make money off of it, then I'll support y'all in um for the club. So that's how we found Ricky Smiley. We went down to Birmingham to do a one night and ran into Ricky Smiley and let him open up the show. He was the feature and birmingha ways from

and he uh, he was the feature. The dude who his name is Gary, He was the m C and I was they head line And we just did shows down and flipped the money and came back to Dr Thomas and bring you back sixty off the forty. He said, Okay, y'all really can do this, and then he gave us a half a million hours. And why didn't you guys have the Steve Harvey connect at the time. Well, Steve wasn't Steve at that part. That was because it was before the club. It was he was doing Apollo and everything.

And plus his manager, Christo Petta, who owned a comedy club itself, was it was. It was we could say he was our counselor he was our consultant, told us where to get the stuff at, how to run a club and all that. We know, all the in the nuance arounding the club. And he managed Steve at the

same time. And you know, once we got on our feet and everything, we called Steve up and Steve came in there for us and we turned it in and from that one club, we made it out of Ti about four to in Atlanta at one x is No. Three in Alana, and one in Texas Downars Texas. Wow, that's yeah. We was the first ones to ever do one nighters for comedy for Black comics. Thank you flavor the man. We was the first one down South to actually say for tonight, it's gonna be a comedy show here,

not doing comedy between dancing and everything. Actually tonight is a comedy night. Now, most comedy clubs don't. They make their money off like alcohol too. Well, the double in it. It all depends on how you um um structure to deal a person of my status. If you know, looking at it, you they probably asked for a guarantee of a certain amount of money and a percentage of the board, the percentage of the door eighty minus expenses, what I'm saying, and then the liquor and the food is the clubs,

that's how they make their mine. So what did you guys have to get a liqualizers? Of course, and that wasn't hard to do. So much money. Well, that wasn't hard to do because they was white. It would have been harder to do for me if I did it, you know what I mean, because the surgeon was like, well the surgeon was white, and my partner was what I mean, I'm Gary, he's white too. I was the only chip in the cookie of this. So I was the only black person bringing to a black um telling

it was a substitutent. I mean that wanted to see black comedy, but I couldn't get nobody black to see it. But then, you know, and let me be the callust. So I was the phase of the company. I was one. I'm in the streets tell him that I'm doing, and I knew exactly what it needed to do. You gotta understand, this is the time Chris Tucker had just started, you know. Um Bernie had just was just hitting too, you know. So we had everybody every comedian you ever grace no

stage at my club. My problem, my problem. So we and everybody every comedian you ever grace at my stage at my club. It was in the nineties. You got under stand. That's when TLC and Goodie mob uh Ludicrous was on the radio. Stidn't being a rapper? Um it was Atlanta when Atlanta was Atlanta. Yeah, And I was from out of town and so an opportunity and cashed in on. Now, how did you end up staying passionate about comedy while becoming like this, like impressive entrepreneur, Like,

how was it not distracting? Well, it really wasn't, because that wasn't my aspect of the game. I personally, I wasn't looking at it the entrepreneurship of it. I was looking I finally got a place of opportunity to perform and validate to was one of my biggest um hells in life. Women black women. Yeah, I am a comedian poaching here, I am, you know what I mean. So the entrepreneur part of it, and never even I was too young to even see that aspect of it, you know,

I was really ignorant to the fact of it. Was like I got my own comedy club. I just got out the military and then I got a club and a hot city that that's bumping. I mean, it's beautiful with nothing but us and they party the six in the morning. You go over to Dominiques Club, Stay did the four, go to Magic City, stay to five, didn't go to one twelve, Stay there to eight in the morning. And then it was just coming up with this Southern music stylistic and big Boy and Andre through thousands tills

c it was. And you a major player when all that ship is happening right there, you got money in your pocket. And I never had to stand in on line and get in the club and had the highest one when Alexis, when Alexis first came out, had two of them and living in Buckhead and the penthouse. So the entrepreneur part of it, the business I didn't even see. I was like ship rock and roll. I'm living all that rest that my money packed him. You know, you're looking at your partner and you get that in you

stayed behind the scene. I'll be the front man, and we got a partnership. We're gonna get Dr Tom back his money. And it spanned on and keep on going, you know. And that's what it was. When did you realize that you had officially arrived, Like was there a pivotal moment where you were like, I'm in this game. I'm in it. Um. I was at Steve Harvey's club because he had his own club after you, after you, I want minds first, and then he had his. I think that's how I went correctly. But his was huge.

He held about fourift people mines on him, about two n He had his own and it was in Dallas. So I did for him what he did for me. I came to performing his club and it was all love at this point, no no competitive, no part of me was like, oh, now he's opening club after I opened the club. I'm just trying to understand. But you don't, you know, you don't even see that when you're in the midst of having a great time one thing about to be a hater, you have to pay attention. I'm

not paying attention, you know what I mean. I don't. I don't have no time to be looking at what you're doing trying to get what I'm doing. To to hate on somebody, you must pay attention to what they're doing, you know. So that's not me. So I'm in the

me what I'm doing. I came out of the military of you know, represent the United States, and now I have self proclaimed but for myself of my name, enabled into the greatest city and found a hustle, to be quite honest with you, that was paying a lot of money that I I was born with. I didn't have to work at. I didn't have to just it was they was paying me for being me. So when we first get that, like, all right, So I didn't know what my talent was until I went to Steve's club,

and then I learned the business of the game. Because you get on stage based upon your credits. This man been on Apollo Theater, It's been in the movie. I got the hook up and anything. I had nothing at that time. You had nothing. I had nothing. All I had was he's funny and ship He's one of the funniest bang out Steven so um. But Steve knew how funny you were. Definitely, Yeah, definitely, So he knew you were going to shut it down. He just so he was like the one that kind of helped introduce you

to the world. Well, what he did was he showed me was because when we got in the back, you know, he wrong all the comedians and gonna like you came, you know, say you go first, you do Fifth Team, minutes, you're twenty, you're close to show. We're sitting here in the back and he said, you go first, you go featuring Quaking close to show. So the dude who's been on Apolo and from New York's a man, I've been

on this, so, uh shouldn't I close the show? And you know, Steve, what people don't know about Steve Harvey. Steve Harvey has been Steve Harvey since day one. He told him, Steve Harvey Club. If Steve Harvey said he go last, he go last. So we're sitting back all together comedians doing say, man, you really want to go to talk to him? You know I'm who I am. You might want to go up and tell him. You know that I should hosted. You don't want that, I said, Man,

I'm telling her nothing. And you know he said that to me, the one that wasn't. Yeah, what he was saying was, I'm gonna make it easier for you. You should go ahead and go because if you go behind me, it's gonna be hell for you. You know, you're gonna get boozed and it's gonna be an ass whoop. And that's that's that's what you're don't know. So as leg yeah, yeah,

they're still a lot of community. If you put communities together, we already know who's supposed to go in, and if we see somebody with inferior talent behind, we look at him saying, hey, you better say something. But if you don't want to say thatthing going out there, because see, all the credits you have don't matter. When you hit

that stage. You get the employer and you get the patience for the first five minutes, but after that you gotta bring that work, and it's right there where you differentially between who's funny and who has titles, who's a movie star but used to be a comic, who's the TV star who used to be a comic, you know, but who still is funny today? So the equalizer on the stag, on the on the stage and speak for itself. And that's what I was saying to him. I said, listen, man,

I ain't saying nothing. You heard what he said. If you don't like where it is, then you go up there and tell him. And he said, you know how black people say I hate, then see when they tell you I hain Then I mean, I gave your warning. You're about to get it. So as a comedian, you can sit back. I'm sitting in the back of the room and just looking and I mean, this motherfucker putting emphasis on every joke. Hey, you can tell a boy, he well, you could think the cameras is on like this,

this is only wanted the documentary. I just looked at him and said that ain't that ain't gonna be enough. So I hit him on Wins and hit him on Thursday and hit him on by Friday. He came around the saying goddamn conclusions. He was like, man, who are you? Who aren't you? And me and Steve still talk about that to the day, but I'm gonna tell me who. Steve has given me that type of UM reinforcement encouragement a lot in my career. So that's when I knew.

I said, Okay, okay, I can really do this. This is an option if I want to go down this row. I got this. I'm not saying that's where I want to know. That's why I when you know Chris, Chris Tucker came to me before he left to come to l A, like, come on, man, let's go to l A. You need to leave this ship. Man, Let's go to Hollywood. I said, come down, I just got ahead you from here. He's from Atlanta. You're like, come on, let's go to l A. I'm like, no, I'm loving this man, brand New,

It's bad. Let me man, ain't going You ain't gotta pay for gas down This is because they let you pump it first and then go inside and pay. Who does that? I ain't are you? It's free ass gas. I'm not here killing these country mamas. You know I'm slipping, you know, what I mean. And I never saw that, but I knew I had it in my back pocket if that's what I wanted to do, you know what

I mean. So I just kept on playing. And then as I started seeing when I had Steve in my club for the first time and he sold out all them shows and I wrote him a check for about sixty thous it was like, it's this kind of money. In this kind of money, you gotta understand it. Um, he sold four shows out on side, the four shows out on on Friday, four shows out on Sunday. It's because the thirty two tickets, we hit them all over the head for thirty five dollars. Thirty only put that

MoMA time he's taking. He's walking out there for about sixty thousand dollars in a weekend. It all depends on structure. And you're talking about sixty dollar dollars in nine so that's about a hundred thousand dollars now, like six thousand, fucking athlete. I'll say, Okay, so how did you end up working with Chappelle? Like, what what's that story? Well, Chappelle, Um, I'm at Chapelle. When I booked them at my club,

My partner whose name is Gary Books. Chappelle and I looked at the books and I don't say how much money be paying this motherfuck? I like, who is this? Mama? Never heard him, know nothing about it, so he didn't have his credentials then. No, he was just he was baby Jesus. He was just baby Jesus. You know what I mean. You you know what people don't understand about Chappelle's And I try to tell him so much. Chappelle is the comedy version. He's like Lebron in basketball. He

never had to go to college. Soon as he was born, he was destined as the chosen one. He was in there from fourteen fifteen and they he was here. So I didn't know nothing that much about him or know anything about it. Like I told you, I was in my own world, having a good time in Atlanta. But I said, who we got coming this week? He said, we got this kid coming. His name is Dave Chappelle. Oh, he was about eighteen young kids, and uh he was young.

And I said, well, you know how much we're paying him? And they told me how much? What the fuck? Who is this one? He told me? All I said, I right, tell the manager they ain't gotta go pick him up for press. I'm gonna take him from press. You know, dog the dog you want to smell at ass? Who this motherfucker? You know? You know what I mean? Man for man? Let me So I go pick him up. Great grilled cheese. Thank you. I picked him up. Embassy suites, pick them up, get him in the car, and they

let you pick him up. Well you don't. You're the owner of the club, right, owners the club always get to pick up the challenge as you usually don't even get the owner when the owner comes to get you. You the ship news, just the manager or something like that. So I go pick him up. It was a man lane quake and man or whatever took them to all the spot. You smoke, you smoke, Yeah, I smoke, you smoke. I ain't. Let's roll a couple of bunts to go to the radio. Get him the briefing on that. Still

I can't tell how great he is. See some comedians trying to prove it be funny all the time. What we call on you know that motherfucker's are fake. They're trying to prove to you what they appetition is true. Killers in our game don't say nothing till it's time, because they already authenticated. They know who they are. I didn't know that at the time, So I drive him around. This is my fun, trying to come to do his show, our host, do my ship, bring them back, and this

ship back. His first joke he came up. He said, his joke was, how did they come up? How did white people come up with the word nick? The most brilliant should I haven't heard in my fucking life. The other day he said, we need to call these coon you know today now we need to call these coon something. We gotta get something to ruggatory. They're having the biggest Tommy. I gotta no goodness, no good don't you don't flow off the tongue. Backstabbers, backslibbers, you know, put it in

the center centers. Get off of my port, you back stammer. No man, that ain't it. Whooooo bit bob, nigger, nigger, nigger rolls off the tomb. Get on you, nigger nigga. I grabbed a bott of champagne, said that boy is great, and it was a respect of the intellect of the joke. And that's what I try to write. It's serious, but you make it funny, but it's sister. Lets you know,

how did they come up with that? And look how you put it in a community away so you can digest it without being offended by and it's a beautiful craftic when you're able to put that together. He was doing that at an early age and he told me that was the first time that he had worked a joke out or told that joke was at my club, and I was like, it's still one of the best jokes having And you got to say that, Oh, Billy Bob, how does it feel now having the Dave Chappelle Presents

on Netflix? It was career to find it career changing And you're not understand my number one constituents who support me as my people, and the support is there's no words to even tell my gratitude for it. But professionally, on the point is when you don't do mainstreams rooms such as catcherizing, Star, comedy seller, comedy store, the people who can elevate your career at a higher level don't come where I tell my jokes at. Yeah. See, I my constituents, my people, so I go where there we're

there they have and I entertained them well. But unfortunately they don't have no TV shows, they don't have no movie deals. So you just have to accept that, you know what I mean? If you notice most of our stars, you never seen them mother us until they was presented to you in the show. So only your bernies and the means and anything you've seen us come through your neighborhood to get to that platform. Is that why you did?

Everybody hates Christ and all those guys, and no, I just took advantage of the opportunity that was given to me. Chris put me on the show, and he presented the opportunity and he shared the plate which they knew he was great, and he said, hey man, I know somebody y'all might not have heard of him telling he's great. Put him on. And that's the same thing they've done

for it. Because if you're not in that circle, like I said, but forming in front of them, or have somebody in the room to say, hey man, this is motherfucker's funny and they believe in it, you could be as funny as the fun you want to be. You still ain't gonna get a shot on ABC. None of the major curious because we don't own anything. Even when we own BT, we didn't own by or even when we're like running it and we're not, we're not running. They're still not a student, not the game. They still

don't you know, they put BT up like comic. We don't give our opportunity for you know, the comedians in our community, but you still pick the motherfucker's who came up outside of our committee. Don't disrespect to them because you don't go down and go down to Compton to find out who's performing at the club down and Compton. That's killing you know what I mean? Why do you think that is um job security? Faith afraid to um make the wrong move because your decision you make with

the opportunity you for. So to be a decision maker, you need to go with something definite, safe, that's safe yours and plus, to be quite honest, you don't have the authority to give a shot to somebody else on that you need. You have to bring a name person for them to give you the okay you can do it. Do you think that's why it seems like that Steve Harvey, the Dave Chappelle is there. I feel like all those comics of that genre, and it could be just that they all kind of came up at the same area.

But from an outsider, it looks like they you guys all stick together and support each other and pull like if if someone's not being recognized, you kind of like pull them over the fence. Like now that they're out the hole, they're you know, they're like, I'm gonna throw you a line. You deserve it, you earned it, but I'm gonna throw you the line since these other people

can't see it. Well. Most great comedians understand. One thing only different between each great comedian is that one great comedian got an opportunity and then cashed in on it. There's so many difference. Once you get to the opportunity and you cash in on it's more opportunity to come in, and if you're not egocentric and you're not sitting there worrying about it, you say, hey, man, this man is just as great as me. Y'all need to check him out.

And those people down that opportunity thinking you're all great, because like, hey, what about him? See him and you wouldn't feel about giving him an opportunity that you struck so hard to get, Gonna keep you from getting more opportunity again that that I mean that you're gonna get. And that's why most great comedians and the people that you speak to d L. S or Steve Harvey, your Bernie is your centric at the time, Chris rock Um, Dave calv they don't mind giving it to it because

they understand once they was giving that opportunity. You know, people are say, what was your big break? It ain't calling big break? When was your great When did you get an opportunity and you cashed in on it? That's what it is, ain't it ain't No fucking thing is a big break? What an opportunity came in and your cash? Then on Jordan's Game for six three g he appathy took the shot, he made the shot. The whole world was there to see it. He submitted, Wow, that's that's

a great way to look at it. Actually, it's the only way to look at I mean, because it's honestly, because you're dealing with something that's subjective. What's funny to you might not be funny to me. So I had always people come to me that quick, why ain't you never you don't want no TV show, You ain't got no movies. I said, ain't like I turned the ship down. I just hadn't had the opportunity to cash in on it. And that's all it is. Do you write for shows ever? Oh,

is there a reason why you're against it? Because you just said no, Like you're adamant too much time in writing for somebody else for yourself every day? Is it like if I had to be like a fly on the wall, like a day in your life? What does it look like? You get up seven glad to take my grown as son to work? Why you have to do that? Because that's how quality time. A lot of people like Dan. Yeah, now how old is he'll be

twunny one June four? So that's like grown? But not I was thinking, he's here from college, he got his first summer job, and I enjoyed that, you know, I enjoy you know, paid a lot of money for that bride problem. Yeah, so I take him, drop him off, and you know, I'm boxing and I invest in boxes. I had to working out with that in and come back, take my act to class at ten o'clock, then one

o'clock to do my radio show. Um quake House Friendly Plug. Yeah, check out quake House number one radio show serious XM coming houts laugh at our radio. Finished that at three, come back and do another action session off of it, and then the rest of it. Whatever. How do you come up with the jokes though? Is it just living everyday life and penning it? For me, my process is just being informed. Read the newspaper. But man, but watch the news, watch what's going on, going on, and then

formulate my opinion based on the information I get. Like the joke of January six, watched it first thing, I'm like, boy, I wish I was working that day as a Capital city police. Believe me, they would have came off from a step up because I'd have been like pat shooting man, Like what are you doing saving democracy? Path I've been johning, we can have and it's the truth. You know, he's sitting down now side form it and you take that and you run with it, and you just add other

stuff to that initial thought. Now side formulated, and once the thought has evaporated, you go to the next story. When do you retire a joke? When do you say, you know what, fine? The world can have it? Um min as always of it? Because I get tired of saying it. And plus other stuff that happened. Yeah, Like, so I know you have a lot of shows coming out. Another plug um during everything with donniell Rolins get comes see us. I want to come to your show. And

so of course I was asking. I was asking the earthquake before we were taping. I was I was like, you know, are you gonna say the same jokes? Because a lot of comedians they say the same jokes, you know, while they're working it out before they go to take So I'm like, you know, if I were to go to your show, what am I going to see? Am I going to see the same material that I have seen? And your response was no, that's blasphemy. Yeah. The rule is, I don't know. There's a lot of comedians they know

whose is. Once you put it on TV, it's gone. So you can't do it live. You don't suppose to do a lot. You might say something from it or very o that for some people that want to hear it. On that point, but the totality of the set should never be we ever be done again. So if if you see comedians say a joke on video when you go to the club, you shouldn't expect to see that same job. I agree with that. No, No, that's the rule.

That's the rule. That's the rule. What are some comments that you sold that number two years so we're not singers can't come back? And do you know you're not being honest that you can't go around and senior first hit. Once you release it, it's gone. For me, I had always replace them every year because I was going to the same city every year. And they're not gonna pay you another forty dollars for the forty dollars they paid

for the jump the phone. And if you don't have TV movies, which I didn't have, and you're just getting your your crowd and your audience, your constituents coming off a word of mouth, you have to not only satisfy the people who coming to see you again and raise their expectation, but also meet the expectation of people who they referred you to to tell you come see them, so you don't have the luxury and say, girl, you know him. You know he was in Frinday. Yeah, girl,

you know he's in Blackish. You don't get none of that. Yeah, he's funny, and you gotta be funny. And black people the hardest people to make laugh and coming that moment just make me laugh the ship I can been doing you over here with this bullshit that I could have wrote this bullshit? Who are some of your favorite up and comers that no one knows that you've been peeping? Oh, let's give let's give the up and comers some love. Let's see who you got who got your eye on

that we should be looking out for. I'm bad, that's a bad question for me. I don't watch the comedians. You don't what about your friends when I when we work together, But when you're in the club, have you gone out and seen somebody on stage where you're like okay? Or you just hang out in the bath room. No. The only reason why, I mean, I'll hang sometime, but I hear a little bit and go because see, I

don't write. So when you're on right and you're coming off of your head, you want to keep your thoughts pure. You don't want to hear somebody else and watch theirs and then's I constantly think you came up with it. So the way to keep it that way from me is I don't listen to nobody. That's so every joke to come out of me came out of me. There's no way I could have because I don't. I don't listen. I feel like you're the jay Z rap. You know you hear how jay Z like wraps in he doesn't

write his stuff. That's how you are, Yeah, the same way. When I heard that from like Damn, that's that's why you know, I said, we come to the same formally to get our product by saying manufacturing way to come to release talent. And it has always been that way for me. I have never I tried it when I first got into comedy, writing it down and rehearsing it and to think about a joke. For me, it's not

gonna be. I just had to let it flow. So you don't have to practice practice practice, I know, you know. What I have to do is just be the best of me and then take one take quick. But what it is is like when I was doing for my legendary show, I mean taping, I just said, I let's let's let's just get shot and then give me what day I'm be there and I'm gonna be my shoppers

and then I deal with the result. What I do, it's not I don't I don't try to sicco certain perfection on what they that is not what I just try to be the best I can, the funniest I can, and then you tape it and I deal with the results of that. After being in this game a long time, do you see it as work? No? I mean, like, are there moments where you're like, oh, I gotta go on the road, because of course, I mean it's the occupational hasn't. Let's see my guard. It is so good

to me. He's instantly shows me where I could be like I was one time. I was feeling that way, and then I've seen this homeless dude. I swear that motherfucker looked like me. Let's damn that look at me out there thinking that cut damn trash shop looked like me, had my mannerism, had my swag. I you know, of course he was. He was not doing well. But I looked at him and I seen him, and then it made me say thanks again and gave me back to where I'm usually at. Gratitude. I'm so gratified. I'm just

the gratitude. I imagine you're on the road a lot and I'm almost rapping. I know, guys, um, I imagine you're on the road a lot as a comic. What do you do to pass the time? Sleep? No, damn it, man, I believe in rest. I don't care, but nobody say. I guess my rest is very important there. I'm not know Christopher Columbus and what I mean. But I don't just go out and explore ship. I mean, Dallas text let me see what you didn't do that at any point in your career? No another do um? I don't like.

I go to different things if I'm invited, but other than that, I'm resting getting ready for work. It's like a fight, man, I once because she since I don't write, I have to protect my environment because the wrong ship to throw me off, and then I'll be talking about that all night. So I already know is so I have to I have to keep it still sanitized. I have to keep my my mood great and when it needs to be. And that's why I'm talking on the phone four hours before a show. So I don't want

you to mess with my my point of view. Yeah, I could get protecting that mind space, especially if you're not writing, and you have to protect that energy. You don't want anything to put like you don't want to get in a fight or argument with someone right before you go, Oh, I didn't when I was married, man, and I'll be up there talking nothing about the marriage the whole So I'm like, damn, I don't see the light come on because of light indicate you that did

your time? Like damn, its minutes the whole moment. It's been killing, but the whole thing. And I say to myself, that ain't even what I wanted to talk about. And then I even though even though it killed, they killed, But then I gotta find that point of view again, you know what I mean. I gotta I gotta will I was talking about what's that? What else it? Oh yeah, okay, okay okay, And that's why I take all my shows too.

But anyway, um yeah, so I protected that over the years, have learned to do that, and it's now it's definitely I don't talk to nobody because there's big states now yesterday, prices, you know what, call it my agent. You'll see did you ever bump into or see or know whatever happened to that guy that didn't put you up in the club. Yeah, they're doing a documentary. Asked me to be in it. Are you serious? I don't say no. I tell anybody, I'll do anything for you as long as you tell

the facts. As long as you tell the truth, I'll be a part of your documentary. Say you're the one they turned quite down and he went and got them, and I'm being your documentary. Tell the fucking truth. And are they going to be able to say that you shut down their club? And I don't know what they say, but tell the truth. Just whatever I tell that for any like women, anybody that's in my life, I'll be.

I will participate and your what it, your your book, your movie, anything that I came because I am never been ashamed of anything I have done. And I don't know why what I've done, what I've done and the things I have done, I had the reason to do it, and I'm good with it, and everybody else can make their decision. And I'm the type of person to be quite honest with you. Nobody's opinions matters to me but God. And so if me and him cool with it, who the funk are you? So I don't, I don't. I

don't get caught up in that. And so when he came with me and asked me to be in there. I said sure, and I told him the same thing. I said, down and tell the truth. Long as you tell the truth. Now, now at blows it off. Say what you did? And you is? You know you was? The mother said quite couldn't in there, and and it was a good move because it had you not did that, I wouldn't have got my own club. So I'm not

mad at you. Not only I'm not manage you. I would never be managed you because you don't determine my futures even with by not letting me perform in your club. How dare I think something that you did to me will mark me in my life? You ain't shit, So I'm not that dude. One thing I noticed about comics, and this could be an observation that could be totally wrong with, but some people will say, well, comics are Maybe some people say comics are sad on the inside

or whatever. I think the common denominator from what I've seen close up to knowing some being married to one, having a brother, this one meeting you guys, I feel like comics are honest. I feel like they love the truth, like they thrive very well in the truth. I mean, they put a sarcastic twist, but I feel like, for some strange reason, they are able to handle the truth on a significant level, whereas the rest of the world like how You're like, I just want the truth? Do

you do you feel like that? I mean, some people call self dedication and you know that what it truly is. We acknowledge what it is, and we said, that's why I said, these ain't jokes. From people be laughing at the stuff I said, I'd be like, these ain't jokes. But comics are some of the most hurt people in the world, and a lot of no they are. Is it because they're dealing in truth, well, dealing with there. What I personally feel is they're dealing with their shortcomings

and their paying and they're sharing it. And the best way it's didn't laying on the couch telling one person and being charged a hundred dollars an hour. They were ever stand on the stage and tell all y'all, charge y'all a hundred dollars an hour. Wow, that's interesting. That's a good way to look at it makes sense. Yeah, lay on this couch another person who don't know you read some books using your generosity, I mean generalization of what do you think you is? What the diagnosed? Or

stand on that motherfucker and let it all. Y'all say hear it? And I sit there and I reanalyzed it myself. I ain't get paid for it. That's just our point of view on it. I don't you know, I know this mother a PhD. But ship, we'll make him smarty. Don't know me, motherfucker. You don't know what it is to have your brother do this to your brother, do this to me speculating, Well, let me get all these people,

let them here and laugh at it. We're laugh at my ship together, and I get paid for free drinks and food. I remever take this one with that one. And if I need medication, who got the cocaine? Got the practice action? Because we find our own the liquor and the rest of it. And um what I'm saying is to um medicate. You know, I don't demons like everybody else, so self prescribed. We don't go to the doctor and go to CVS. We go see old Lego in the bag with the ball. Yeah, I mean that

that that kind of sucks over. Yeah, that's life. I mean a lot of my funers ain't going with this. Just say they suppress it, camouflage, they deny it. Then you want to choking you at three o'clock in the morning, well before we close out out the stage, tod you, I'm gonna choke it out and get on my net um. What advice would you give to any comics trying to get in the game, Be original and work anywhere that you can work. You mean in comedy or like burking, No,

in comedy. Like for me, I used to go to bands, you know, they had live bands, you know, band take a break. I used to go to the the bar like hey man with a band, take a prey. I tell these jokes and entertain them, and it's changed for fifty dollars something to drink this and and that's what I do. So it gave me more stage, more different than different crowds, different formers, different lists, and that I

got a drink, got fifty dollars every back. Then all the hotels had bands and ship like that, you know, a little them sing and all that, Hello, We'll take a break to be right back with you. I go in there and saying, let me do it. That's how I did it. That's what I tell him. Anywhere, that you can stand on stage and develop your craft among people who don't that you will never come in in there or in that life without you being on that stage.

That's the best one because you'll find out your talent is universal and it could be you can go anywhere. That's brilliant advice. I'm sure a lot of comics would not think to do that. Well, they don't want to worry. See, I'm a thirty knight. I'm a thirty year overnight sensation. You know what I mean? Overnight success in thirty years. That's a long time. Thirty years. I mean you're thirty eight. I mean he was eight when I did it, you know what I mean. I was gonna spend these thirty

years doing something, So why not this? You know what I mean? The person told me a long time ago. My mom used to say so. The friends said, uh, well, I was gonna go get my low degree time I get finished. And I had the sixty five and my mother said, well, how old would you be without it? Your mom's dope. She said, well, ain't it better to be sixty five with it than without it? Because you're gonna be sixty five periods shout out. So she was like, what you mean too late? It is never too late

or it took too long. This was gonna be the time anywhere. This is what she was doing in the time that God has giving you. So I never ever looked at it was too late. And the greatest thing about it, I always knew. The money never go down. Uh they supposed to. We started at free. No, whatever, they can get the next dude who the top monther get mold than that. That's how it works. It works

that way and entertainment, so the money go down. So you have to be honest with yourself and see them and say, hey, am I'm not as funny as they are. And if you feel you all and you just be cool too, they come to your name till it's your turn. They call the eaves. But what if someone doesn't feel like they're amongst the great yet, like they're just starting out there? Like media, you know, you don't have to

be great. You just have to be confident and your greatness it's not um validated by commercial success such as TV show, movies and Arenas I tell the comedians all the time, quality is not quantity. Quality is not quantity. In other words, just because one got ten thousand people don't mean it's a better comment than me and my three other people. Yeah, I'm just as funny as this mother. It's just more people know about him than I do, so I never look at him. You know, you know,

quantity is not quality. Just because you can bring thirty thou people to come and see you don't mean you're a better coming for me that I can only bring three hundred. Yeah, that's true. It's just that you got a better way of getting out to the people to let them know you, to come see you, to see that. And if we look deep in it, somewhere along the line, you had an opportunity that you cast in which opportunity

I didn't. That didn't give me on the high level for them to see that I too have the same qualities that you have to justify the same quantity. You know, quality of people to come and see me. So you keep your quality up and eventually you'll get the quality it ac come and and and the best advice I can give you, this ain't the reason you get in the game. To be a comedian is your first thing. I just want to make people laugh. And if you achieve that, then you are all that. You said that reason,

that's the only reason laugh. That's what the community is. I'm gonna make you laugh. The money comes along with it. I have friends all the time. I tell them, if you put as much time as you do and the women as you put in your jokes, you will be a star. Women are the result of the joke, not the motivation for the joke. So a lot of communities get on stage just to get the women. No, you get on stage to be funny. The result of being funny equals the woman. You don't get up there, let

me be funny, so the woman come get you. And most of them comedians never win because they lose when I say the essence of it, just to be funny, when you're just sitting in your bathroom with them, with your tooth for us telling the joke and the murdering, sitting down and you were just waiting at that point for it to be funny. I drove from my house all the way down to this club, put my name on the list, waiting, you know, saying you're joking your

mind a thousand times. It's gonna work. And this is how it gonna be and you get up there and they work this ship right. Then one minute turned to two minutes. That's what you're in for ever return for doing that at a higher level, then all the other actually all other things come not right first. Man, I gotta be a comic, so I can't get me a te huge in them, and those usually fizzle on down. Wow. Wow,

you're deep. Legends are deep. Well, thank you so much for coming and blessing the set, feeding me a grill cheese sandwich, class sick, and dropping some true gems. Now, I'm not going to become a comic, but I'm definitely

going to be checking out your show. If you all want to catch Earthquake the Real Earthquake on Instagram, you can slide into his dams, but you can also find out when he is performing at where he's performing at on another episode of Eating Wild Broke Peace Except for more Eating While Broke from I Heart Radio and The Black Effect, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.