Jamel Johnson [Interview]

Hello Folks! Today we are excited to share with you all some words from an absolutely brilliant stand up comedian and podcaster. It’s Jamel Johnson, Everyone! Jamel is a hilarious comedian that I had being hearing as a guest on several different podcasts, but especially with our dear friends and past guests on All Fantasy Everything. After probably three appearances, I decided that this man was downright hilarious and needed to be thrown into my regular podcast rotation.

Jamel is the co-host of two wonderful athletic podcasts, Air Buds and Sorry We Love Football. And on a personal note, I have to say that Jamel actually brought back my interest in sports! Well, that and a year of not a damn thing to do, but mainly Jamel! I had long since forgotten about the joy of basketball, until I starting listening to Air Buds regularly, and decided I should probably know who the hell some of these people are that they were talking about. But nevertheless folks, I truly believe that even if you are not deeply knowledgable (as am I) about basketball and/or football, you are going to love his shows. There have even been a few crossovers with some of our friends and past guest like Steve Hernandez, Zak Toscani, Liza Treyger, Billy Wayne Davis, and many more!

Also, for a person recommendation, I highly encourage everyone to watch his “Jamel Johnson Critiques Black Lives Matter Art” on Team Coco’s (Conan O’Brien team) YouTube channel. It’s one of the most hilarious videos of 2020, in my humble opinion.

So Folks, please enjoy some amazing words from the brilliant Jamel Johnson!

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What inspired you to get into the world of comedy? Was it something you aspired to do since your youth, or did you happen to find yourself in this world one day?

It was watching stand up with my family at a real young age and seeing how people react to laughter.

What was your first paid gig in the world of comedy? And were there any sort of lessons learned from this experience that still impacts your work to date?

I got 50 bucks to do 30 minutes at this spot, Axum Lounge. It was pretty empty so it was low pressure but I realized I really only had like 15 minutes pretty fast. The lesson being, write more jokes be over prepared basically.

I always like to ask comedians who (used?) to travel across the globe making people laugh this one question: What are some of the more obscure cities and/or venues that you have enjoying performing in? What are some places that most people may not realize are wonderful places for live comedy?

I don’t travel much but being from DC I am extremely biased. DC Improv is the best club. Love a underground music venue anywhere really.

Besides the fact that it is practically required for every comedian to have a podcast, I am always curious to know the origin behind fine shows such as yours, the wonderful Air Buds podcast. You’ve had some of our dear friends and past guests on the show actually, like Steve Hernandez, Zak Toscani, Mike Mulloy, & more. So what made you want to put this show out into the digital either?

Well, in 2016 I had just moved to LA and linked with Mike Benner pretty early on and I did his live show, Mixtape, in a SuperSonics shirt and he was like do you wanna do a basketball show with me and Peter? Lol pretty simple shit but back then we were like it’s a lot of basketball people who can crack jokes but there’s not a lot of comedians talking basketball. That’s obviously changed but I think we’ve adapted with the times

If you were greenlit & received an unlimited budget to create the biopic (series, film, etc.) of any figure from the days of comedy past, who would you choose?

2 come to mind.

Martin Lawrence: He’s from DC so I’m hooked already. Then he’s like the biggest voice in black comedy for most of the 90s arguably. There’s a rise. There’s a fall. Sex, drugs, violence, etc.

Kim Wayans: Could be a real ill story of one the only women in the room for a lot of comedy classics. Plus she’s in like a comedy Royal Family at this point.

What does the future hold for you? Anything you would like to plug to our readers?

You can expect me to keep trucking on these pods, Baby. @Airbudspod for any basketball needs, @SorryweloveNFL for my American football thoughts. I’m personally at @nonprofitcomic on Twitter and @broccolihouse on IG. My website is BroccoliHouse.com and I have 30 minutes of live quarantine safe standup you watch up there right now. It’s just me with no audience which is weird but chill.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

Oh yesterday I was playing Street Fighter online and had a sick comeback with my first born son, Zangief. I was very pleased with myself.