Comedian and radio host B Daht has been on MTV, Comedy Central, and created a traveling comedy show Freestyle Funny Comedy Show with his friends Chico Bean, Drankin, and Darren Brand. B Daht talks to theGrio’s Eboni K. Williams about how he bombed his first stand-up show, his first audition for Wild ‘n Out, and who’s on his “Mount Rushmore of Comics.”
The following is a transcript of their conversation.
Eboni K. Williams [00:00:18]: Comedian and radio host B Daht, well, he’s been in the comedy game for a long time. You’ve seen him on MTV, Comedy Central and everywhere in between. And if there’s one thing that he knows how to do, it is keep the people laughing.
B Daht is also a good friend to us here at this show, and we are just so happy to see him joining us and continuing to succeed. B Daht thank you so much for being here, bro. As we continue here at theGrio to shine a light on Black comics this month. So the people want to know B Daht, how did you even get started in the comedy game?
B Daht [00:00:52]: At Winston-Salem State University. My manager at the time, Eb, he told me to get to television. I needed to do some stand-up, so I went to this club in Greensboro, actually was in High Point, North Carolina. I know you’re North Carolina, baby, so you might be familiar.
Williams [00:01:07]: Yup.
B Daht [00:01:08]: But this spot I went to, and it was at a time in my life where I was just funny on campus. I hosted everything. My head was super, super big, very arrogant. And I went up there. I didn’t even prepare, went up there and got on the mic and bombed. I’m talking about super bombed. It was the worst performance ever.
Nobody laughed. To the point where it was so quiet that I heard somebody’s chair squeak as they were leaving to go to the bathroom and somebody screamed out, “is you funny *****?” And I said, “I guess not.” And I walk off stage. I wasn’t even driving, and I got dropped off, so I had to sit and wait for my ride as I had just bombed. And I vowed never to do comedy ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again.
Williams [00:01:52]: And yet you kept going. So how did you pick yourself up B Daht and become, you know, this national comedic personality that we have today?
B Daht [00:02:02]: Well, you know, honestly, the stick-to-itiveness, you know what I’m saying? Like I have always known I was entertaining. The problem in this situation is I wasn’t prepared. And we all know the way to be successful is when preparation meets that opportunity, you dig?
Williams [00:02:17]: Indeed.
B Daht [00:02:17]: And moving forward, I said, I don’t want to be a stand-up comedian by myself. I want to be with my friends. And I started a group called the Freestyle Funny Comedy Show. And myself; Chico Bean, who’s on “Wild ‘n Out” and “85 South”; Darren Brand, who tours the country doing comedy; and Drankin, who does radio in North Carolina. The four of us and with a couple of other our friends for producers and stuff, we started this group.
And we did a stand-up and improv comedy and it was a 90-minute show. We went to these NCAA events where would go to the colleges and we did all the colleges in the Southeast, all the HBCUs. We got a chance to tour the country with this product. And that really gave me the chops, if you will, the stage presence, because, you know, it takes 10,000 hours to be a master at anything.
And being able to do it with my brothers made it fun, free and now we really created our huge brand with the Freestyle Funny Comedy Show, and it gave all of us the platform we have now to be successful, man.
Williams [00:03:15]: And I was going to say, I don’t think it’s an accident right B Daht, that all of y’all have gone on to do such incredible things. So you said it: “success is opportunity meets that preparation.”
So, tell us how you finally got that opportunity to end up on one of the biggest comedy shows in America, which, of course is “Wild ‘n Out” with Nick Cannon. How did that opportunity come about?
B Daht [00:03:36]: Got to give love to my sis man, Dollie Bishop. Dollie Bishop is the president of Black Effect Podcast Network. She’s a sister to me. We went to Winston-Salem State University together and she just happened to be the assistant for Nick Cannon. And they were bringing “Wild ‘n Out back” and they were going to have auditions in New York and auditions in Atlanta, and she got in Nick’s ear and got him to stop in Charlotte for us to get an audition.
And again, I didn’t learn clearly from my stand-up situation. I went up there once again unprepared. I just thought for whatever reason, I felt like this was just protocol. Dollie has clearly already talked to them. I’m good. I just got to go up here and meet Nick. I’m fine. No, that wasn’t the case. I got up there and had to audition and bombed the audition. It was horrible. It was so embarrassing.
Nick is there. Nile Evans is there, who’s the head producer. Dollie is there who’s vouched for me, and I am sucking it up like a vacuum, sis…It was horrible. And when I walked out of the room, Bean, Chico Bean walks in right after me and before the door could close, the room is erupting in laughter. And I’m like, Oh, my. So he’s in there killing. I just died. And he was my ride back to Greensboro from Charlotte. And so we’re in the car with my lady, who’s now my wife, trying to get some support because I know I just bombed.
He’s on the phone with his mother, telling her how excited he is because he knows he’s going to New York. And then long story short on that, when he got up there and killed the first year he called me, was like, “Daht, the stuff we do with Freestyle Funny is exactly what we do on “Wild ‘n Out.” You have to audition again. So, I flew myself out to California, a one-way ticket, and I went out there and auditioned that second year and I smashed, and it was a great time. I did five seasons and the rest is history, man.
Williams [00:05:31]: You know what? What’s great about that story B Daht are two points. No. 1, it showed that failure is a temporary state. You know what I mean? It’s a very temporary thing. And you could turn right back around the very next year and show the success and the improvement which you do that. It also speaks to the importance of relationships.
So much of what you’re giving us right now B Daht, whether it’s Dollie, whether it’s Chico. These are the relationships that you have built and worked and established over the last many years of your life, and that’s been a huge part of your success. Before we let you go B Daht, who is on B Daht’s “Mount Rushmore of Comics.” There are so many legends, so many greats. Who’s your top five?
B Daht [00:06:11]: Mount Rushmore only has four faces, I thought, but nevertheless.
Williams [00:06:12]: I know… OK. Don’t try to play with me, B Daht.
B Daht [00:06:21] OK, I’m sorry. My fault … OK. I’m gonna go with Kat Williams for sure. I’m going to go with Dave Chappelle. Eddie Murphy. I’m going to go with… it’s so difficult to just narrow it down to five. There’s so many that I like for different reasons.
Williams [00:06:36]: You got two more.
B Daht [00:06:40]: Mike Epps.
Williams [00:06:41]: Mike Epps? OK.
B Daht [00:06:43]: Let’s see here. Earthquake, legend, Earthquake. Got to throw the legends in there.
Williams [00:06:48]: I love Earthquake. Yeah. Earthquake is fantastic.
B Daht [00:06:53]: Our hometown hero man, Jerrod Carmichael.
Williams [00:06:57]: Oh, I love Jerrod Carmichael. I think you gave us six though. But listen, stay with this B Daht, because on the other side of the break, Tiffany Haddish reveals why and how Common dumped her. Plus, the very latest on the fan who went viral for throwing her bra at Drake on stage.
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