Author: laughspin

Roy Wood Jr. doesn’t act like a comedian adored nightly on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. When we sat down at a table above New York City’s infamous Comedy Cellar, he asked about the latest Wolverine movie like we were comedy buddies catching up. Wood stays accessible because, to him, he isn’t above any other comedian. He’s just in a different part of the cycle. I asked rising New York comedian Neko White what words he thinks of when he thinks of Roy Wood Jr. He said, “Black. Proud. Intellectual.” After meeting with the Birmingham native, I would add “humble” to that list.

The Last Comic Standing finalist debuted his first one-hour comedy special Father Figure on Comedy Central Sunday night (available for purchase on Tuesday, Feb. 21). The special finds funny nuggets of truth in the otherwise tragic race relations still plaguing this country. Whether that’s a white tour guide at the civil rights museum to racist McNugget policies, Wood’s jokes provide a serious relief to those seeking an escape. His set list is full of perpetual punch lines befitting of a nearly 20-year comedy veteran. We spoke about his special, as well as The Daily Show’s election night coverage, the future of radio, and why he learns more from new comics than “the old heads.”

So you shot the special in Atlanta. Any particular reason why you chose to shoot it there?

Well, I’m talking about race and I’m Southern. I wanted to shoot it where race is an issue. I don’t think you should talk about stuff away from where it’s happening. I think that’d be a little disingenuous. The people who are effected the most by a lot of what’s happening in this country are black people. So, I want to tell some jokes to some black people. There’s a lot of black stuff in my act. I wanted to shoot my special in a place where those issues are still relevant. There’s not a lot of black stuff you can find a joke in these days, but I tried my best in this special. The people dealing with the pain and carrying the weight of these injustices are the ones who deserve to laugh the most. If it’s a black joke about blackness, black people are the ones who deserve that five seconds of relief from whatever the weight is on their shoulders at the time.

Roy Wood Jr. doesn’t act like a comedian adored nightly on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. When we sat down at a table above New York City’s infamous Comedy Cellar, he asked about the latest Wolverine movie like we were comedy buddies catching up. Wood stays accessible because, to him, he isn’t above any other comedian. He’s just in a different part of the cycle. I asked rising New York comedian Neko White what words he thinks of when he thinks of Roy Wood Jr. He said, “Black. Proud. Intellectual.” After meeting with the Birmingham native, I would add “humble” to that list.

The Last Comic Standing finalist debuted his first one-hour comedy special Father Figure on Comedy Central Sunday night (available for purchase on Tuesday, Feb. 21). The special finds funny nuggets of truth in the otherwise tragic race relations still plaguing this country. Whether that’s a white tour guide at the civil rights museum to racist McNugget policies, Wood’s jokes provide a serious relief to those seeking an escape. His set list is full of perpetual punch lines befitting of a nearly 20-year comedy veteran. We spoke about his special, as well as The Daily Show’s election night coverage, the future of radio, and why he learns more from new comics than “the old heads.”

So you shot the special in Atlanta. Any particular reason why you chose to shoot it there?

Well, I’m talking about race and I’m Southern. I wanted to shoot it where race is an issue. I don’t think you should talk about stuff away from where it’s happening. I think that’d be a little disingenuous. The people who are effected the most by a lot of what’s happening in this country are black people. So, I want to tell some jokes to some black people. There’s a lot of black stuff in my act. I wanted to shoot my special in a place where those issues are still relevant. There’s not a lot of black stuff you can find a joke in these days, but I tried my best in this special. The people dealing with the pain and carrying the weight of these injustices are the ones who deserve to laugh the most. If it’s a black joke about blackness, black people are the ones who deserve that five seconds of relief from whatever the weight is on their shoulders at the time.

Roy Wood Jr. doesn’t act like a comedian adored nightly on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. When we sat down at a table above New York City’s infamous Comedy Cellar, he asked about the latest Wolverine movie like we were comedy buddies catching up. Wood stays accessible because, to him, he isn’t above any other comedian. He’s just in a different part of the cycle. I asked rising New York comedian Neko White what words he thinks of when he thinks of Roy Wood Jr. He said, “Black. Proud. Intellectual.” After meeting with the Birmingham native, I would add “humble” to that list.

The Last Comic Standing finalist debuted his first one-hour comedy special Father Figure on Comedy Central Sunday night (available for purchase on Tuesday, Feb. 21). The special finds funny nuggets of truth in the otherwise tragic race relations still plaguing this country. Whether that’s a white tour guide at the civil rights museum to racist McNugget policies, Wood’s jokes provide a serious relief to those seeking an escape. His set list is full of perpetual punch lines befitting of a nearly 20-year comedy veteran. We spoke about his special, as well as The Daily Show’s election night coverage, the future of radio, and why he learns more from new comics than “the old heads.”

So you shot the special in Atlanta. Any particular reason why you chose to shoot it there?

Well, I’m talking about race and I’m Southern. I wanted to shoot it where race is an issue. I don’t think you should talk about stuff away from where it’s happening. I think that’d be a little disingenuous. The people who are effected the most by a lot of what’s happening in this country are black people. So, I want to tell some jokes to some black people. There’s a lot of black stuff in my act. I wanted to shoot my special in a place where those issues are still relevant. There’s not a lot of black stuff you can find a joke in these days, but I tried my best in this special. The people dealing with the pain and carrying the weight of these injustices are the ones who deserve to laugh the most. If it’s a black joke about blackness, black people are the ones who deserve that five seconds of relief from whatever the weight is on their shoulders at the time.

Roy Wood Jr. doesn’t act like a comedian adored nightly on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. When we sat down at a table above New York City’s infamous Comedy Cellar, he asked about the latest Wolverine movie like we were comedy buddies catching up. Wood stays accessible because, to him, he isn’t above any other comedian. He’s just in a different part of the cycle. I asked rising New York comedian Neko White what words he thinks of when he thinks of Roy Wood Jr. He said, “Black. Proud. Intellectual.” After meeting with the Birmingham native, I would add “humble” to that list.

The Last Comic Standing finalist debuted his first one-hour comedy special Father Figure on Comedy Central Sunday night (available for purchase on Tuesday, Feb. 21). The special finds funny nuggets of truth in the otherwise tragic race relations still plaguing this country. Whether that’s a white tour guide at the civil rights museum to racist McNugget policies, Wood’s jokes provide a serious relief to those seeking an escape. His set list is full of perpetual punch lines befitting of a nearly 20-year comedy veteran. We spoke about his special, as well as The Daily Show’s election night coverage, the future of radio, and why he learns more from new comics than “the old heads.”

So you shot the special in Atlanta. Any particular reason why you chose to shoot it there?

Well, I’m talking about race and I’m Southern. I wanted to shoot it where race is an issue. I don’t think you should talk about stuff away from where it’s happening. I think that’d be a little disingenuous. The people who are effected the most by a lot of what’s happening in this country are black people. So, I want to tell some jokes to some black people. There’s a lot of black stuff in my act. I wanted to shoot my special in a place where those issues are still relevant. There’s not a lot of black stuff you can find a joke in these days, but I tried my best in this special. The people dealing with the pain and carrying the weight of these injustices are the ones who deserve to laugh the most. If it’s a black joke about blackness, black people are the ones who deserve that five seconds of relief from whatever the weight is on their shoulders at the time.