The hilarious White Yardie takes center stage in our chat, sharing the canvas of his life colored by his unique upbringing in the Jamaican countryside of St Elizabeth and his odyssey to England.
Our conversation branches out to the vibrant yet challenging arena of Caribbean comedy. He provides a candid insider's view of the hurdles Caribbean comedians encounter, while championing the slogan - collaboration over competition. The discussion evolves to encompass White Yardie's tours, lifting the veil on the trials tied to securing performance venues and the overwhelming wave of support he's netted from fans worldwide.
We wrap up by emphasizing how the power of online content and social media is a potent tool for preserving Caribbean culture and inspiring others. Illuminating the importance of staying true to one's culture and relentlessly pushing forward in the face of adversity. From exploring identity representation to discussing opportunities in entertainment and unity, this episode with White Yardie is a veritable treasure trove of insights. Don't miss the chance to ride this exhilarating wave of laughter, culture, and inspiration.
Connect with @carryonfriends - Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
A Breadfruit Media Production
The hilarious White Yardie takes center stage in our chat, sharing the canvas of his life colored by his unique upbringing in the Jamaican countryside of St Elizabeth and his odyssey to England.
Our conversation branches out to the vibrant yet challenging arena of Caribbean comedy. He provides a candid insider's view of the hurdles Caribbean comedians encounter, while championing the slogan - collaboration over competition. The discussion evolves to encompass White Yardie's tours, lifting the veil on the trials tied to securing performance venues and the overwhelming wave of support he's netted from fans worldwide.
We wrap up by emphasizing how the power of online content and social media is a potent tool for preserving Caribbean culture and inspiring others. Illuminating the importance of staying true to one's culture and relentlessly pushing forward in the face of adversity. From exploring identity representation to discussing opportunities in entertainment and unity, this episode with White Yardie is a veritable treasure trove of insights. Don't miss the chance to ride this exhilarating wave of laughter, culture, and inspiration.
Connect with @carryonfriends - Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
A Breadfruit Media Production
I'm excited. Yes, I'm excited for everybody, but this one, I'm really, really excited. So welcome to the podcast, white Yardie. And you know why this is different. I don't have to ask which part to come from, because Yardie in my name. So White Yardie, welcome to the podcast. How are you? I'm good. Thank you for having me as well, and I appreciate it, you know. All right, so let's get right into it. So I'm going to start with you.
Speaker 2:I'm going to start with you. I'm going to start with you. I'm going to start with you.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's get right into it. So you are the White Yardie, which part of Yardie you actually come from.
Speaker 2:St Elizabeth, Black River.
Speaker 1:Oh jeez, I'm St T.
Speaker 2:We don't know bad chatting and red dirt, no you see, people are always saying that you know you don't care. No, no, no, you don't talk. But you know, you have some people who come from we over here and there they're not even chat worse now, you know.
Speaker 1:But guess what? I'm going to put it aside, you know, because you know Jamaica has two places town and everywhere else's country. Yeah, we come from Mobi, so a lot of time we get there, mobi I want to go to town tomorrow.
Speaker 2:I want to go to town. I think Mobi is going with things Right. No, Mobi, Mobi, I'll take over from Kingsong. For how much time now, man? Come on.
Speaker 1:That's because the Kingston people they run come on, mobi here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know you're not going to go anything. Mobi is nice man, remember. You're Mr Glad when I go to Mobi and I'm the guy who's glad to go to Mobi.
Speaker 1:Listen, man, listen, I love it. Apple Valley Farm I love Czechos.
Speaker 2:Apple Valley Farm is just we don't have everything because we don't have a KFC, we're not going to be there. We have it now, we have them now. But whenever you start up there, when we do the KFC Mobi, here that man, the two places.
Speaker 1:I close his place they're like Nigri, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, sablamar, Sablamar. You decide to say, yeah, girl, live a faring.
Speaker 2:Growing up. That's a nice man. I mean countryside, nice like I have freedom. You know we have a worry about certain things like what's happening. It's built up city. We have more. You know we can go climb tree and pick fruits and we can go fishing and catch fish and go cook with self and things like that. So it was good to grow up, man, in that area. You know loads of friends at evening time we'll play cricket, we'll have something for you, we'll play lodee, play some dammin'. You know some hours are going in that area and we make most hours without women and we don't have as much, you know. So I enjoy it, man.
Speaker 2:I miss it sometimes. I wish my children could experience it, you know I understand, especially growing up in, when they grow up in England. So sometimes I wish them could really go there and experience some of them. I think those are things that make you who you are as well. You know you're a virtual and give thanks. You know the opportunity to go there with your children many times and they went there and I remember bringing them to my school where I went primary school, I went high school, I went MC and go back in my own classroom there man, remember, I'm going to my grade six classroom, I'm a student. And there man, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him.
Speaker 2:I, I, I show him, I, I show him, I show him, I show him, I show him. The middle school Gras, the upper school Gras, the foundation Dude. How long has it been then? I think about the last three months. I was behind him. He watched once, then joined again. I was there until I come to 18. And that's when, when I got to 18, come me, come from Black River, which is a very quiet area, I mean it's not as busy like the town, and so on. So what's my friend them, when they did don't school? Some of them move on Mandiville and Kingston, some fly got Canada, some fly got America, england also. It's like me, did I mean I?
Speaker 2:say oh we made one more, do something more, more left, and at the time father they are England, quite a lot, so they all pops. Number four would not go on. Come do something different, yes, so left and ended up in England.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so before you got to be the comedian, what was Life like moving here? Because I know, when I first came here from Jamaica, I mean, the winter situation did different. First of all, the time fall back All of a sudden, four o'clock, pitch black outside, and it was just an adjustment for me. So what was that adjustment for you when you came over, and, in terms of going to school or working, what was that transition like for you?
Speaker 2:Well, definitely where that was a different thing for me, because when the first one would my mom, they had to make a fee like 18 years. So when before I would I'm people, see me, them things and my mix are something, because I son for 18 years man, well, turn up over time like proper, they've even most somebody white them. I say, oh, you mix, your mix, are no people to say you're me, some, what am I? Parents white like me? No, no one like no man. But who you skin a message, son. Son, you know many, never long time on it. So when you're in a fridge for a while, the time fade away. Hey.
Speaker 2:I start like so. That's why when some people go off work in and you say stop leech and obliques of each other, and I just you know day nice on as much, so your skin start like not little bit and that's it. That's just what happened. But the way that definitely was a challenge at first, because never used to. The good thing is I actually Came over when he was summertime in England, so it did hot England, hot, different. Probably see him like over New York and implicit I was like kill me nice city, yeah, yeah man, yeah, like you know, I'll eat a.
Speaker 2:Come from every angle. Eat a box of private Anglia. Feel eat a can catch no breeze, kind of cold side. No, you understand me, not even I sit in a moment, what I sit in last year but then I countryside, oh, may get breeze right now. I was called so lucky wind that I have call right now. May I get sea breeze now. See that on the road there's some. I get nice breeze over there. No, before me there sitting at that.
Speaker 2:But we realized, or even though it's on like this, when I saw my time, so when you start touch evening and that a cold breeze start, yeah, man, realize them and I make for this. And also, you know I just eat and over time you know you get used to the weather and things like that. And just like you said, the same thing, like you start realize like how it's a dark outside and how it gets like right now I have to eat PM with me, then I don't get it. I don't get it. So Definitely a lot of those challenges. You know our new experiences again used to, yeah, yeah. So I want to talk about the thing the white Yachty and how I remember I loved watching lunatic with Paul Campbell and I know I'm not a fan of the white Yachty.
Speaker 1:I remember I loved watching lunatic with Paul Campbell and when Masa the character in there was white and camera's name what he was deep in other parts, one somebody was like Is he really talking to me? I can I say, yes, he's a really popular actor in Jamaica. So what is the reaction when people see you and you are talking to me and you're explaining that? No, both my parents are white. I'm white, I'm fully white, but I'm also Jamaican. Talk to me about those encounters.
Speaker 2:Well, the thing about it is most of the time these questions are coming from people who either don't have Jamaican or Caribbean backgrounds, are any Relation with it, any connection with it. Most of them question comes from those people and a lot of time the negative comments come from People who do have the connection but they never born, are being to the Caribbean, are Jamaican, they always live in foreign. So it's almost like they are upset because they look at me as more Jamaican than them because I'm from there. But they should be more you know me like.
Speaker 2:That's where it comes from. So it goes many different ways. For me it varies on the questions that I get. So for me I don't mind somebody asking a question because I get it. I get it.
Speaker 2:Jamaica is a country where To the world it is promoted, and it's a black country Predominantly, because majority of the people there are black. However, we who from Jamaica and go school in Jamaica and grew up there and everything we look around, and also women's school, we have Indian in our classroom are we calling fully at the time and that's what we call them. But the Indians we have Chinese, we have everybody there. You know there's a mixture, so we don't look at it. We know a brain of we used to say Manly and a Monday, you know I mean. So it's not unusual for us because we know it. So we grew up with it. The ones who don't know it know and they asked I don't mind people ask me no like oh, come here, you talk like that, why is that?
Speaker 2:I'm cool with that. It's when somebody comes and say why are you talking like that? What do you mean? Why am I talking like that? That's not a question. You know me that you should come and ask me oh, how come it's like not, you know, we have like you don't believe that should be talking this way, or it's wrong for me to talk like this? You know people say well, why are you trying to talk about black person? What?
Speaker 1:well, I think to some people they see people like Tom Hankson who parades around with it so. Yeah, yeah, I'm noticing a Colleenium. So when they encounter you, they automatically, you know, think that way because they see this character who is trying on Jamaica and this and. Caribbean this and and Think he has it but he doesn't. And I think I wish we all would stop Supporting or even engaging with the post like don't ever like it, don't forward it, don't bex with it, nothing, just ignore it, you know, just let's move on.
Speaker 2:So me it's always one of these ones where I look on it like there's no problem I don't see with people embracing other people's culture. Yes, and if you travel to China, You're not supposed to expect for God. They don't want up to the rice and peas. You have a God if it experience their food right you understand.
Speaker 2:You know you're gonna put on there that is thing. If you put there certain places where you go, and Even in Dubai and Egypt, and when you go off on the camels and stuff like that, they offer you the head wraps and things that they put over their heads what they traditionally wear. They offer it to you to wear on these things because you're there, you're embracing their culture while you're there. But people know who take the culture and take it to a next level where it sounds like they're trying to say, oh, I make this fashionable, I am making the Egyptian culture, are there the Arab culture more popular? No, you're not. So when he went on I'm not too much on him anyway, but even on a show, I'm here with a book about what, what popular and what. Yeah, I think they are full. Which one they?
Speaker 1:cannot be two of them. You have to pick one. It will. Well, in the case, I'm beautiful and the conversation that I've always had and I remember the story. I tell everybody the story. When I was interviewing many years ago this young man you know, asking me strength is weakness and him say his accent was his weakness. I would go through the interview and at the end of the interview I said your accent is not a weakness and I want people to understand. They're paying a lot of Hollywood actors to have a terrible version of what we have naturally.
Speaker 2:Come on, yeah, come on. Well, I see it all the time. Listen, in England it works. Yeah, what's our? It was a row over here. Yeah, because you know what, them, them, we hire Anybody apart from a Jamaican. You know a Jamaican role? Wow, it just do a movie. Yeah, I'm gonna. Yeah, big man, me, no, free and the top my mind say, when we want to say somebody like it, we can have the conversation. It's fine, I'm not lying. That's the difference is, when you're gonna say something, I start lying. Make up things. That's when you can up, people can really get upset with you and then you're in a run. But when you speak the truth, speak the truth and that's it. Idris, a film, a movie called Yardy, and he get a white man, english white man, to play a role as a white Jamaican in there.
Speaker 1:I'm never.
Speaker 2:My bad man, my dear England. When I hear a good friend know me too, you could have called me. If you do it Originally, I'm proper. Why not always my water, though? Why they never want to give them, rather give somebody else the opportunity Every time them always do it. I see it so much happen. I mean I say yo like, what does it take for us? So I don't get it. I honestly don't get it. It's so terrible over here, man, like they want your somethings on the same. Just say yo is what it is.
Speaker 1:I understand the frustration still because, um, you see it every day. You know, I've heard stories of somebody pitching a pilot or a show around a Caribbean. Um, you know lifestyle, family, and they don't want to. They will relegate us to be in the nanny. You know something? Some other sitcom are something else, which is why I love what sherry lee ralph is doing in about elementary because she played a teacher about every now and then the accent just chipping.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, you understand yeah exactly and I, and when you think of it, you know that's how a lot of us interact. We go to work and something happened, and you know where we get excitable, the accent come out and this is our real life experience. But I'm of the position that you know. Maybe we just need to stop waiting on them for the week and we should Go out and do it with self. Um, definitely have a theory that the internet age kind of Impact jamaica movie. So you see, before the internet with a watch, the asa queen, third world cup, all of them shakers all of them right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've dvd cities and since then we don't really have anything that proliferates, are, you know, really captures the hearts and minds of the people and I said this.
Speaker 2:One enough on a live, that idea. I said this. I said yo Right, if you ask anybody, boy, come over the matter. The shutters down south, we turn, work up, that's all we're still at the heart of the Holiday.
Speaker 2:Smile, orange, like this, don't you sweat the other people still, that's the only comedy we are talking about. Line tree lia. Like what else? We have nothing else. We don't have nothing else. You're telling me.
Speaker 2:Say, all of the talent we have in other world Are up young. I said this in a jamaica. The population is like three million. There is a report the other day that in america alone there's over million jamaicans living there who born from jamaica. That's not counting people who born from jamaican parents or anything like. That's just jamaican's left and gone. That's just in america. England can never include that. Canada have a wally page on the economy, england have a wally page on the economy. The caribbean as a whole population must be anyway over 50 million. Easy, easy, easy.
Speaker 2:I tell me, say yo, we cannot get our own things from platforms. We can have a netflix, we can have amazon, we can have them thing there, but every other continent, every other country has it. African, have them thing, african them have, have netflix. If you go to netflix right now and you go through Got them section with them a whole other program dependent. You look for e-sion, the whole other program. They look for american English, everybody. They found it. Everybody. They found all alien. They found tv and we know they found tv. I look out over there, listen. They know what you hear. They are moving. You watch and talk to the show and you'll see. I'll talk to you a day that I'm not moving and we can't get to moving.
Speaker 1:It's true. It's true. The last sitcom that I remember is desmond's films in the uk itself.
Speaker 2:All right, and that was a mixture. Yeah, and that was a mixture of um, I don't think desmond was jamie, because I think desmond was gayanese, yes, and I think pope by abeijan.
Speaker 2:And and and me. I tell you, yo, yatemi say we can't have our own today. Desmond, that's the question I asked too. My thing is this I'm a funny, you said, because I recently noticed this conversation. I've come up a lot and I'm always a part of this conversation. When I'm talking is my.
Speaker 2:My aim when I first started to do comedy was always Get punty. They get punty, get punty, get, get get. Yeah, I did forget punty and then after hours I realized they're not familiar. I go to many meetings, I go to many interviews with them to discuss stuff. But the problem is they see me as a gimmick. If I was a gimmick like a cheddar or a hamster, I wouldn't have all the patis in this show by now. Problem is when they come to meet me or when we go meet them, they must say yo, you're real. I'm saying, of course, this is me. Oh, we thought it was like an act that you put on. No, it's not an act. This is generally me they're not interested in. Generally. They want an act. They don't want that because they want you to water down and want to be able to control what you're doing. Right, I'm not doing that. I've been on TV and I actually got an opportunity to go back on the same show again this year. Unfortunately, I cannot make it out of the term though, because I've been said Martin's doing a show, which is blessed that you have these opportunities and you have to be turning them down. But also it's like me. I look upon it and say yo.
Speaker 2:My aim right now is to keep making nice for the Caribbean islands and keep hopefully expanding, helping young comedians come up on the scene, helping young comedians get platforms where they can perform on stages, because that's another thing we don't have as much as we want TV and we want this, we want movies, and that At the same time, we're still fighting to get venues to let us in to do shows as well. So we have a lot of battles, uphill fights that we have to go through, and I'm trying my best to open up doors and get things happening. And if I can help a young comedian and along the road who just starting control, let's go together and do it together, and one day I would love to be able to secure a deal with one of these big platforms. Where it is, we have to say like, let me secure the box, like, get a proper, get a good payment for one of these big platforms and use that payment to then invest into the Jamaican film somehow, whether it's filming movies, filming and see come, getting writers getting the right to pay in a production company Not your brand and you can't film come. Film a book, no, proper, proper. Something that is my aim now to one day hopefully, can do.
Speaker 2:If I cannot do it, I hope that by me making nice, somebody else can get through the door and then do it because we need it. We can have action movie, love movie, we can have doppy show, we can have everything, but when are we gonna have it? It's like every time. We are weird. Like you said, why are we weird people? We are people. We should be able to do it ourselves. We have a lot of influence on the world as Jamaicans. Jamaican musical loan is probably, to me, is the biggest and the most influential music in the world. As much as people don't want to talk about it, it's the facts. It's beer. Yeah, burn up why the biggest African artist right now used to be a dance art artist. He used to be an African dance artist. Right, I'm teasing, I'm not sure I'm gonna show them. Sometimes I'm teasing. I'm saying if I knew something, if I knew something, I would be copying Jamaican songs and they don't even know. I'm gonna break it down to them and tell them what are you thinking?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Come on, come on, but one day we just have to keep working and keep fighting these battles and one day, one day, hopefully one of us gets through and hopefully it's the right person that gets through, that can bring other people through, and not the one that goes through and that they do it behind.
Speaker 1:I think that point is just so important because, from my observation is, we all have to decide that we're in a co-operative right. We're competing but we have to cooperate in other competing because we're all trying to build something and build it forward and I just don't think a lot of people have that mindset to understand this is what we have to do.
Speaker 2:You know what? Do you know why? Tell me why. I can tell you exactly why I don't. I agree with somebody who said I'm not competing, I compete with myself. When I mean competing, you know. No, no, no, it's competitive in a way. I get it. But I think we have to clarify I don't compete with somebody who said you know you are sell out and show me I go sell out and make a show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no that's not what I mean. I'm not doing that. I used to be like that. We are very competitive. If one comedian do this, me one do this, the next comedian do that, me one do that. But when we look at him and say, yeah, I'm happy a comedian, do that, because by you doing that it shows that it's possible, it can be done. So I would like to one day be able to do similar to that or close to that. And also, I look at things and reason why people are like that is because they insecure of their self.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what it is A lot of insecurities.
Speaker 1:The example I was going to use was with Motown. Technically, all of those artists, they're trying to reach a similar audience, but the way how all the Motown artists them kind of mobilize, move forward to push Motown as a label, the premier label. That's the example that I use because in their mind, if the Supreme's do good, everybody else behind them are going to do good, I would do good, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:But you know, a problem is in the industry, where we have is nobody look upon it like yo, if the Supreme's do good, we all have a good. Everybody want to look on that. Me want to be the Supreme's If they do good and don't follow me. Everybody want to be the man. That's the problem. Everybody wants to be. Oh, that's him, he's the guy, he's normal, like it shouldn't be, like that.
Speaker 2:Don't let it stop you. Me never want to know my career, ever stop somebody because me wanted that job or me wanted it. Never, it wasn't for me. That's why I didn't get it. I don't look upon something like, oh, oh, yeah, you only get that because of this. No, it wasn't for me. If me help somebody and this person within a year has gone off and gone to movies, gone to that, and I held that person along the way and they got there, me, and I go say yo, I never helped you that, never that. Me never know that. That always was set to happen for you in life. It was gonna happen. So me, just have to focus on what me, I do Me, I feel happy with what I am doing, you understand. So I agree, if one of us can get that breakthrough, it shows that it can happen.
Speaker 2:The problem is, like we said, it's all about who gets that breakthrough. We have to make sure it's the right. Well, we can make sure, but we just have to hope it's the right one that gets that breakthrough, that has the right mentality to know that. Yo me know, you know this crab and a barrel mentality, that's it. We need to skip that. We need to help each other come onto the barrel and make it pan-tap at the barrel. You understand, that's what we need for the stop all this push. But problem is, like I said, too much competition with each other. Everybody wants to be the man, everybody wants to be the supreme. So I mean, nobody know I take them time and say I can go through to you know I can go through.
Speaker 1:Everybody want to be glad there's nobody want to be the pips yeah.
Speaker 2:Nobody know I do no backup dancing. I you know like come on money. You know one hand wash one right Yup, Yup you can wash with one hand. I got that there. I feel like I try. You know, some people want to know who I should want to, but we know say oh, you see it easier. You know, let's make it happen. But again one day. One day, one month.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the last point on this, I had somebody on the show a couple years ago and she said one of the problems the Caribbean has is no one really gauges our numbers properly. They either bulk us into Latin America and they don't really know how to separate us, and to a degree I agree, but I think they're like you said. There's enough of us in the diaspora, the Jamaican diaspora. Holy, combine the Caribbean. We not for the other side.
Speaker 1:So we can mobilize and figure out that thing. If we can figure out how to keep, dance and party and re-evaluate and don the place, we can try to do the same thing in terms of other areas of the art, diversify how we are generating income and diversify how much we are reclaim ownership of Fubiculture as opposed to other people are on with it. I do new things with it and make it seem like oh, my god, this is so new.
Speaker 1:No, hello, hello, come over here, so that type of thing. So I'm so glad that we are having this conversation. So you've been on tour and I understand that you've been on tour in England and Canada a lot and you just did your first tour in the US. So no, you need to put them from last. No, what is different about America versus the tours that you've done in Canada and England?
Speaker 2:You know what I mean? Fine, to be honest, there's difference in every area I go.
Speaker 2:It's not even just the country it's set is actually in England. They have some place where you go different, the vibe is different. I live in England, so London as well. I live in London majority of the time. I've been here so many years and they have moved out. So London get enough of me. So it's almost like they get so much of you that you can become very diluted. They're used to. You know what I mean. So then they're not appreciated as much. But fortunately for me is that I've always been able to travel and to show other places such as Canada, because early in my career Canada was always some weird people that tell me for comment. We end up going there and making it happen. So luckily for me I can not do no London show if you are five, six month arc as long as me want, because I have other places to go. Some comedians don't have that opportunity. You can see these comedians like every week. You can see them are performed. They're not exclusive, no more. So it's very different in different places.
Speaker 2:I enjoyed coming over to America and touring. I've been to America before, but it was only a very short period. I did like three shows or four shows I think it was at the time. That was back in 2017. I think it was. So the American tour was really over to because a lot more people never seen it before and you know Canada has seen me many times. I've been going to Canada for like the longest. As I said, they love me over there.
Speaker 2:Toronto. People show me so much love throughout my career. Like, honestly, they probably have been one of the most supportive people in my career from start till now. Like, if I go on my Instagram right now and post anything for the show, when you come back to Toronto, Literally they kill me. They just want me there otherwise and I appreciate it. You know what I mean. But at the same time, I have to make them say, as much as I would love to come back every other day, I have to give them time if they miss me more. So when we come back, we can give them new material. We can also come out a while and you know and I forget new stuff, so I take a while to go out and create new material. America was very. Reception was great and now I got like some other players there and like, especially around the New York area was amazing. You know what I mean, Like the reception, the feedback, Like one thing I really like to hear back is when people come to me and tell me something funny in person and on social media, Because for me social media good everything, but that's not my career.
Speaker 2:They work hard in hard. It's part of my career, but my real work is when we go on stage and perform and when somebody come to a show and watch me live and then say, yo, brother, you're funny. Yo, you know people come on show and say yo, me, and the funny is coming that they ever see. And then I say really. And then I say yeah, it means that yo, like I have to start looking for myself. I do good work.
Speaker 2:I put a lot of time over years into this and it's paying off. Where people are giving me or putting me in same categories with certain comedians who I used to look up to. You know what I mean. Kevin Hart he has his tour going on and I did a tour of Canada and America while he's touring and doing it. And these people come to me and say just watch Kevin Hart. Two weeks ago New funny ad on him. I said whoa, like you know what I mean, he's crazy. So it's been good. I mean, the feedback is always good and I spend time with everybody after the show. Every show we do, we always stand up and people on talk and take pictures. We can do that and you know feedback I get is amazing. You know what I mean. So yeah, it's been good.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. I am so bummed I missed the shows. They were a sellout. But when you're circled back you know it definitely has power.
Speaker 2:again, the thing about the tour is the US tour. We do anything in sections, you know what I mean. So we did 16 shows the other day across, like we went to Virginia, went to Washington DC, went on George, went Atlanta, again went LA. We did Atlanta back in April and the show was sell out. I said yo, people love me when we announced we were combat people like you have to come back to Atlanta. When we're back to Atlanta, the two more shows are gonna sell out. I said yo Atlanta, people are showing me love. So you know I appreciate that as well. Atlanta has become in a place where we might have four hours off but then four hours up in New York and Brooklyn. People have gone mad. Queens, people go mad. I said yo like for kids to be upstate yo man say all right.
Speaker 1:But like you tell me, kayla, you never go on the Bronx.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you never go on the Bronx People cost me more to Bronx. I said yo come on Bronx. Yeah, so they're people in their ears. You know, man, like give me your house, remember to wash your hands. I can't find anything. But what the point is that we, what I'm doing is that so we did that section there. We did Boston, philly, jersey, and then we have a circle back. I'm going to Florida and Texas and we might even throw in Long Island and some other places up there as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you might even want to try Chicago. Our family in the Midwest and all the Pajama you can over there.
Speaker 2:We definitely, like I was saying earlier, is like we even struggle to find places where one has to come and perform. You know what I mean and that's the truth, that's the reality of it, that people don't like, like what many people don't talk about. You know what I mean and and knowing that is like again, it's about making sure the right person get through. That can help everybody, or sometimes people can actually do and I'm lucky to do upon you. They have not tried to bring in like in Atlanta, we managed to get the Atlanta Comedy Theater, which is a very popular comedy place where we are talking to you all, like every comedian for us, through every comedian, we are to show God that, like all the top US comedians go there, and they gave us a Sunday night, which is normally a slow night, and we sold it out. So no, based on it's like we have to go there and perform yeah Once you've done that I have opened the door there.
Speaker 2:We are now. Other comedians from the Caribbean can now go in there and do a show based off of you know why are they linked, so it got you and I don't mind. I'm cool with that. You understand me, Because we want the scene to grow and develop, but we are struggling to find places and nobody really want to give you a venue we had locked in.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you exactly what happened.
Speaker 2:We locked in and booked in with a comedy club, popular, big comedy club in America. We were so excited we got this bit based on the fact of what I did in Atlanta, atlanta Comedy Theater. They recommended us got it Cool. When we get it now, boom, we are too sure. One in Richmond and one in Virginia Beach. Now we're using both their venues. They advertised the wrong dates. Are they locked in the dates? And for the wrong we are on and we are advertised the dates them. For the other we are on. So when we start it caused confusion. Now them end up cancel the show upon we.
Speaker 2:One week before the actual show of it happened I start email people and tell people say we cancel upon them but miss the advertiser home we cancel. So I'm gonna say you know our people is cool. We have to go online and search and a message and an email, find two venues and we made the show still happen anyway. And, to be fair, out of the 16 shows that I did, those are probably the only two shows that never sold out. All of the rest sold out and it is based off of the fact of what happened. That conclusion. So it was cool anyway we move on from that way. You know we do have to do, but again it's like man. So these places it's hard to get venues. So it's not like I wouldn't want to go Chicago, I want to go everywhere in the world with people. But if we can't find a venue, we just can't find a venue. There's nothing more we can do.
Speaker 1:So thank you for sharing that. So while we're on that, you know which joke is the one. So the other day I was watching a special with Dionne Cole and he talked about his little thing, where I'm used to writing jokes from a paper and every time people request that little bit. Is there a particular joke or something that you do on stage that people say, no man, tell the joke, that, tell the joke, that that's the joke.
Speaker 2:No, not really no, because you know why? Is because I, I, I, I, I, I. I be honest, I try my best to always be delivering new material. You know what I mean. So every time people see me, it's like I always try to make sure I have new material for them and give them like. And that's something that may really prove that I have managed to do over the years is is I take this thing seriously. So me write a hour of material and not hour. I would tour with it. It would be all over the UK, all over Canada, all over America, and once I've done an tour with that for a year or two and I've been to almost everywhere. All right, here's a new hour and I'll go again with that. But sometimes we get people request like.
Speaker 2:Then we say, yo, the video you know, video you know. And they like when we start bring up something similar to something we talk about in our video because they can relate to it. Like I think one of my first, even videos that kind of went viral was a canteen or video For me. I thought, boy, yo like the top of the canteen or them. So maybe I say yo, like, maybe I can do a lesson Like maybe I say yo, it's gonna be a Christmas time, you're going to your family for dinner and I'm gonna start giving them rules. I'm gonna say yo, when you bring canteen, you know you have to know what kind of canteen I would bring. You know, just bring any, any canteen. I say yo, bring the big ice cream or ice cream, dish them, cause they're wonderful, they want to hold, hold it in there. And I say yo, you have to bring different, different ones. I say yo, when you're a pack, you know, put rice and gravy. And I see them, when you keep them separate Because you might want the rice and the gravy to get on them, they go so up together. You know one of them, something there.
Speaker 2:I say yo, the greatest tip of all I'm gonna give, you know, not bring no lead for the canteen. I say what do you mean? Not bring no lead? I say yo, five years we're clean from that. The lead only restricts how much you can put in there. You know you have no lead. You're packing, so wrap it up, come on, man. So sometimes when we start talking about that, when I see people say the canteen are there, I'm gonna talk about them. So I have some joke where people know and they like the ear it's almost like I've read this hits when you hear artists about performing or something. So there's nothing wrong with that. But me I always. I make sure I bring new material all the time. So one thing we can tell you is why yeah they?
Speaker 2:have ever toured anywhere. And in comeback, in the comeback, we see them, joke them, so you know always fresh always fresh. But I tell you one thing, man, I was doing. You see what I'm gonna ask you. Give me a question, I say yo.
Speaker 1:I love that container joke because I live it. So when my uncle, when I cook, I come over listen, money, my company, little bag with ally, and say me little Bambi for go work, that's it, that's it.
Speaker 2:And yo, I used to travel with them. I make regular. Everyone's got people to see me with them. I'm saying I have it, I have me can't deal. Yes, food good, so I come with me.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's true. Oh, my god, that's so amazing. So, as we wrap up, I want you to tell me what your plans are for the future. I know that you're diversifying what you're doing. Stand up is a gateway to other opportunities. What do you see for the future, not just for Jamaicans, but Caribbean's, in this world of entertainment and all this other stuff that you're doing?
Speaker 2:Well for me in the future. Like I said, I would love to be able to have opportunities to do movies and more acting. You know, comedy sitcoms are type of thing there and, like I said, I would love to be able to even have the financial there. Like you know, you have a disposable income right there where you can say you know what I'm only we don't need this. You know this can go down and create something for Jamaicans, you know, and the Caribbean as a whole. Like I would really like that and hopefully one day that can happen.
Speaker 2:I see the entertainment just keep growing and growing and growing. I think the work that I'm putting in and other comedians like myself from the Caribbean community are putting in is definitely gonna pay off one day for somebody. And you know it's just about us keep putting in our work and I feel like I would like to see the entertainment more unified, together and working together. Stop trying and I'll be off separate and like this work together and build together, so, you know, to make it happen. You know I mean, we're from Jamaica, we know say, oh, buy yourself, not come. Everybody at some point has to work together to get some real what they like. It are not. You understand what I mean. So I mean entertainment wise. I said just more. More than just dance, that's what I'd like to see, more than just the music. We have more to offer. There's a lot more to offer and we have so much talent from the small island where the biggest small island in the world yeah that's all you see.
Speaker 2:Jamaica is the biggest small island in the world because we conquered the world, basically we exactly. We are so influential, you know, when you look at Bob Marley, look at UCM, both all those things like, come on, man, from one like a small island, we have two big legend in the world. Let's be real about it, you know. I mean so yeah, man, we just hopefully one day they will see that there's more to offer than just dance and it's not wrong to dance. I would say there's so much more.
Speaker 1:I say it all the time. You know, and that's kind of why this podcast, focus on the content. There's enough gossip, there's enough met and mix up. We need to show the different facets. And I'm not saying not to do gossip, because mainstream America TV them up, tmz them up, all of that. So we just need for sure that we can do different things and a lock with self into wanting it's crazy.
Speaker 2:It's crazy like. It's like if we start this podcast and it started where, straight away you hear you all, me, like the brother, you know, I just see that you tell something. You see, in time, mr Demande, the money can't deserve me a view. That little click there we got news. But you see, I said, I just thought so. My SIO people, you know, said big and serious, we need to work together. Well, time for that yes no one know.
Speaker 1:I see that that's what we've been experiencing the last couple years, but you know, we nobody know.
Speaker 1:I see that we're consistent and we committed to it because we know that the work we're doing and of the likes, there's a there's a preservation aspect of our culture that I'm very keenly aware of. Right, if we're gonna pass this to my kids, we lose out the culture. Somebody else buy out the culture, right, and we. The way that we preserve it is to have these conversations. Like you said, most of us live here, so we have to do it in the environment that we are, and I wish more people saw how critical that was. Yes, we need for party. Yes, we need for run, yes, we need for the all of these things, but we need for tech up space in our newsroom everything, every day where I saw some of us are out about.
Speaker 2:Some of us are very good because do it for likes. You see that. You see, you see me, me the first music care about likes and views. Let me realize, though them to get important. So me post whenever I'm a one post, I don't care. Some people have a set time when they post because they don't post it.
Speaker 2:Now get many people where we post a video and if you don't get a certain amount of comment and like them, delete it because you know much with the other stuff, bro, like it's life and everybody are there online and watch at that time, like, keep it moving. You don't know, sometimes the hundred views where you'll get one person. That hundred views is more important to see that the video. They have kids, your life, more than the millions where seat, and I do not more than kick you get home, yes, true, so so not people do this, do this, only them. After you know, with Chris, nothing's I've been talking about recently. I'm a say you're like too much. People are too fixated on what people want to see. Unlike them, not more for themselves, no more than what I do to impress people, and what they've done is can see them, depending next side of the screen now I see nothing and you are trying to impress them.
Speaker 1:I mean, I remember I recorded an episode at the podcast and I just started in a, because January a come ago. Well, it by years, about nine years, since I've been doing this podcast.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you, thank you nine year long time that one of this, yeah man, yeah man, and you know, sometimes you feel like man. What may I do? Because you know, not more people don't know it. But I remember there was a point in time when somebody had said to me no, you're Jamaican and Caribbean people not checking for you cuz. The podcast now blew up and I asked myself a question if I never make a dollar, would I still want to do it?
Speaker 1:and the answer was unequivocally yes and so I just continue, and so a lot of times you just have to just lock your eye to whatever they go on from the internet and just kind of do what you know, because the algorithm is like a carrot the dangle and they move further and further away, and me can't work because slaves to it.
Speaker 2:Exactly what it is and that's the problem with a lot of ideas on social media and entertainers creators is that they fixated on all these little things like even now you can go buy blue check like yo if you want buy, buy.
Speaker 2:That's up to you. You have to pay a monthly fee. It's cool, but it's what? Who are you buying it for? Like, realistically, are you buying it for sure? It's not fee, you know, I mean it's not earned. It's not like you're earned and say, yo, I'm gonna submit me, do well in a life and look there, became somebody that even social media companies are now verified me. That's good. But to go off and buy it because you feel like no, but should have it, why should you have it? Why you know entitled to it. Like you know, I mean, yeah, we're earned stuff.
Speaker 2:So yeah man, it's crazy, it's a crazy world, and just I get more mud it's, I get mudder.
Speaker 1:But what I love about this entire conversation is whatever you do, you have to do it because you love it, because you see, in days when it's hard and I know you notice sometimes the creativity now are unlike you want it for on and you know, maybe opportunity come on boy, the phones lack up over here so you can do something you still do it even despite all of that, and I think that's that's what's lost on people that even if you love it, it's going to be hard, but it's because you love it you're gonna push through okay, good, enough time.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna give up enough time. So don't do this. You know, like yo man tell me can do it no more myself from depression. You know I watch this no more. Sometimes me, I go through some hard time and then we have to go up on stage. You'll perform the same night. I mean I say your heart, so get through it. But you know audience, I laugh and you know, be there for a stage miserable right now.
Speaker 2:Many not good mood and you know I mean something happened to me in Canada arm with really touch my life this woman. You know like I was going through a lot like mentally at the time and I deal with it. I'm not really sure if my carry on is normal and I'm on the show and perform and everything go down. Yeah, pretend, put on this facade people, and when, everything done, I go back to the hotel, our dear BFD and I'm gonna buy myself with my thoughts. You know it kinda start bother me. But do I show on? This lady come up to me and she told me she said, because during the set I thought about like lockdown and people who are essential workers and stuff like this. She came up to me and said you are essential worker, believe me, you are Like true lockdown. She had told me about some things. When we get our true, I mean I said yo me, they are depressed, both things and this woman. But you are lost in our life. We are, and it's so crazy because you see me. That's why I'm saying do things just generate from my heart?
Speaker 2:Some people were like if they might give somebody $100, something they might fulfill me, to show the world. So yo me just give that poor person our 100. Like, if me give somebody something, give them a gun. They even really focus to take out a phone. You know, when people have taken out a phone they film every liquor thing. They do a lot of praise but I may not do it. But funny enough, the cameraman catch that moment right here and heard everything. And my guy, the message lady, and say yo, show the clip and say yo, we caught this, do you mind? Yeah, the posting that means yo.
Speaker 2:I'm not a person.
Speaker 2:I'm not that I'm somebody want. And the woman said, no, she wants me to share because she wants the world to know that yo, you are helping people around the world in ways you don't even know I'm the person. But she said, yeah, do it. So I'm not going to do them something. You know, I mean no much time people come to me after show and yo me. They had an airport. I got your airport and a woman stopped me in a line and I checked I'm going to work through the airlines.
Speaker 2:That means no, you and thought to me about her husband in a hospital and every day I'm just want to watch your video. When you don't post him say yo, we don't have to post to them on show man and in vex, and that they think they're motivated to keep going. So when you want to give up, it's people like those that keep me going, because I realize say yo, all right, may I do it, may I earn a living from it. That's great. But there's bigger joy to this because you are helping other people's lives without even knowing, by just posting a video, by just doing something online. So we inspire people, you know, I mean so. He's why he's one day of lesson we come.
Speaker 1:They just have to keep doing what you do, and I want to say that I'm inspired by this conversation and it's it's a little top up on the energy bar to keep going, because concentration isn't easy, and so just you being here having this conversation it's, it's fuel for me to just go on. So, thank you so much. Tell the people that we support them can find up on the internet. I'll do it, I know, but just in case somebody's a minute by ear, you said it.
Speaker 2:Everyone, social media is white. Yeah, the Instagram, just look for the white. Yeah, they were the blue. Check. You know what I mean, not the subscription one I'm coming up with the whole check yeah.
Speaker 1:Like they might just swipe you out of the everywhere.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's what I mean, yeah.
Speaker 1:All right, and that's the end of every show. Walk good.