- But this next person, this next comic coming to the stage
is that dude in the sense that they are one of the best
I've ever seen.
I hate how good she is.
And she was that good when I first saw her.
All she's done is gotten better.
- Absolutely. - And that shit is annoying.
You may have seen her on her own Netflix special.
She is also a writer on "Black Monday" on Showtime.
Please welcome to the stage the homey Janelle James.
- Yay, Janelle.
- Ayyyyy!
- What up family?
♪ I'm black, yup. ♪ - That's, ooh.
♪ Blackity, black, 'cause I'm black y'all. ♪
♪ Ay, ay ♪
- Oh man, seriously.
See before? - That's who
you were introing, right?
That's a black person, that's me, right?
(laughter)
- It is you, it is you, yes it is.
- That's an excellent intro, thank you so much.
I love when men complement me.
(laughter)
- We gotta have a talk about people
who are so good it hurts one day, you know what I mean?
I have that to in music, people are so good
it just get on your nerves, you know?
- Oh yeah, can you give a shout out right now?
- I'm able, you know, Kendrick.
(laughter)
- Oh yeah. - He's pretty good
and it's a little annoying sometimes.
He's damn good, he is. - You know what I mean?
- That's Michaela Coel for me.
The writer, actress, Michaela Coel.
- Oh yeah. - From chewing gum.
I hate her guts, she's so good.
(laughter)
- Yeah, she now has a new show on HBO I think.
- Yes. - "I May Destroy You".
- Yes. - Have you watched it yet?
- Yes, it's excellent.
It's very heavy, but she's so good.
And I don't... you know, especially right now
I'm not looking for heavy things, but she's so good,
it's excellent, yeah.
- Yo, a good story is a good story, heavy or not.
- Yeah. - You know what I mean?
If it's done well, it'll lift something off ya.
That's the point. - True.
- Lift something - True, true.
that's supposed to be heavy.
- I ain't been looking at
a lot of heavy stuff either, though.
I can look at heavy stuff that's old.
- True. - Like I can look at
a Spike Lee movie that's heavy.
- What, like comfort heavy?
- Yeah, comfort heavy, that's it.
- Comfort heavy. - Like a big ass blanket.
Comfort heavy, that's what I'm zooming
or dialing into lately.
- "Boyz in the Hood". - Like you know
what's gonna happen radio Rahim.
- Yes. - Right, a "Boyz in the Hood",
a "Menace to Society",
I could do that, no current shootings please.
(laughter)
- For real, for real for real.
- Shootings from back then.
- Yeah.
- When we were so chill we stayed in the car
while we shot.
That's how we did it.
- Exactly.
- Oh, that's hilarious.
So, Janelle, what you been up to?
You just seem like you're doing everything all the time.
- Where are you by the way?
- I am on the East Coast.
Exact location undisclosed.
(laughter)
What part of the East Coast, up, middle, or bottom?
- Ah, shit, (laughter) middle.
- Okay, I don't know if that's you don't want to tell me
or if you're confused about your location.
- You know, it's, I have nut bags that follow me, it's cool.
- Yeah, yeah, I'm not trying to give away your location.
It's just that everyone's everywhere, you know?
- Yeah, I was in LA and now I'm on the East Coast.
- You was in LA for a minute, right?
Like when everything kinda went to hell you was in LA.
- I was, and we went up, I was working a job,
a writing job, "Central Park", Apple TV,
and was supposed to eventually head back here,
but not this soon, basically.
And thought that my kids would be joining me
in LA for the summer and then everything pop.
You know, we went into quarantine,
but people were still doing the elbow dabs
like it wasn't serious.
And so I didn't take off as soon as I would have liked.
And so I just got back to the East Coast about a month ago.
And it was a horrible experience traveling right now,
so I do not recommend it.
- Ooh, tell me about it, 'cause of that show
that you're working on, "Central Park", Apple plus.
Just to conversate exactly the way that you said it.
- I don't get paid extra for saying it, it's cool.
Once is good.
- But you seem to like working on it.
You seem to like working on it.
- I mean, yeah.
- Yeah, so you are just always doing shit.
That's what I mean.
You have been here and you have been getting
writing jobs left and right.
You had a lot of shit popping off
and when I think about people
who were on the come up, you know that I'm like dammit,
Janelle James is one of those people.
I mean you've been doing comedy for a minute.
You have always been good.
You are the truth,
- Keep it up. - if I've never told you that.
- Keep it coming. No, no.
Seriously, Janelle. - 'Cause I don't know
if you know, I haven't had any applause in...
(laughter)
Just the intro made me cry right there,
when you said coming to the stage.
I'm like, goddamn.
That's the,
shoot it in my veins. - I know seriously, right?
I know, it's deep. - Because, ah, anyway.
Yes, I'm doing a lot of stuff.
But I've always been like this,
even before I got into comedy.
I'm just one of those people,
I wanna experience everything
and whatever industry I'm in at the moment
I want to do all parts of it.
And that's why comedy is good
'cause you could just branch off
in so many different directions
and it keeps my brain humming.
- So with how loudly you like to keep your brain humming,
with all the activities you're involved in,
what was it like having to slow down?
- Ugh, this has been, actually you know
before I left LA I hurt my back.
So just, you know, I am not only brain wise frenetic
but just motion wise, I always gotta be doing something.
So I left LA with a hurt back, got here,
I'm immediately doing, I'm gardening,
I'm trying to, I'm doing home renovations,
I'm just always into something.
So it's been very hard to sit down.
And it's almost good that I hurt my back
'cause it's kinda forcing me to do that.
But it's very difficult because life is short.
And I feel like I'm one of those people that's just,
I feel every second ticking by (laughter).
- Ooh, it's a countdown for you, huh?
- Yeah, yeah.
I mean so to get into everything that's happening
that's one of the bad things about racism for me
is 'cause I always feel like life is so short
and having to think and deal with racism
is taking away time from me.
- Mmmm.
- Scientifically that is true.
- Yeah, I'm so mad that I have to waste my life minutes
dealing with this shit.
- Yes. - You know?
So that's how I'm affected most of all.
I'm mad in that way (laughter).
- [Man In Hat] Well that's just
the state of being, you know?
Because we have to hold something that we didn't make.
You know what I mean?
- And didn't ask for it.
Just trying to chill. - We did not ask for it,
exactly. - And experience things,
and contemplate the meaning of life, but you can't even.
You know, so?
It really sucks. - And that's my true belief.
It's like everybody when it comes down to it
just wants to chill.
Just wants to be okay. - Just wants to chill.
- Just wants to chill. You know, anything
that's in your way of doing that shit is oppression.
You know what I'm saying?
So it's like that's what it is
is that like black people wanna chill.
Women wanna chill. Black women wanna chill.
Black trans women wanna chill.
- We just wanna chill. - You know what I mean?
- Exactly. - Just chill.
Kick your feet up and watch a little something
and live a damn life and not have to hold the burden
of what people assume about you.
- Right, and I don't understand why racists
don't seem to also wanna chill.
They spend so much time just wondering what we're doing.
Hating us, wearing robes, ironing them.
(laughter)
Just the whole aspect of you having meetings to hate,
it's just crazy to me.
It's not my, it does not make sense.
Racism does not make sense to me.
- But you know that's one of the ways
that a lot of people specifically get tricked
or emotionally manipulated into racism
is 'cause they get made to feel like
other races are what's holding them back.
So in that way they think about that
so they never have to really focus on themselves
or the reality of their situation.
- Right, right, so, and what are we doing
while they thinking that?
Chilling, you know what I mean?
That's why it's so...
(laughter)
- We're chilling. - That's why
it's so frustrating.
- And then they start meeting going
what are they doing?
Are they chilling?
I knew it, they're lazy.
- Exactly.
(squeaking)