The growing popularity of black comedy clubs mirrors a new interest in comedy from an African-American perspective.
The rise in black comedy started about two years ago, when nightclubs and jazz rooms around the nation started presenting comedy nights.
”(Black comics) were not seen by the average individual who supports clubs and that kind of thing, because they never went out for comedy,” said Michael Williams, owner of the Comedy Act Theatre in Los Angeles. ”So all of a sudden there was this new emergence of dollars that were spent by a group that traditionally didn`t go out and spend them on comedy.”
Some of those special comedy nights were more successful than the regularly scheduled entertainment, according to Russell Simmons, the driving force behind such rap stars as Run-DMC and Public Enemy and creator of HBO`s
”Def Comedy Jam” standup program.
”Def Comedy Jam” helped to shoot African-American comedy through the roof. HBO officials claim the show, which airs at 11 p.m. Fridays, is the highest rated late-night comedy series in HBO`s history. Additionally, 68 percent of ”Def Comedy Jam`s” audience are non-black households, according to HBO.
With only seven black comedy clubs in the United States, it`s even more telling how big black comedy is in Chicago, since the city has two, with another one on the way.
”(Customers) are very excited, they`re happy,” said Raymond Lambert, co- owner of All Jokes Aside, 1000 S. Wabash Ave., which has been in operation for a year. ”They see it as a place of their own.”
”I think, for one, it`s still very, very new to our community,” added George Willborn, the house emcee of All Jokes Aside, who has been a comic for three years and who also has appeared on ”Def Comedy Jam.”
Besides All Jokes, there is the Comedy Klik, which is based in the Clique. In addition, the Cotton Club, DeJoie`s and Spices sometimes offer some form of comedy.
Williams is bringing a Comedy Act Theatre to Chicago next month. The club will be located in Sauer`s Restaurant, 311 E. 23rd St., with a scheduled opening of Nov. 10.
Williams opened his first Comedy Act seven years ago in Los Angeles and has since added a location in Atlanta. Some of the top black comics in the business made the Comedy Act a regular stop, and at one time the house emcee in L.A. was former Chicagoan Robin Harris, the late standup comic of ”BeBe`s Kids” fame.
Black comedy and comedy clubs ”have a whole different vibe,” said Williams. ”It`s totally different from all your white clubs. We just come with a different rhythm.”
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And black comedy will also be supported by a black audience because there`s a sense of ownership. ”Essentially, (customers) see it as a place of their own,” said Lambert. ”And for the most part they get a top-quality product.”
”It`s about creating careers and employing people and giving our people an opportunity to say, `This is ours. We can go to our comedy club,` ” added Williams.
For some, three black comedy clubs in one city won`t be too much.
”Speaking from a comic`s point of view,” said Willborn, ”anywhere that`s a place for another brother to get some work, I`m all for it.”