The Breakfast Club - INTERVIEW: Ryan Davis Talks 'Underrated' Comedy Special, Netflix, Family, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Durant

Episode Date: March 28, 2025

The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Ryan Davis To Discuss 'Underrated' Comedy Special, Netflix, Family, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Durant. Listen For More!YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless, D***less Me. I'm the old one. I'm the young one.

And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only. Or listen to it with your kid. Could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out.

It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless, D***less Me on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your kid. Could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out. It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless S***less Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 45 years ago, a Virginia soul band called The Edge of Daybreak recorded their debut album Behind Bars. Record collectors consider it a masterpiece. The band's surviving members are long out of prison, but they say they have some unfinished business. They had a day break, eyes of love, but supposedly been following up on another app.

Listen to Soul Incarcerated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast, This Is Working, can help with that. Here's advice from Google CMO Lorraine Twohill on how to treat AI like a partner. I see AI as an incredible co-pilot. You may use different tools or toys to get the work done, but AI is just the latest flavor of that. You're still the judge of what good looks like. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor-in in chief. On my podcast, This Is Working, leaders share strategies for success. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I tell gnarly stories and I talk to friends about their worst moments of bombing in all sorts of ways.

Bombing on stage, bombing in public, bombing in life. Like the time I stole a girl's phone during a set and she jumped on stage and threw a big haymaker punch to my nose. Listen to Bombing with Eric Andre on Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake that ass up. It's in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

Morning everybody, it's DJ NV Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne the guy, we are The Breakfast Club, Lauren LaRosa's here as well. We got a special guest in the building. We have comedian Ryan Davis. Welcome brother. What's up man? Now Donnell Rawlins is filling in too here.

You know Charlamagne's out, Jess is out, so Donnell is one of our family members extended family members But don't expect me to do no booty drops or none of that type of stuff No booty jokes That was crazy But how are you feeling first and foremost? I'm feeling good man, I'm feeling good Your new special underrated is is out right now

Yeah man And it's it's a story you put it together for people that don't know Explain how you you started to do this on your own. You shopped it around and you couldn't get a deal. Nah, I shopped it around. It's funny too, whenever you, because I mentioned Netflix immediately when I said, oh, Netflix didn't take it, people go,

you know, there's other places. I don't think they understand how shopping around goes. You shop it everywhere. You know, I just mentioned Netflix, but it was held for like five months, or it was in their hands for like five months, and then eventually they said, no, they passed on it.

And by that time, Donny will tell you, man, some material has like shelf life. Yeah. Yeah. But what I wanna say, this is what people understand like Robbie Proud, Robbie Proud is the big exec over at Netflix, and even for years,

I've been in his presence. I don't wanna make this interview by myself, but we shared the same career paths. And I asked him one time, I said, what do I have to do to give myself a better position for you know what? I know people ask him all the time, what about a Netflix special?

And he said, Don-El, you're one of the funniest comics that I know, I respect you, but you have to understand, we tell people no all day. And that's what people understand. You see people that are on Netflix, but it's a lot of deserving people. But for some reason, it might not have been the time, it might not have been the thing.

They might have needed somebody from the alphabet community that year, whatever. But what I can say, and I had a proud moment, I slipped on your page, when you took matters into your own hands. And one of the things I did, and I appreciate about you, a lot of people in this business, they talk shit, they won't put their money where their mouth is,

and they won't bet on themselves. So when I saw you, that testimony, and you broke it down. This nigga went analytical. He had pie charts and everything. He had numbers. How much did you shoot? How much did it take you to shoot this? It cost me about 150.

Because when you choose certain venues and then you have to address the venue, I had to paint the stage, it was several cameras. You gotta get the jib, you gotta get the everything. Like I had to pay for everything out of pocket. So when you go to these places like Netflix and all these other places that said no, which made you decide to do it on your own, do they tell you why no?

Or do they just like, bam? So you have no clue why. And it has been a block once you did that breakdown online where you showed those numbers. No, so many, and that was the thing. It went so crazy because it was shared hundreds of thousands of times. So like my DMs were crazy and there was a lot of people

reaching out who have platforms and things of that nature but I couldn't see it all or even entertain it. Plus I've already told millions of people where I'ma put it and what I'ma do with it. You know, and to the people who were reaching out, you know, with these platforms, you know, I appreciate it but also at this time, this is a great time to reach out to other comedians,

because there's a lot of comedians that have my story. At this point, you should put out that you're willing to bring comedians to your platform and give them a space to share their art. You know what I mean? That's what I wanted. I wanted, whenever I put it out, to inspire other people to put their money, you know what I mean? That's what I wanted. I wanted, you know, whenever I put it out to inspire other people to put their money

where their mouth is. Yeah. But they're not gonna do it. A lot of people talk a lot of shit. And at the end of the day, like, we are in a better position. When I first started, it was only like ABC, CBS, NBC. And the ultimate platform for specials was the HBO.

Right. It wasn't a million things. So there are avenues, but in this business, Netflix probably is the most prestigious, the one that people gravitate to the most. This is the platform to say this is one of the greats. And even if you do find another home for it, I know it's something to be said about a Netflix special.

I think you deserve it. Interesting to me is Underrated. Why did you choose to name your special Underrated? I think that is... And if you're just joining us, Ryan Davis is here. Donnell is filling in for Charlamagne. And Donnell is on his journalist tip. Period, because he just brought that in real easy.

Real easy. Yeah, I think Underrated describes kind of what my journey is right now in stand-up. You know what I mean? I think amongst my peers, they know how I get down on stage. But I think the general public, we have gotten to a point where the skill of stand-up isn't really celebrated as much as the popularity of an individual. And I wanted to highlight that when it comes to the stand-up space, I think I'm one of the best out here.

Like, one of the top ones. And I don't want, and whenever I think I'm, anytime I'm criticized, it's based off of social media content. Oh, I don't think, you know, he may be this because of the, I've seen clips of something instead of the actual thing that I do. So that's why I went with underrated. Let me ask you, is Netflix the goal?

And what I mean by that is like when you play basketball, the goal is NBA. When you play football, the goal is NFL, you know? When you do something, the goal might be to own a Ferrari. As a comedian, is the goal Netflix? I don't think so. I think Netflix put themselves in position with the deals that they did with Dave and Chris and Kevin

when they started handing out $20 million. They had surpassed HBO at that point. And then it had been a while since you saw an HBO special and then that person went on to like incredible success and that's been the story for a lot of people that, you know, have been on Netflix. So I think Netflix had surpassed, you know,

HBO as far as being a launching pad. So that, I think any creative keeps their ear to the street and eyes on what's going on. So you have somebody like Sebastian Maniscalco, who he wasn't relatively known like that, and he did his Netflix special, now he does Madison Square Garden. So you see stuff like that,

and you don't see it on other platforms. It you go okay now I see the influence that Netflix has and I kind of want that launching pad. That's how you think of it. I think that's what made Netflix appear to be the top one. When you say underrated is that your observation or is that the observation from your fans and people that have been following your journey? Who's saying you're underrated, you, or there's the people that you wanna reach out to? Nah, I think that's what I've viewed over the years. I think over the years I've seen that people

don't even think I'm as successful as I am. I think the narrative on me is that I'm still like- Trying to figure it out. That I'm still trying to figure it out, or I'm up and coming, and I've been like- How successful are you? I will say, the first time I'm still like, that I'm still trying to figure it out or I'm up and coming and I've been like. How successful are you? I will say the first time I saw you, I think it was at,

I think it was at maybe Chocolate Sunnies or Laugh Factory. We did Chocolate Sun days ago. Yeah and I was like, cause you know my skill set, I come and eat shit up. Yeah. Did you come behind me? I closed, you hosted.

Yeah and I was, when I left them I was like, oh, all right, do what you gotta do. Yeah. And what it was. And I don't have a problem with that. And like, the thing that I, you didn't get rattled. You know what I mean? You getting rattled.

And when I say, even when I watch the clips, your composure, you know what I'm saying? Your timing, you know? And then when I saw you, when I first time I saw you, it's so hard to say somebody's original. I was like this motherfucker's original, his point of view, he's not talking about everything these motherfuckers talking about and then when I watch you I say guess what this motherfucker can entertain black, white, Asian, or whatever and that's important. How do you, do you feel sometimes because you have the crossover ability

that people don't connect with your blackness? Man, you know that. You dealing with that. I'm asking you the question so these people will know. No, it's true, but to add on what he said, he's right, right? And the reason I say that is, is I know you as a comedian,

but to me, it doesn't stand out as it should. Yeah. He's a little different because he's been coming on the Breakfast Club for years, so we poke at that, we make fun of him. But for you, I didn't see it the same. Almost like a Hannibal Burr's, right? Where he's huge, but not in our community, for say.

You know what I mean? So how do you deal with that? And how come that is? But that's why I lead the underrated. And I'm gonna tell you, I'm not gonna act like that's not bothersome to be underrated amongst the people you feel like you relate to the most. Black people.

Yeah. Cause I was gonna ask you like, cause you said underrated, people look at you like yourself and come like, you're not successful. Like when I say, I was gonna ask you how successful you are, but I don't mean for you to like name every accolade. I mean, where do you think your level of success ranks? And like, what is success to you?

Because if you can put out 150K real easy for a special, a lot of people don't got 150K in cash to just be like, yo, I need to shoot this. So you're doing something somewhere. I'm doing all right. So yeah, I'm doing all right. But that's also because of my fans. I went straight to my fans. This Patreon that I'm doing all right. So yeah, I'm doing all right. But that's also because of my fans. I went straight to my fans.

This Patreon that I'm doing is not new. And I don't do the whole flashy thing. I'm all about, if my fans believe in me enough to give me money, then I'm gonna in return give them a product. So the special came from that. Me and my partner Austin Hall, my business partner Austin Hall, we did a product. So the special came from that. Me and my partner Austin Hall, my business partner Austin Hall, we did a movie.

With that. You know you succeeded, you're successful when you say my business partner. Of course, you didn't say my nigga. He said my business partner. Yeah, we doing a movie. Even the money that's made from this special is go I'ma shoot my second one this year.

It's all about giving the people, if they're willing to invest in me, then I'm willing to give them the product that they paid for. Why don't you think you connect to the black community as you should? I think that the black audience has been trained to gravitate towards certain type of stuff.

Like what? You know. And how is it we call it dick and pussy jokes? Can't tell you. Alrighty. So. Wait for real? Nah, cause I think what happens is

we have been trained over the years to do what's the move, like what's the popular thing to do. Everybody's gonna be there, so I'ma go. You know what I mean? Instead of, I don't think a lot of people are willing to stand on, I like this person, so I'll go even if the building is empty. They'd rather be a part of something bigger.

People love to be a part of something. And I think if, I don't create that fear of missing out like a lot of people do. You know, I'll sell out a show and I won't show anybody. So there's, so the narrative is the thought that I don't sell out shows. And I always thought that was weird. And then some, like I remember seeing comments

when I would promote shows, they were like, I don't know if the shows sell out, then I might have to pull up. And I'm like, why would that be the reason to pull up? The reason you pull up, yeah, yeah. To a show. Stuff like that always, you know, I think we're always, because we're the coolest kids

that we're always looking for the coolest people to follow. And comedy ain't about cool, it's about funny. You know, and I think once we get back to that, celebrating the skill and the actual talent, then comedy will be back in a good place. But I don't. I really believe this. It's people like yourself, right?

I've been doing it long, you, but it's people like yourself that I really appreciate and I really believe that, sometimes I think, will the artist stand up, fade away? You know what I mean? Because it's so easy to get caught up in, you know, the crowd work comics. It works for me and everything.

And you're like, is this gonna oversaturate the market and this is what's gonna be the norm? Then it's kind of refreshing when I see people like yourself, I'm like, you know what? There will be people that save this art form. And it's interesting because I've heard underrated come to me. I just really, really believe Ryan, it's just a timing thing. You know what I'm saying?

I think for you, I think all the things you expect, you're going to get, okay, maybe not happen this year, but the trajectory on the discipline you have the work has have it's inevitable that Everything you think you should get out of it. I think definitely and I think the people follow you know that I'm gonna be honest with you man, I really didn't have Expectations when I went online to just share my story or whatever. I was like, oh my fans will see this Mm-hmm, but then I ended up getting like 8 million. That's all you want to get? Yeah, I want people to see it. I hope to get my money back. But I worked really hard on this project, man.

Like, whenever I went to shoot it, my father had been diagnosed with cancer. Sorry about that. Yeah. Okay, wait a minute, I have to stop this right now. Wait a second, wait a second. I know they, I know they, I know they, I know they're gonna be like,

I'm gonna go to the hospital, I'm gonna go to the hospital. I'm gonna go to the hospital. I'm gonna go to the hospital. I'm gonna go to the hospital. I'm had been diagnosed with cancer. Sorry to hear that. Okay, wait a minute, I have to stop this right now. Wait a second, wait a second. I know they- I'm just saying why you- Because they laugh. I knew he was gonna say that.

Why did you disrespect him, say it. We don't take you seriously, you know that. No, he talking about his father, you didn't disrespect him. Anyway. I remember. See, I just tried to- That clip kills me. My dad passed away about a year ago and I had a box of... what? Nigga you laughing?

Holy fuck up. Nigga what's going on, son? Isn't that one of the most memorable clips for him? I told you. No, but I'm just saying you didn't laugh. You did just an endearing story, son. Your father was diagnosed with cancer too? I mean, not that, but it was just an emotional part. Okay, go ahead. So your father was diagnosed with cancer. I'm sorry to hear that, buddy. Yes, it was just an emotional part. And he just laughed at me. OK, go ahead. So your father was right. I'm sorry to hear that, brother.

Yes, I'm sorry to hear that. All right. I appreciate your empathy, brother. So he was, and my mom, him and my mom, they had never even been on a plane before. And they got on a plane to go to Chicago for my special. Wow. Yeah, that was a huge deal.

A lot of like I've, like my entire siblings, like all of my siblings, I'm one of eight. Like everybody got out to support it, you know. To see that type of, you know, belief from my family, man, really meant a lot to me. And you know, like I said, the success that I don't talk about, like I bought the success that I don't talk about like I bought my the house that I was raised in from my parents and then and then you

know gave my dad the deed on like Father's Day and just being able to do that stuff but I think that stuff isn't necessarily cool. It is cool. No no no. It is cool. It is but it's not it. That's so cool. It is cool. That's fly as hell. It is, but it's not what we celebrate as much, it seems like. I disagree. Who following and who following you? No, no, no, no, no.

No, I'm not saying it's not celebrated. That's what we call generational wealth, and the fact that you're able to do that for your parents. See, I like stuff like that because it encourages more people to do more of that. Right. And you know, the reason I talk about a lot of this stuff, especially when it comes to generational wealth, is a lot of times we like to show success from the car we drive

and the jewelry we have and the watches. And I'm guilty of it as well sometimes too. But also I like to make sure that my kid's colleges are paid for. That my kids start off with, you know, my daughter graduated from college and I was able to buy her a home, her first home. So she starts at zero. You know, the fact that paid for my parents crib. Those are the fly things to me.

Those are fly. The fly, the Louis Vuitton shirt that you got on is cool, but those are the fly things. That's what makes me be like, yo, that brother's a good brother. And it's also real, like, how emotional, I can only imagine, my mom is staged for a cancer survivor. So I can only imagine how emotional it was for you having your dad be there. Because it's such, people don't understand unless you've been through a cancer battle of how it weighs on you and how strenuous it is,

but to be able to bring laughter during that time. I know that had to be emotional for you. No, it was huge. It was huge and my father, man, he's super proud. Like I'll never forget that. How's he doing now? See, proud black man, he won't tell you. He won't tell you.

We never know how this nigga's doing. You know, we're like, hey, can you give us an update? Oh no, everything's cool. So we never know. You just have to gauge how it looks. Where were you, you say you're one of eight kids? Yeah, middle. You're the middle? Yeah, middle child, I was middle of seven. So half of Where were you, you said you're one of eight kids? Yeah, middle. You're the middle?

Yeah, I'm middle child, I was middle of seven. So half of them support you, half of them don't fuck with you? No, so I actually- I could get that. My family actually didn't know how successful I was. Really? Yeah. When did they find out?

They went like, one, when they went to the special and saw like I sold out the House of Blues multiple shows and they were like what? And then... So you really don't F with your siblings then? No, I know. We get in a group chat every day. We just don't talk about money. We don't talk about any of that. None of that matters. That changed. Yeah, nah it doesn't.

Oh, it changed Christmas time like hey! No, we've done Secret Santa every year and they know whoever... Your spending limit's still the same? Nah, they know whoever get Ryan is going to run. Yeah, they know what time it is. So, but they didn't like I did a show at in Virginia Beach. I did a weekend. I sold out the whole weekend and my older brother was there and he was like, man, all these people here,

they probably going to become fans of yours after this. I was like, they all paid to see me. They already fans. Damn. He was like, people come to see you like that? And I was like, bro, and I'm talking about this is, I've been touring like yearly since like 2016. This is like 2023.

A lot of like, going to Envy's point, a lot of times people don't acknowledge nothing but the Flash. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. It's not that people don't appreciate substance, they do, but the audience that appreciates substance, I think is a much smaller group than, and I think it's by design, you know what I mean? I'm not saying that something is wrong with our people.

It's just people love, like when I grew up, MTV Cribs was a thing for a reason. Before that, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was a thing for a reason. People wanna attach themselves to maybe a life they can't see. And if you look regular to people, they don't gravitate to it as much.

I think that's probably the better way to put it. Well, I think that's relevant in our community. You know what I'm saying? Yes. There's a difference, man. But like I say, to be able to pull an audience, the black side and the white side, and don't lose anything.

Some people, when they do this shit, like you're like, oh, when he's in front of a white audience, he's this way. When he's in front of a black audience, he's that way. But Ryan has the ability, it doesn't matter. I know it sounds crazy, I'm saying the same thing. You don't see color, you just see a person, there's a storyteller, there's got the wit,

hitting you with some stuff, it's a totally different vibe. And it's intentional. I'ma be honest with you, man. I didn't even know before I went to Canada to do a run of shows, I didn't know my perspective was so black, like African American black, until I went to Canada and ain't no niggas there. There's black people there, but we ain't there.

My perspective was so black American, I was losing the audience. I was like, I didn't realize that my perspective was so limited. So I started to work on broadening my perspective because I don't want to leave anybody. Like if you can't follow the joke, I want it to be because you stupid,

not because I left you out culturally. All that comes with experience, like me coming from DC I had a very very very strong southern accent and I had to work on... DC ain't in the south. We call that country. Okay. From DC to New York I sound the country as a motherfucker. Oh yeah, yeah. And I had to work on my diction because I got tired of motherfuckers saying what did you just say? So I had to work on my diction because I got tired of motherfuckers saying, what did you just say? So I had to work on that. So how important you think that is

for you to be able to connect all across the board? No, it's really important. I think I have like control issues. I wanna be understood. If you don't laugh at something I say because you think it's not funny, I can deal with that. But if I feel like I didn't communicate it correctly, then that's gonna bother me.

And then I wanna fix that. Like I don't know, that's just always, that's a thing in my personal life too. You remember your worst show? You ever got booed like you remember your worst show? Nah, I've never been booed. I'll always remember my worst show though. Worst show?

I invited a crush of mine to the show. She sat front row and I bombed right in front of her. Damn. Yeah, I don't think I've seen her since. You ever see the six? How long ago was this? Uh, it wasn't that long ago. Like, ten years. Damn. Who was it? Who was it? Like, sometimes- The girl? No, no, no. my brain is somewhere else.

I always ask this question when someone thinks about doing comedy, who was it? Was it somebody in your family or life that said you have to do it? Stop making me laugh, you gotta do it. No, because my humor is a little different and I love the art of comedy. You know, being funny in a space versus being funny on stage is two different skill sets.

There's so much thoughtfulness to being funny on stage. He don't understand that. You so business man. He sure interrupts. He don't get it. He be trying to throw anything at anybody on stage. I think, you know, whenever you're in a space with many people, a conversation is usually already happening. So the connection is already there.

So you all, whatever you're going to say in that moment is relevant to the conversation. When you're on stage, you're creating the conversation and the relevancy and it's your job to communicate it in a way that makes them laugh. So the idea of just being funny in your day to day and that's gonna carry over, you know, everybody, that's a gift very few have. Donnell is funny like that.

Carlos Miller is funny like that. But there's not a lot of people who are so funny that it can translate like that. I've seen Dynale walk into the audience. They need that connection. He forced the connection of one of you. Yo, y'all understand what I'm saying? And then he'll put, it's insane.

But let me ask you, with so many comedians supporting you, right? If you listen, like, you know, I heard Kevin Hart and Charlamagne doing an interview, and I've heard Kevin support you, I guess, verbally. Do you feel like there should be more support with comedians where they actually help because they have other opportunities?

Because, you know, we all see what's going on with Netflix and some of those other things. Yeah. What's your opinion on that? But they do. They do. I think the conversations aren't had a lot, but Dave Chappelle, whenever I put it out or whatever, he texts me, he's told me before,

if I need anything, I can reach out. When 50 was opening, he did the big show down in Louisiana. Shrewsport, yeah. The Shreveport. I was like literally in Dave's green room and he told 50, if you're working on something, comedy or whatever, this is one of the better comedy writers of today. You need to book him to do something. Those things do happen.

You know, I like- Have you written on shows? No. So whenever a time came for me to write on a show. So I like- Have you written on shows? No. No? So whenever a time came for me to write on a show, Aaron McGruder actually had reached out to, cause they were working on something and I was like, man, the opportunity to work with the creator of Boondocks would have been crazy, but it got shelved. So I didn't get the opportunity, but yeah.

Nah, man. So comedians are reaching out and. Yeah, like, so with my special, I got it as a one-time buy, because Patreon is subscription-based, and I don't want nobody to feel obligated to stay, but the people who get the subscription, you also get my talk show slash podcast is coming. Kevin Hart's gonna be on that.

Charlamagne's gonna be on that. Jill Scott, Method Man. There's a lot of support from entertainers and they agreed to this before that video even came out. You know what I mean? And within the industry, there's always a lot of support and people, but a lot of us artists aren't decision makers. So they're like, what can I do to, you know what I mean? They can use their popularity

and their platform to draw more attention to you, but at the end of the day, it's still on the decision makers to make that decision. And I'm like, well, the decision makers didn't pick me, but the people did. So let me do, I'll put my own money up to give the people what they've been asking for. And you know what, with that add to it,

it's a slow grind, but it's still a grind. You know what I'm saying? It's like, you can, it's easy for you to be like this, oh, with that add to it, it's a slow grind, but it's still a grind. You know what I'm saying? It's like, you can as easy for it, you be like this, oh, I'm gonna do this, it's gonna blow up. But I think the path that you're doing, how you're doing, building relationships with some of the top people, being respected

and being funny, like I say, the success, whatever success, it's already, my opinion, it's already mapped out, it's gonna happen. You just gotta stay the course and everything is gonna fall into place. Yeah, I think, you know what story- Cause I don't laugh at no, I'm telling you, son. It's so hard for me to laugh at a motherfucker

and I didn't wanna laugh, right? I'm like this mother, but it was just like, oh man, it was just, seeing you perform, it was a breath of fresh air, man. Especially from seeing so much garbage and like right now, the biggest thing now, and I'm not knocking anybody that's doing the crowd work, but I mean when I first started, that wasn't respected.

That side of comedy, it was like I did 45 minutes. Yeah, but you did 30 minutes worth of crowd work. But now it's a different thing. And it's hard, it's so refreshing to see somebody like yourself, because it's easy. You can't tell these younger guys that have to follow it. You can't tell them to work on their craft, because it used to be, if you want a pussy,

if you want the money off of this, guess what you had to do? You had to be good. You had to be good. Now you don't gotta be good. They getting the money. Gotta be popular. They getting the accolades, they getting the money

before they good, and it's hard to tell a motherfucker, you should work on this, and we was like, you know I just made 300,000 on Instagram. They don't have that, they don't have the thing to make them wanna be better. And that was, I didn't wanna fall into that. I didn't wanna fall into that. Like I even monetized my social media late. I remember a lot of people like, you're not monetizing,

you're just missing out on money. I was like, I don't want that to be my motivation. Until you got that first check, you're like, oh, is this easy? Nah, yeah, when you get, when the money that comes from social media is dumb, it's really dumb, but I didn't want that to be, I want it to be one of the best.

And I didn't want, I'm gonna tell you the story that bothers me so much is the Bernie Mac story. Why he, like he doesn't have that hour special because he was at a time where you had to be picked. Yeah. And they wouldn't pick him. Even though he was so popular amongst us that he would sell out theaters.

And that other comedians, like when you can look at Def Comedy Jam, Comic View, Bad Boys of Comedy, comedians are doing impressions of Denzel Washington and Bernie Mac. Denzel Washington was our biggest star and the other recognizable voice within our community that people wanted to do the most was Bernie Mac. And he still wasn't picked. It took him dominating on Kings of Comedy,

which he wasn't considered the guy, you know, industry-wise before he really got in. I just, like, I wish that he had the opportunity to self-produce, because that one stand-up is really all most people have. But his path, I'm not exactly the same, but it's some similarities. Like, even with the testimony you did was like this.

Okay, how come? What he did was, eventually, he it's some similarities. Like even with the testimony you did was like this. Okay, how come? What he did was eventually he showed in the numbers. Hey kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless, D***less Me.

I'm the old one. I'm the young one. And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only. Or listen to it with your kid. It could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out. It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless, ****less me on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. You

get your podcast. Hi, I'm Bob Pipman, chairman and CEO of iHeart Media. I'm excited to introduce a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. I'm chairman and CEO of iHeart Media. I'm excited to introduce a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. I'm having conversations with some interesting folks across a wide range of industries to hear how they reach the top of their fields and the lessons they learned along the way

that everyone can use. I'll be joined by innovative leaders like chairman and CEO of Elf Beauty, Tareng Amin. The way I approach risk is constantly try things and actually make it okay to fail. I'm sitting down with legendary singer-songwriter and philanthropist, Jule. I wanted a way to do something that I loved for the rest of my life. We're also hearing how leaders brought their businesses out of unprecedented times, like Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. He becomes a human decision to decide to throw by the window your business strategy

and to do what you think is the right thing for the world. Join me as we uncover innovations in data and analytics, the math, and the ever-important creative spark, the magic. Listen to Math & Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. September 1979. Virginia's top prison band Edge of Daybreak is about to record their debut album Behind Bars in just five hours. Okay, we're rolling.

Five hours. Okay, we're rolling. One, two, three, four. I'm Jamie Petrus, music and culture writer. For the past five years, I've been talking to the band's three surviving members. They're out of prison now and in their 70s. Their past behind them. But they also have some unfinished business.

The end of daybreak, eyes of love, were supposed to have been followed up by another album. It's a story about the liberating power of music, the American justice system, and ultimately, second chances. Listen to Soul Incarcerated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptUSkids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSkids, the US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council.

Yeah. He showed her the numbers. This is this, this is this. How does that translate? And somebody finally, they got, I think, I forgot who the showrunner, he finally connected with the right crew and then they saw it.

And he basically was like, this what I've been trying to tell you motherfuckers. Yeah. But I think he feels like, like correct me if I'm wrong, all of that fight shouldn't have happened because from the minute that he hit the mic, we knew he was the guy.

And you actually had a quote, I wanted to ask you if you still felt this way, you said fame hasn't cared about talent for a while now for a while now and I don't but this is the funny part they moved the goalposts which mean they moved a goalpost fame hasn't cared about talent for a while so but now they don't even give opportunities to the famous so it's like like what do you do like you can be really like what are they looking for? Are they searching for anything?

Because you can go, I'm really skilled, I'm really talented. Or you can go, no, we're not giving it to that right now. And it was like, this person has a bigger follower than you, we'll give it to you. Well, this person has a bigger follower than them. Yeah, we're not doing followings right now. It's like, what is the criteria?

Look, I'll do the work necessary to let me know where the, I think that's one of the most difficult things just for us within this space is if you set a criteria, we'll hit it. But when there's no criteria, now you have us waiting on you to make a decision on us. And once I realized that, I was like, I'm not waiting on nobody no more.

And why about with you and Kevin Durant? Why Kevin Durant got upset with you? Oh, Kevin Durant, so Kevin Durant loves to go back and forth with people on social media and we had a difference of opinion. And I'm cool with difference of opinion. What was the difference of opinion on? He said offense wins championships,

which is not a saying, has never been a saying in any sport. That was usually defense wins championships. Yeah, and that's what we disagreed. And then he called me a trash comedian. And that's when I knew he wasn't familiar with my work. Damn, this is what I'm talking about. It's certain words that's the N word in comedy. Yeah.

You know what, it's like, it's hard to go back. He could've said anything. Trash, corny, wack, those are fighting words in the world of comedy. Then you roasted him. Man. Trash is horrible trash is trash trash That's how my whole day went like if you like, you know people now they set up they try potty you see

They show with how they do their day. Yeah, if that if that had done that all you would have saw is me like sitting at a trash This thing called me trash trash If you know you funny though, it's like yeah, but that's why I think I think he didn't know Like y'all asked me about that, why do you take it so personal? It is the trigger. Trash, corny, and whack.

When Kramer went off at the last Fractary that year and he just was flowing like, oh, they in work? You know what triggered him? Somebody yelled out, you ain't funny. That's like, what the fuck you talking about? And especially when you know you're not trash. Why are comedians so sensitive?

Like comedians is the most, I'm not. Let me tell you something. Y'all are the most sensitive people. Y'all are, y'all ignore when everybody else is. You gotta remember, Erika Badu said it best, keep in mind I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my shit. But y'all throw out so many shots though. So I feel like y'all are removed from sensitivities

at a certain point. But first off, I'm not even. I don't feel like I was sensitive in that moment. I kept it basketball. I talked about basketball, and then he said I was a trash comedian. He said that. He made it personal.

I kept it basketball. But I was like, since we wanna get personal. You wanna be funny. You wanna be, yeah, you wanna step into my arena. Let's see how you fare. I can't beat you in basketball, but I promise you, I'm way better at this than you are. And then, Envy, like you said,

what you put in the one, certain comics aren't like, you like, y'all fuck with everybody. Like your style, it's not a style of comic that's gonna be like trying to roast. Yeah, I'll roast like certain people I like them you guys Michael Blackson perfect example Michael Blackson and I love him. He's a provocateur He's gonna push the button. He's gonna cross that line But it's like a person like Ryan person like myself They don't cross the line when people come at him like that, I know it's easy for y'all to say,

why y'all take a person? Because this is our shit, man. Yeah, and this is the crazy part. When they say people take shots, Michael Blackson is a good example. Michael Blackson is roasting you with love. I can run into him in the airport, he's like, what you doing in here, you ugly nigga?

And then be like, yo, we about to go to Ghana in a couple months, you know what I mean? Let me know if you available, I'm gonna fly you out. I'm gonna show you some stuff where I come from. I'm like in Africa, you know what I mean? That ain't somebody who hates you. He just loves to say it. Shout out to Mike Blackson.

I had him on my podcast and it's so funny. A lot of people don't know like what he did in regard to his village during that school. And I was like, wow, I know you look at him and he talks trash, but I'm like, why isn't this being celebrated? And a lot of people, when I posted a lot of people, didn't even know about it.

Maybe, I don't know, I think people just look at, cause I know what you're talking about, but like when you got, y'all are, like we look to you guys for relief a little bit. And I know you talked, there was a sit down that you did where you talked about how comedy, especially black comedy, is kind of like the relief for a lot of traumas and different things.

And when I watched that, I was like, okay. I kind of get what he's saying. And maybe that's why I don't see, like for me, I look at you as like, okay, you're the funny guy. So when you're being upset about something, it's like, why you upset you, the funny guy? Or when you're responding, it's like,

no, you're the funny guy, just be funny. But it's like, you're our relief. So it's like, it's hard for us to see y'all as anything but that sometimes. And that's messed up that y'all don't see us as people. Smokey Robinson, people say I'm the life of the party because I tell a joke or two. But take a good look at my face and you see I'm frowning.

We, as comics, as much as someone going to show is therapeutic for them, it's therapeutic for us. And the best comics are the ones that whatever they deal with in life, they know how to go up, go on stage and talk about things that trouble them. Right, on my special, I talk about my relationship. I have a fractured relationship with my mother. I talk about that.

I talk about- That must've been difficult to do that in front of her. Oh, what? Like she had something to say, but she was there. She supported, so I always love her for that. What does fractured relationship mean? Whenever, especially in our community, the woman, the matriarch of the family,

she can do no wrong at times. And then she does do wrong, you gotta have that grace. You don't ever disconnect from your mother. And I made the decision not to really speak to my mother for several years. Wow. Oh, that's tough. Yeah. And I talk about that in the set.

You know what I mean? The mother of my children almost died, you know, carrying our children. I talk about that. I talk about, that's what I'm saying. I turn those things into levity. I talk about race, I talk about, that's what I'm saying. I turn those things into levity. I talk about race, I talk about political correctness, I talk about relationships, I talk about everything.

Because there aren't spaces for that. I talk about suicide. I talk about, and I think people don't realize, because if you don't go to my shows, you don't know. There have been many black men who walk up to me and go, you know, I have a kind of a fractured relationship with my mother and there's no space for us, nobody's talking about what it is to be a black man

in that space to look at the woman who created you and not feel the connection. That's the person we want to love us the most. You know, the people who don't feel that love, where do they go for levity? And that's what I try to provide. But do you give her grace, right? Oh, I give her grace.

Okay, I know. I say that is, you know, we came up in an era where, you know, especially black families, it was mind your business, a kid stay in a kid's place. Yeah. And they didn't show emotion. They didn't talk about their bills. They didn't talk about none of that.

You had to figure it out when you figured it out. So you have to give her that. Like my kids are different. They know everything that's going on. They know when daddy got a bad day, daddy having a good day. They know when daddy get a big check, when daddy ain't got no check.

They know everything because we're more, I would think we're younger parents and we're more relatable. So as long as you're giving your mom. No, I had to give her grace because my mom's super young. My mom had me as a teenager and I wasn't even her first child. So, you know, understanding I had my first child at 26 and I wasn't ready.

So having my third one at like 17, you know, I couldn't even imagine what, you know, she never had a chance to become an adult before she started raising children of her own. Was your mother trafficked? No, she was married. Okay. Nah, the real, what was I saying?

I was on stage the other day and I realized that my father trafficked my mother. What? What is happening? That's another story, I'm so sorry. You want to talk about it? Yes. Ah, mom, sorry to put your business on the scene. What? What is happening? That's another story, I'm so sorry. What did you? You wanna talk about it? Yes! Ah, mom, sorry, put your business on!

Yeah, like, nah, whenever, like. Not your mom got traffic, puny, and he tell us about it. No, this is your show. No! But your mother had three children by the age of 17? Four by 19. Four by 19. Yeah, so.

And was your father a lot older, was it what it was? He's older, yeah, yeah, yeah, he's older. I talk about that in the special. What was that dynamic like for you though, just, because I mean, the relationship ended up fractured, but like coming up and your mom is growing up with you with three other kids, four other kids. That was like that was your sister.

It wasn't really like your mom. Yeah, like. No, no, no, you see her as mom, that's mom, because she, we weren't raised like, she's, we weren't raised by grandma. Like my parents were married married they raised us together. It wasn't until You get to like you get to become an adult like I'm 38 My mom was 38 when I was 21

And I had older siblings That's crazy. That's when I started to see how young she was before it was always that's my mom So you're gonna go to the club and actually see your mom in the club? Yeah, man listen. Did that happen? No, she wasn't much of a clubber. Yeah, but she my mom is and I and I deal with it's so funny cuz now because I didn't deal with the stuff that She dealt with it's like I'm more mature than her now because she never got a chance to mature. She had to be that 14 year old girl and then turn mom and then never really got the chance to grow herself

because she had to focus on everybody else. And at times now I feel like I'm older than her. When she came and saw you, was that her first time hearing the jokes about your relationship? Yeah, yeah but I've talked about our relationship on podcasts and I never said what exactly it was or whatever she did because it was, you know, that's between us.

But the thing is, she won't admit to it. And there'll be people who watch this who know what I'm talking about. When you confront your parents about what it is or what trauma they brought to you or what they did. And it's not that you're saying you're a bad parent. This is my experience of you. And then the first thing they'll say is,

oh, so I was the worst parent ever. No, I wouldn't be here if you were a bad parent. I wouldn't purchase the home and give you that, if I thought you were a bad parent, I wouldn't praise you the way I do if you were a bad parent. This is where I feel like something went wrong in my development, and I just want you to see what's happening to me. I'm coming to you because I'm trusting you.

This is still me being vulnerable with you. They can't register it like that. They think you're taking a shot. They think I'm taking a shot. I have a daughter. How does that affect the relationship that you had, did you have with your mother? How's that affect the relationship

and you raising your daughter? So I have a 10 year old daughter, seven year old son. So what I realized is because my parents wasn't affectionate and I felt like I turned out okay that there was no need to give my children that kind of affection. You know, I didn't deem affection necessary. Well you know what, in Korean culture,

because I was stationed there, that's Korean fathers, they have no emotional connection with their kid. Their only responsibility is to provide and protect. All that, I love you and everything. They are, Korean fathers are the toughest fathers they have, period. Yeah, and I was really like that.

My son, you know, he's very affectionate. He's very sensitive and things like that. And I was just like, toughen up, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'm like, he's going to the person he believes will protect him and he trusting with these emotions and I'm sitting here going, get over it. I ain't even realizing what I'm doing to him. I'm drawing a line of disconnecting with him.

He doesn't feel safe around me now. Is that because of the relationship you had with your father? Is that passed on? The generation's not enough? Man, my father was, my dad, oh my God. If you have older parents, your parents still here, you might have seen this from your father.

You have a- My father's dead, Envy. Yeah, oh man, I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah, yeah. Dad, I love you. See you when I get back to Charlotte. So my dad- Oh, y'all flex and got Got your fathers all in your life.

No, it's not a flex, man. It is. It is. It's a good flex. It's a good flex. It's a good flex. It's not a flex. Yeah, it's not a flex.

So I'm happy for y'all. You didn't hear this one say it either. You didn't hear this one say it either. I mean, my dad, halfway in, halfway out, it depend on a day. Yeah. You know? He alive.

Yeah. See? Stop rubbing it is so my dad He wasn't very affectionate and I and you get older and you realize you know I remember how my grandmother was and I was like, oh, he probably didn't get a whole lot of affection either But my dad is super affectionate now He says I love you all the time. He calls to see how you doing. He cares and all that stuff he a completely different nigga than the nigga I grew up with and because I love you all the time. He calls to see how you doing, he cares and all that stuff.

He a completely different nigga than the nigga I grew up with. And that took a while for me to get used to. Like he would go, you know, he would say, I love you over the phone. I'd be like, everything okay? And he'd be like, you good? You want me to tell?

Oh yeah, I never heard my father say that. Yeah, aw man. My father, I used to feel like I love him, he'd be like, gone. Oh yeah, my dad was,. Yeah, aw man. My father, I used to feel like I love him, he'd be like, gone. My dad was, he didn't do it like that, but now I'm so, I kiss my son and my daughter every time I see him, hug him every time. We can't get off, you gotta, we gotta exchange our love views.

Or it's not, so it's up to you to change it, it's up to you to recognize these things It's up to you to recognize these things because your parents did the best they could. Whether you believe it or not, even if you like, well they could have done better, well they couldn't see, how many of us actually see the things that we do that we're messing up? Somebody from, somebody has to tell you usually.

Somebody has to tell you how they're experiencing you. You don't get to tell people how they should experience you. Absolutely. How do you want your kids to see you? Oh, I want my kids to respect me and I want my kids to be proud. And they're not. They're not proud of me. You gotta do animation. Yeah. Yo, I'm telling you. I don't know. Once you voice something, anytime.

Not yet. But you know what they'll say? They'll be proud. They'll be proud in the next couple You gotta do animation. Yeah. Yo, I'm telling you, I don't know, once you voice something, anytime. But you know what they'll say they'll be proud? They'll be proud in the next couple of years, right? And I'm gonna tell you why. Similar to you, my kids, they know, they hear me on the radio, but they don't know what it is. They don't know what it is. When people take pictures, they like, that's just dad.

Still not popping to them. But when they see me on TikTok. So I'm the man. You dead, I seen you on TikTok. You hit the for you page. Yes, but it be with other people though. I seen you with Drew Ski. I be like, you didn't see me though. But I see, but like when they see me on TikTok,

I'm the man. Yo, when Kevin Hart was on here and he said my name, I showed my son and he said, why does he know you? Oh, I was like, he was like, but he said, Kassanat, Kassanat is cool. And like, when I had done TV, movies and stuff like that, I'll put it on the TV screen, it didn't mean nothing to them.

They saw I had a large following on YouTube, they were like, oh, my dad is really somebody, he on YouTube with a lot of followers. It was so for me when I did this character on soul My son was like because the characters made it to and that's how he got to get McDonald Happy Meals every week Because that was the toy he was like my dad was in soul He and I remember when when a happy meal discontinues that dad I got a happy meal today, and I wasn't really happy You're not there no more then that was it. He's like, you're not there no more. And then that's when he went back to not following with me.

Before y'all get out of here, I'm changing gears real quick because I really want to hear y'all opinion on this. So I was just, this is breaking right now. Not breaking, but a lot of outlets are picking this up right now. Eddie Murphy, he's a part of the No Call Sheet document, or number one on the Call Sheet documentary. And he talks about Sidney Poitier telling him

to not do dramatic roles in movies and to lead that up to like the Denzel's and things of that nature. I just wanna hear how y'all feel about that, just hearing it. I can give y'all more context if y'all need it. Well, my personal opinion on it, if someone tells me what I can't do or shouldn't do, that's gonna put the pack on me to wanna do it.

And especially, you can't understand Sidney Poitier's thing on that, but you never know how Eddie wanted to start. You know what I mean? Comedy might have been a thing that he connected with, but at the same time, he might have been one to be considered a more dramatic actor opposed to like a comedic actor.

What you think, Ryan? I think if he takes that advice, we don't get Jimmy Early from Dreamgirls, and what a shame that would have been. You see what I'm saying? You can respect the greatest who ever do it, but just because they're one of the greatest to ever do it doesn't mean that they won't set

limitations on you and it's on you to not listen to those limitations. Thank God Eddie Murphy didn't listen to that. You know what I mean? That's my first thought is you know and Eddie Murphy to me is the greatest talent to ever live. I've never seen anybody more talented than that. In all facets. That's what I'm saying. I've never seen anybody. He said he turned down, they were putting together a Malcolm X movie and he turned it down because he had basically been in conversation for it

and he was talking to Sidney and was like, hey, what do you think about this? And after that advice, he was like, probably won't do it. Yeah, and that was, and that's sad, but I think when people try to set limitations on you, they're thinking about their own. As great as Sidney Poitier is,

he probably was thinking about, he probably thought that there were, you can't imagine, I don't think people can imagine a person like Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy is unimaginably talented. He's literally a parrot. He can mimic anybody's voice, he can mimic people's singing voice,

but then he's talented within his own right. Like his standup is magnificent. His movies are blockbusters. Saturday Night Live he showed you I can dominate sketch comedy and do that. Animation, he's Mushu in Mulan. He's Donkey in Shrek. There's no avenue that he has not dominated.

He has hit records. Like, yeah, I understand telling somebody to be, you know, realistic. I guess that's what, you know, maybe Sidney Poitier was thinking. But Eddie Murphy doesn't fall into that. Neither does Jamie Foxx. I don't think a guy like DC Young Fly

falls into that category. It's some people in this world who are just so multifaceted and mostly talented that you actually limit the gift they could have given to the world when you tell them to stay in their lane. Got you. He said that Sidney said to him,

you're a breath of fresh air and don't F with that. Yeah. And then also that's a matter of opinion too. And I don't think you have to subscribe to that. That's a matter of opinion. Yeah. And then also that's a matter of opinion too. And I don't think you have to subscribe to that. It's a matter of opinion. Yeah. No, I think it was done. And I think he was looking out for him.

I don't think people realize how close you are from a bad movie from being forgotten or a bad performance from being forgotten. It happens. You know, I think also you gotta think about in Sidney's time, he couldn't take a risk on a role. Cause if it didn't happen,

it wasn't a space for him to come back from that. It sounded like Sidney did an open mic in Bomb, right? He got booed, damn! So you gotta, but I don't think like even Kevin Hart came up here and said the exact opposite. You know, when he was talking to my generation of comics, he was like, don't make your main thing your only thing. You know, so that's, I just think that's the evolution.

That resonated with, that part resonated with me, that was like loud and clear. That was clear, I'd text him after that, I was like, thank you for that, that was. That was something that so many, and there's so many different lanes and so many other avenues thank you for that. That was something that so many, and there's so many different lanes and so many other avenues that you can do. I remember once, remember when they used to do

the mix tape awards? I remember, and you know, those crowds used to be rowdy as hell and run, run. DMC, he run it. I mean, those mix tape awards, they'd be like, yo, fuck, you get out of here. I'd never seen nobody. When he went on stage, he commanded that audience.

They got completely quiet. Then he was talking about hip hop. And he was like, hip hop is not just about being an MC. Hip hop is creating fashion. You have hip hop lawyers and everything. Don't just limit it to just the MC, that's behind the scenes. I remember one time, it was a quote from Method Man.

Method Man said, I'm tired of being a chump in the front, I wanna be the Mac in the back. And when Kevin said that, it kinda, all of those things resonated on what you can do in this business. And I hope whenever, you know, me putting my money behind my own projects, and I will do that for the rest of my career,

whether anybody chooses me or not, I'ma always work toward my passion and I'm not gonna let anybody slam the door on my dreams. But I want to inspire my peers to do the same, not just do the same in their own career, but come do it with me. Let's go make some stuff together. You got something you passionate about,

let's put our money together, let's get it done. Let's just get it done. Easier in our community, easier said than done. I'm gonna tell you why it's easier said than done in our community. Black people love credit. They love credit. Like you said, Method Man said he wanted to be

the Mac in the back. Not a lot of us want to be the Mac in the back. Not a lot of us want to be the Mac in the back. Like me, if I did a movie about my life story, people would expect me to play myself. What if there's a better actor than me for this role? I'll move out the way. A lot of us won't move out of the way because we want credit.

We'd rather our face be on the front of it than giving people the best product possible. A lot of us won't move out of the way because we want credit. We'd rather our face be on the front of it than giving people the best product possible. And that comes from, I believe, just we go through life in our community without getting the credit we deserve. So whenever we get the opportunity to get it, we want all of it.

And we can't move like that whenever we're wanting to be creative. So I just hope that this inspires people to go look for. Yeah, go look at the audience, go look for people you, because when you think about it, some of the most popular people don't even do standup, the people you deal the point. If you really want to enjoy standup comedy,

there are people, Ali Sadiq is killing it. You know what I mean? You know, you got people like Naim Lin, there are people, Ali Sadiq is killing it. You know what I mean? You know, you got people like Naim Lin, you got me, you know, even- And all those people have been up here, by the way. Yeah, and you just gotta, you gotta go search it, because they're not, like in music, they used to have artist development,

we just don't have that no more. So it's up to the audience to go find us. But where can they find you? Where can they find your comedy special, Underrated, if they wanna see it, pay for it. You can go to my Instagram, right? But you go to Patreon, type in Ryan Davis, it'll come up. Just go to Patreon, type in Ryan Davis, it'll come up.

And if you wanna see him live, he's performing at the Gramercy Theater on April 12th. In here in New York. That's right, and we appreciate you for joining us. And thank you, Donnell, for sitting. Donnell's actually gonna be at the City Winery this weekend. So I appreciate both of you brothers, man. Thank you.

And thank you for Donnell for staying, because Charlamagne and Jes were out today. Fuck you, Donnell. You provided substance. Yeah, but can I add one thing? Because I don't even think Donnell even remembers, but when we did the Laugh Factory, he was hosting, I wanted to close. Shout out to Lonnie.

Lonnie is a tough judge of comedy. Oh my God, we had so many beats back in the day, but we good now. Yeah, she loves you. And that was the thing, she was like, I need somebody to close. I was like, I can close. She was like, I don't know about that.

And then I was like, nah, let me do it. And then I got there and Darnell was hosting, I was like, nah, let me do it. And then I got there and Donnell was hosting. I was like, oh, that's probably why she didn't. So, but the show, it was like me, Donnell, Miss Pat, JJ Williamson, Sean Jones. It was like they were bringing it. And then I did the first show and the second show, when Donnell brought me up, he said, there's some people in this game that people don't know they're like you don't know who they are one day and in the next

Day, they're one of the biggest comedians. I think this guy might be one of them You probably don't even remember but that's how he brought me up. I was like, alright I proved the Donnell that I'm supposed to be For me because it's again, what year was that? Maybe two or three years ago, not too long ago. That stuck with you. Yeah, that stuck with me. You know, because I'd like,

whatever people wanna say, I know talent when I see it, right? And that room, I mean, the thing that impressed me the most, people could go up there and they could have a good set, but it's the way he did it, the subject matter, and you could tell it was somebody that didn't do the easy route. It's like, this is who I am and the level of confidence.

I was like, that's a bad motherfucker. And I've seen people, they're going to these spots and they feel like they gotta perform a certain way. They've seen this guy do that, that works for him. But the shit was so original. That's why when you say underrated, I'm like, well, who's rating you? Well, they don't know.

That's what I'm saying. They want, me being underrated speaks to if I was rated properly they would talk like you talk. Right. Yeah. Well definitely go check it out for yourself so you can see the brother Ryan Davis and again thank you for joining us this morning. Thank you for having me man. Donnell thank you brother. Yes sir. And you see, we ain't make no booty jokes today. No, we left the whole alone. See, it ain't felt that comfortable. I missed the booty jokes. Wait.

No, no, no. Never mind. Never mind. Don't interrupt me. All right, this is Ryan Davis. It's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. Thank you, Darnell.

Wake that ass up. Early in the morning. The Breakfast Club. Hey, kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless D***less Me.

I'm the old one. I'm the young one. And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only. Or listen to it with your kid. It could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out.

It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless, ****less me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. You get your podcast. Forty-five years ago, a Virginia soul band called The Edge of Daybreak recorded their debut album Behind Bars. Record collectors consider it a masterpiece. The band's surviving members are long out of prison, but they say they have some unfinished business. The end of daybreak, eyes of love,

were supposed to have been following up with another app. Listen to Soul Incarcerated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ever wonder what it would be like to be mentored by today's top business leaders? My podcast, This Is Working, can help with that. Here's advice from Google CMO Lorraine Twohill

on how to treat AI like a partner. I see AI as an incredible co-pilot. You may use different tools or toys to get the work done, but AI is just the latest flavor of that. You're still the judge of what good looks like. I'm Dan Roth, LinkedIn's editor-in-chief. On my podcast, This Is Working, leaders share strategies for success.

Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up, y'all? This is Eric Andre. I made a podcast called Bombing about absolutely tanking on stage. I tell gnarly stories and I talk to friends about their worst moments of bombing in all sorts of ways. on the show.