by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
DL Hughley grew up in South Central Los Angeles. He was a member of the Bloods gang at twelve years old. For a new comedian trying to break into standup on some sort of reality program, this would be the whole schtick, and when the South Central, former-gang member jokes ran dry, any other comedian might very well wash up. But not DL Hughley.
He went from a life on the streets, a very serious thing, to comedy, where nothing is taken too seriously. In fact not taking public outrage seriously is one of the things that keeps Hughley relevant while thousands of other comics drift in and back out of the spotlight. After radio pundit Don Imus was kicked off the air for calling members of the WNBA “nappy headed hos.” Hughley went on to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and agreed with Imus.
“I think that Don Imus’ biggest mistake was apologizing. A person should not have to ask permission to have his point of view. He shouldn’t have to apologize for his perspective,” said DL Hughley when EU Jacksonville caught up to him for an interview.
“Michael Richards was a white guy that got mad and resorted to using the ‘n’ word. That is the atom bomb of racial epiphets,” he added when asked about the similarities between Don Imus’ statement and Michael Richards’ outburst at a California comedy club.
Hughley didn’t go from gang member to international celebrity overnight. He took the natural path from the violent streets of South Central LA to the spotlight of standup comedy. A telemarketing job. Hughley worked his way up the corporate ladder at the Los Angeles Times, starting as a telemarketer and moving up to management. After a few years experiencing middle management in a large corporation, he was ready to make fun of the world. Professionally.
There was one question and answer from this interview that I must present in context:
EU: Didn’t Oprah do a show about black men being on the “DL” and it meant they were having secret homosexual encounters? How do you feel about that moniker?
DL: (Laughing) I’m glad my name was here before that practice started. I wanted to change it, but it’s already on the stationary.
The key to his success is his ability to see the world in starkly frank terms.
“I think being frank is a necessary component for any artist.”
Hughley’s new tour, Unapologetic, is rooted in the same material that he performed on his HBO special of the same name, with bits about the immigration debate, airplane restrictions, the price of gasoline and cocaine and more topical issues than are featured in the special.
“I keep it as fluid as possible. A lot has happened since the special. When I taped the special we hadn’t had Bill O’Reilly going into a restaurant in Harlem.”
Expect the set to be geared towards adults, this is not his family sitcom but his real observations in real time.
“When you get older and your kids get older and you realize you don’t have time for a lot of bullshit, you start speaking a lot of truth. I am where I am right now. I feel like society is so upside down, how can you take it seriously?”
Hughley says that these last couple months of touring and writing on the road have been the most “creatively alive” he has felt in a long time. So there is plenty of new stuff that will be in the live show when Hughley comes to the Florida Theatre on November 2nd.
“After all the fires and floods in California, I’m looking forward to a good old-fashioned Florida rainstorm.”
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