April 12, 2007 @ 5:56 pm

Red Grant: This Man is Not a Joke

by: Greta Cabrera

The business man and former football player keeps us laughing yet.

Red Grant might very well be the next comic to be the last comic standing. Currently hosting the Pimp Chronicles tour and acting as Katt Williams' cohort for maybe... forever (they hit Philadelphia on 4/27 and Washington DC on 4/27 - click here for full schedule through June), the man's popularity has been slowly but surely on the rise. Red's a physical comedian with a lot of heart, but make no mistake - this is a business man who spends his free time running a non-profit organization, when he's not honing his hustle. VIBE spoke with Red Grant recently to figure out what makes the funnyman get laughs. So first, can you tell us what's been going on with you lately?
Me and Katt Williams are on tour. I'm the host of the Pimp Chronicles Tour and we just finished 60 cities. We did New York City, which we did two shows in Radio City Music Hall. We sold out D.C. and two shows in 20 minutes. We are planning to do stuff out of the country, but for right now most of the tours have been inside the United States. Tell me a little bit about your non-profit organization.
My non-profit organization is called "Don't Shoot Guns, Shoot Cameras." We teach kids how to stay out of the streets. Instead of shooting guns we give them cameras. I'm talking about video cameras. Since I learned to produce TV shows and movies, I wanted to give kids that same experience. I started a non-profit organization in like 13 schools in the Washington D.C. area. We just started in L.A. Los Angeles and then New York and we are going our way down south and midwest. I only had it for like two years now, but those two years have been incredible. Me and Kelly Williams, who played Laura on "Family Matters," we teamed up to do the program. You recently signed a production deal with Record Plant; you're doing DVDs.
Yeah, we are. I partnered up with Rick Stevens, the owner of Record Plant, which is the most popular studio in Los Angeles and in the world. Everybody who is winning Grammys usually records out of that. We already produced films - we go straight to DVD's - and when I met Rick he wanted to collaborate on some new projects. We signed a deal to do four new DVDs. The one we just finished is called "You Talking About Me?" and is the most hilarious DVD you probably will ever see. It's the best comedians of TV, going against the best comedians of the street. Somebody gonna get they're feelings hurt. And you are appearing in the movie Show Stoppers?
Yes. It's like a college step movie - it's a hilarious, funny movie. We also have "So Fresh and So Clean" planned for BET right now. In Show Stoppers, I'm acting. I'm like the troublemaker. Are you a troublemaker in real life too?
No. Well, I used to be, but I try to be maintain my trouble right now! I'm not a troublemaker any more, but I know how to play a troublemaker. We're just some guys from college campus. Do you like acting? Which do you like more, comedy or acting?
I love acting; I'm a actor by heart, nature. Comedy is acting. With the tour, when we in front of 6,000 people, you gotta be in the act just to be able to capture them. Some people do it well, some people don't. I'm just fortunate enough to be the one who does it well. So I love acting, and my hobby is directing and producing. They're just hobbies that make money for me. When did you start having an interest in comedy?
I was 19 1/2 when I was first in Def Comedy Jam. I heard that you were trying to pursue a career as a football player.
I had a full scholarship to play football and I probably would've been a professional football player but my attitude was bad at the time. I got in a little trouble; I got kicked out of school. When I got kicked out of school, I started telling jokes. I guess it was best for me to be a comedian slash actor, after that happen my football dream went down the drain pretty much. But I still work out a lot. What do you mean by 'bad attitude'?
That's what I talk to kids about now. My father always instilled me, 'Don't act out of emotions.' I think when I was young 17, 18 years old, I acted off my emotions a lot and your emotions can get you in trouble. I was just coming from a urban environment, coming from Southeast D.C. I had a lot of built-up anger and emotions in me and instead of taking them out on the arena, sports and stuff. I sometimes took my emotions off the field. They got me in trouble. Now that I'm in the comedy business I use those same emotions to make people laugh, so I guess that's the flipside. How exactly did you get introduced to the comedy world?
My best friend Rob, Big Rob we call em. We used to have house parties, frat parties all the time, and I used to be making everybody laugh and crack up. He was like, "Man, you should tell jokes" and I was like "Man, for real?" and he was like, "Yeah, I'm telling you man, they got the show Def Comedy Jam, you could be on it." And I just started telling jokes. I started doing open mics in Washington D.C. in a club called Mr. Henry's. I just buitd my act up build it build it up till, I was found by a guy named Bob Sumner, who is the one of the producers of Def Comedy Jam and once that happened, that’s when my television career started so I started in D.C. and I worked my way up. Where do you get your inspiration for your jokes?
I get inspiration from everything, from the bees blowing on the trees, to the people acting on the street. Like I said, comedy is acting, and if you can act out what you see, you become one of the best. I absorb materials through everyday experiences, from mainstream experiences, to government experiences to anything that is happening around me. And I am very physical so I act out everything. What is the best part of being a comedian?
The best part of being a comedian is the rush of hearing people laugh. When you really become good at what you do and you hear that roar, that roar of the crowd is like no other feeling in the world. It's better than any sex that you could ever have, and the roar of the crowd is like, I think that is the best part of comedy. I mean, I know we make money and it's good money, but it's nothing like that roar of the crowd. It's that energy that you get from the people and the energy that you give back to the people. That's the best part of being a comedian. Any comedian tells you any different than that, they really aren't a real comedian. Is there any negative aspect to comedy?
There's always negativity when you try do anything in life. I think the negative part of comedy is all the funniest people in the world are not getting their big shot, and a lot of people who aren't funny are getting a lot of big shots and a lot of big things - but when they get tested on their comedy, they usually fall to the wayside. Sometimes I think the game is oversaturated with comedians that ain't really real. With comedians that don't do this for real, don't really study the craft. I think that is the most negative part to it cause it saturates the market with bad information and bad situations. It's just like how the rap game is right now - you now you got so many rappers there, everybody think they're a rapper, but there are only a few good ones. How has comedy changed over the years?
The game of comedy is wide open. We are able to say stuff that people maybe 30 years couldn't say and didn't say, so our ability to test more people has definitely changed the game. But there's still like an ABC grid to comedy, and as long as you understand that ABC grid, it's just always going be the same. Do you see yourself being in this career forever?
Well forever you never could be anything forever, let's be real. That's why I set myself up with properties, with my production companies, that’s why I got three different business. So do I see myself being in this forever, no. But I am going to go to the top of my game before I get out of it. People are all going to know what Red Grant is all about and then I going to let the young'ns get their shot. Now, at home are you as crazy as in your comedy skits? Are you more relaxed and down to earth, or are you still crazy all around?
Well, that's a good question because when people see me in person, they like, "Oh Red you so laid back, cuz I see you in TV wildin', you crazy." Well I mean that's when I'm putting on that extra mustard, but I can't really run around my house, wildin', wildin' and wildin'. Maybe when I was younger, when I was 18, 19 I used to. Now I am more laid back and reserved. I understand when to turn on and when to turn it off. I'm funny as heck at home though, everyday, I'm making them laugh down here. But I do not over-saturate the market, put it that way. Do you have any advice for people who are trying to get into this business?
Let me see... if you follow Red Grant, if you come behind me, you better be strong, that's all. That's my advice. What about the steps that they need to take?
They need to study; it's just like any other game. You gotta work hard, you gotta study, you gotta build your muscles, you gotta build your stamina, you gotta always want do it, you can never not want to get on stage no matter if it's on person or 100,000 people. You gotta always want to get on stage. And if you don't have that grind and even you don't wanna be on stage all da time, then it's going to eat you up, you never going to win. I do maybe eight shows a week and my ground right now is like I'm on top of my game, and soon as like the media get a hold of it; it's just going to super-explode. So not to brag, but I think right now God got me in a perfect position to show the world what funny is. I just call it the Red Movement. I know I'm laughing, but... What do you do in your spare time?
I am always playing golf. Me and Katt Williams are always going out and playing golf. I know it sounds crazy, we both from the hood, when people see us in the golf course they be like " Oh my god," but we really real serious golfers and going golfing is one hobby. Wildin out is another hobby. Are you still playing football?
Well, I played flag football this year and broke my finger. I'm not playing flag football no more. People are going to make jokes about you now.
That's what they were doing when I got hurt - my finger was twisted all the way around, they were like, 'Come on, Red, you got hurt in the first play.' That's one of my hobbies, and like I said, kicking it with the kids and that's another one of my hobbies. really I don't have too many hobbies but telling jokes and telling jokes and telling jokes and telling jokes.

Article tags: Red, Grant, Man, Not, Joke 

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