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Exclusive: Donnell Rawlings Spills on Netflix Special & Comedy Secrets 🎭✨ | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Mar 14, 2024
🎤💥 Subscribe now for more explosive content! Donnell Rawlings, the comedy genius Netflix couldn't resist, drops truth bombs on "Sway In The Morning"! In this no-holds-barred interview, Rawlings, alongside comedy legends like Dave Chappelle and Earthquake, delves deep into the highs and lows of the comedy world, his journey to a Netflix special, and the gritty reality of making it in comedy. From hilarious anecdotes to raw, emotional revelations, Donnell doesn't shy away from controversy, calling out the industry with his signature blend of humor and insight. If you thought you knew the world of stand-up, think again. This is Rawlings like you've never seen him before, only on Sway’s Universe. Don’t miss out on this game-changing conversation! #DonnellRawlings #Netflix #DaveChappelle #Earthquake #ComedyRevolution
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Intro
2:30 - Donnell Rawlings Comedy Insights
9:58 - Netflix Special Journey
18:34 - Crafting the Perfect First Joke
22:55 - Dr. Umar Johnson Commentary
26:38 - Universal Comedy Crafting
30:16 - Comedy Special Performance Review
31:00 - Achieving a 40-Minute Set
31:49 - The Art of Cutting Jokes
36:00 - Dave Chappelle's Support
39:10 - Donnell Rawlings Career Highlights
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
You got it special, dawg
0:01
Just be happy. So now you special? Because you got it special? Damn, Donnell
0:05
This is one of those cases, though. This is one of those things, Heather. You seen it? My mother told me that this was going to happen
0:10
He don't call her mother. My mother said, on your way up, it's going to be people trying to sway you on the way day
0:16
Your mother said the word sway, bro. Sway, yes, she did. She said, sway you
0:21
And I was like, wait a minute. Sway? I'm doing that tomorrow. So, ma, you was right
0:26
Look at God. Continue to pray for him. Continue to pray for him. You talk about me, you don't even show up
0:31
I've been here like seven times in the last year. Oh, that old ass. Are you still doing that bit
0:35
Is it? Oh, yeah. Come on, man. You still doing that bit? That bit. Yeah
0:39
Come on, man. That's like saying schtick. Yeah. That's like saying schtick. Yeah, you still doing
0:43
That's the truth. What you going to say? You never hear. I wonder if you go, blah, blah, blah. You never hear when I come
0:48
All people got to do it. We heard that a thousand times, bruh. Time
0:52
You got a new special. You tell a new joke. Oh, my God. All people have to do this joke
0:56
Get the out of here. I see this dude everywhere. You down there be slapping dudes on the ass when you go to this show
1:02
Yeah, let's go like a coach. Let's go get them, baby. Break the mics. Birds flying high
1:09
You know how I feel. Birds flying high. You know how I feel
1:14
Oh, my. Sun in the sky. You know how I feel. Breeze drifting on by
1:24
You know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day
1:31
It's a new life for me It's a new dawn It's a new day
1:39
It's a new life for me And I was Feeling good
1:49
that's all I want to do. I'm not going to let you throw me off my thing
1:54
My mother told me that on your way up the devil is going to try
2:00
to bring you down. But I want to tell y'all all the citizens that listen right now
2:04
and I shouldn't say God is shit in the same sentence but I'm one of them type of church s
2:09
I keep it real. I will not let you ruin the momentum I'm on
2:13
The feeling I am. And how I feel. And Swain, after this is special, it's a new day
2:19
That's a new Don. And I'm not going to let you take me off with it
2:23
Thank you. You can cut it right now. Thank you. Donnell Rawlins has arrived
2:29
Okay. Give it up for Donnell. And I don't need this. I'm stressed
2:34
I'm keeping it 100 with you. You stressed? Because I see you rising. I see that star shining
2:38
Thank you. I see it. Was it unexpected? Not at all. Was it a matter of time
2:43
Yes, it was a matter of time. Your season's been a long time coming
2:47
I remember back in 2003 When none of these people Who platforms you seem to go to
2:52
All a single time Had a platform They didn't even have platforms
2:56
What happened? They wasn't there When you were shooting in the gym Okay, what happened
3:01
I put him on one of the biggest platforms In New York, Heather I put him on Hot 97
3:05
They didn't even want to have him on In the building I remember And he did put me on when Hot was Hot
3:10
Come on, man Shout out to my brother Ebro Okay, alright, he fired me
3:16
So it, not 97 Not 97. My brother. Just that beautiful, another beautiful child
3:22
I screwed him up. What happened to him? You ghosted him. I'm ghosting the shit out of him. Why
3:30
I had a long night, son. I wasn't feeling it. You didn't go to him? I had one of those nights
3:34
I had one of those nights like this. With the rain drop with fire
3:39
And I said, I'm not going to be able to make it. And now he ghosted me. That's my dog
3:44
As he should have. Yep, all right. But you know I gotta love you. Don't even try it
3:49
Don't do that to me. I would have ghosted you if it wasn't forever. You know what
3:53
This is what we call, you know, it's like people when they try to act like they don't like you
3:58
but they really with you. Right. You know what I'm saying? I know what this is. Denial. It's like denial
4:02
It's like a brother, like, oh, I still want to bust his chops or whatever. But at the same time, I know what a love is
4:07
No, no, no, no. Because I think at one time you probably thought I didn't like you
4:11
So, you know. No, I didn't think you didn't like me. I just thought that you'd never be here when I'm here
4:15
so that sounds like a mother that don't like a mother. I saw your talent before a lot of – what year did you meet Dave
4:21
That had to be probably 99 around the time, late 90s. Okay, so Dave and I saw talent around you around the same time
4:31
To be quite honest, Dave wasn't the first person that saw the talent in me. The first person was Neil Brennan
4:36
Neil the what? Really? Yeah, Neil Brennan. Me and Dave knew each other from D.C
4:40
And when you start in D.C., the first sign that you're moving up
4:44
trying to do it is to leave right and i was a young comic david's been i'm older than david but
4:48
he's been doing it longer than me david already he had it popping in new york or whatever and i was
4:52
coming up at a young age i was like man who was the i was like who was the hot comics to come out
4:56
of new york and they i mean come out of dc and it was like dave chappelle i didn't really know too
5:01
much of him i was like so what make him so hot they was like well he's young he's smart his comedy
5:06
uh he's animated he's a good actor he kept saying he's young i said i can't do nothing about that
5:11
so I asked about him and then Dave even shared this story
5:15
at my 50th birthday when he came to New York he would ask the same question
5:19
he would be like who's the hot comic and it was always like the normal people
5:23
like Andy Evans Tony Woods, Factot, those guys but he said the owner of this one club in particular
5:29
said but there's this one young kid coming up named Donnell Rawlins
5:33
and he's fired and Dave was responding with that right
5:37
When they said a thing about Dave I said the same thing
5:42
I was like that Not in a bad way But both of us thought
5:46
That we was popping back then And it wasn't until He knew of me
5:50
I knew of him It wasn't until I moved to New York That he saw me in passing
5:54
Like going through the Boston Comedy Club And the comedy set up
5:58
But the person that was really Dave had to co-sign it But the person that was responsible
6:03
For me being on that show Was Neil Brennan I cannot take that away from him be around
6:07
Yeah, but he could suggest to me be on the show, but he suggested that I be on the show and be part of the show
6:13
But then Dave knowing me as a stand-up, he didn't really know me too much as an actor
6:18
but when Dave first started with the Chappelle show, he wanted to give people shots that he thought was funny on stage
6:23
Like Dominique was one of them. It was another older black guy. I forget his name, but he was big on the people that he liked
6:29
and hopefully that would translate on camera. So Neil suggested I be on the show
6:33
and Dave was like, okay, you know, why not? because the person that was really closest to Dave when it showed
6:39
it was Greer Barnes. Okay. You know what I'm saying? Greer Barnes was Dave's guy, like, yo, let me do it
6:44
And I was Neil's guy with the consent from Dave. But for some reason, I took the show so serious
6:51
that every opportunity I had to be on camera, I didn't look at it like, oh, I might have another sketch
6:57
I always looked at it like, this could be my last one. So I was really, really, really, really serious about
7:03
the couple of seconds or whatever they gave me just to blow it up. And you could tell from my performance on the sketches
7:09
that's the reason why they kept me around. Yeah, man. Donnell Rawlins, man
7:13
Absolutely, man. I like going back and looking at those sketches. Man, we had Earthquake up here
7:18
and he was talking about that DMV scene and how he used to do clubs for comedians
7:23
Did y have any interaction back there Well the interaction me and Earthquake had was I used to insult him about having a removable steering wheel when he was there That right He talked about that when he came up He said that was a liar
7:35
And we knew he was balling harder because he walked in the club with his steering wheel
7:39
You know what I mean? No, he didn't. No way. Hold up. Man, he don't remember it
7:43
But he walked in there with his steering wheel. I was like, oh, this getting money. Anytime you can pull up with a steering wheel
7:48
But all those guys, Dave, Earthquake, they all, when I first started
7:52
they all had like three or four years on me. But when I came up, man
7:57
and it's not like me bragging or anything, but when I came up, I came up so fast and so hard
8:02
When I was doing comedy, I was doing comedy for six months, and I got an audition for Def Comedy Jam
8:07
and I made the show after six months, which was unheard of
8:11
The only person that made Def Jam that quick and at the same time, with that speed, was Tracy Morgan
8:17
Then when I started, people, because me and both, we had broad energy
8:21
We were really, really raw. You know what I'm saying? We wasn't polished
8:25
We just had characters and stuff. In fact, people used to say I was the DC version of Tracy Morgan
8:30
Wow. Just that raw. And another story people know, when Tracy auditioned for Saturday Night Live
8:37
I was in that same audition with him, right? And I think I bombed
8:42
Okay. And I bombed like not being funny. I didn't really know what the industry was looking for
8:47
So we only had like four minutes. In the four minutes, I tried to tell a story that was four minutes long
8:53
So I didn't have the experience to know that they want characters. They want to see you be somebody other than yourself
9:00
I was Donnell, just a funny guy. But I know, I remember Tracy Morgan's audition
9:06
and I'm pretty sure this was one of the characters that got him. He played a hockey player
9:11
He was a black hockey player, right? It didn't have a setup. It didn't have a storyline
9:14
It was just a character. And you know, Saturday Night Live, you're like, can he be this? Can he be that person
9:19
And I saw the way Tracy moved his body and everything. I was like, this dude is going to be the next cast member
9:24
He did. But it was a learning experience for me. Donnell Rollins, huh
9:28
Ooh. Insightful. When you did just, congratulations, citizens, if you haven't watched it, going on Netflix now
9:35
it's called A New Day. Yes. It's A New Day. I thought it was really, you know, I sat and watched it
9:42
and I watched it as a fan first, not as a friend first, right
9:48
And I want to say, man, I've always thought you were special
9:52
I've seen you perform on many stages, many size audiences. I always come back to Heather and say, yo, that dude, that dude, he killed it, you know
10:00
But to have your Netflix special, that's the equivalent to when these emcees come up here and try to freestyle
10:05
and it's the biggest stage you could freestyle on. Were you nervous? Of course
10:10
Yeah. But I don't think that, I'll put it like this, we had two tapings, right? Okay
10:13
And it was, for me, the pressure was we had tried to do a special twice before this one came up
10:19
The first one we did at the end of the pandemic, it was already a test because we had to find a place that would even allow us to be in the building
10:26
There were so many COVID restrictions. There was so much protocol. Even the first show, the place that I chose, it held 700, but Netflix turned away 350 people
10:37
So we started with, can you imagine you going out there, you think it's supposed to be a packed house
10:41
and it's like they got a black curtain in the back. You know what I mean? So now I'm doing stand-up, but I'm acting
10:46
because I know that the energy isn't there like what it normally would be
10:51
So, and that said, I said, you have to perform for the cameras. You know what I'm saying
10:55
Don't try to get the energy from the audience. Perform for the cameras. And I stood up to it
11:00
We had a good set. And then the second one, we had a little bit more
11:05
but I said, you know, the first one, you know, this is what producers say, we got what we need
11:09
Whenever someone says that, I mean, okay, we can finagle it. We can do this. Because a lot of people don't know what happens in post
11:15
You see a lot of specials? You can see a tape and he was like, oh, it wasn't that or that
11:19
But then when they do all the little fancy stuff to it, it's like, oh, he killed it. Second one, I killed it
11:24
I got a standing ovation. Stan Latham was happy. Ricky Hughes, she was happy
11:29
And they had announced that me and Earthquake had specials coming out. Two weeks after that, they decided that he wanted to can the special
11:36
I thought it was insulting at first because for a comedian, if you say you don't want to put it out, first thing you think
11:41
it wasn't funny. But he was like, Donnell, you're one of the funniest guys I know
11:47
I could put you in front of any audience and you'll kill it, but it doesn't make it a great special
11:53
And he was very adamant about saying, out of everybody under the umbrella of the home team
11:59
and this is not to throw shade on Lunell or Earthquake, he said, your connection with me and the Chappelle brand
12:06
yours is the most anticipated special out of the this is very true
12:11
and he said that if we do it we want to do it right and then I had already got paid
12:16
for it so I was like okay I'm here to listen you know we did it that time
12:20
then another year he canned it and he said another thing he said
12:24
he said you got a lot of COVID jokes in here so it's going to be dated we want a classic
12:28
we want something that's going to stand the test of time if I were to drop that special
12:32
with mask on it would have made you automatically feel 2020. So every
12:38
type of criticism he gave me I didn't take it personal. I took it like, okay, back to the drawing board
12:44
Maybe a year later, he always tapes his show. He just has archive
12:48
of every show he's ever done. And he looked at Ricky backstage. He said
12:52
how many cameras do you have here? And she said, five. Then he looks at me and said
12:56
do you want to shoot your special? I said, when? He said, tomorrow. Oh my God
13:02
And I was like, for a second, I was like, what? Then I got excited about it
13:06
because then I didn't have to, the pressure of inviting family, people saying congratulations, you deserve it
13:12
We were basically gonna shoot a special when nobody knew about it. There was only three people that knew
13:16
what we were even gonna do. Ripped that one, he got that one
13:21
two weeks later he said I wanna do it again. I'm like why, he said I didn't really like the production. And I'm like that's strange, you produced it
13:30
Is this a form of self, maybe you need a therapist Dave
13:34
But what he made, made sense. Because he said, Donnell, it was fun
13:38
Only thing I already knew that we didn't have time to dress the set. You know what I'm saying
13:43
Put the bells and the whistles. It was just going to be raw. It was a black curtain, a spotlight
13:48
It was a bar stool. It was a mic. So I'm thinking, like, let's just make this feel like a classic joint back in the day
13:55
Like when Bill Cosby did himself. When Richard Pryor did Live at Sunset Strip
14:00
It wasn't no fancy stuff. The focus was you, a mic, and talking
14:04
but then he said but I didn't like he said it's people moving around
14:08
and everything and I was like well a lot of Sunset's feel one of the most memorable jokes
14:12
was when white people lost their seats and they came back and Richard
14:16
Pryor said oh white people like hey where's my seat I was like it had that type of energy
14:20
he was like listen Donnell if you want to put it out
14:24
it's your special we can do it but I'm telling you so I was like alright
14:28
now I don't think it's ever gonna happen but at the same time I'm like
14:32
I got a nice bag for it. I was like, they don't ever have to put it out. And the reason why, because the momentum of my career was already going good
14:40
And I think that a special is only going to invite more people to see what I'm doing
14:44
But I was not, I didn't have a problem with just doing the slow grind. Comedy club after comedy club
14:48
That's my thing. 30 years, people know me for my reputation as a stand-up
14:53
So I was like okay we do it again I was part of the New York Comedy Festival Last time I was here I was promoting that I said why don we just bring the cameras and let do it here Third time was a charm
15:06
And I think if I would have been petty and be like, man, you don't know what you're talking about. It's funny, funny
15:10
But I had a chance to evolve, even in the joke writing, even the way I dressed and everything
15:16
And this is a very long story to answer your question. I was nervous
15:21
But at the same time, I said you gotta block all that out
15:25
and it's like it's make believe you gotta just catch it you know what I'm saying
15:31
the first one first table was good and everybody's like we got it
15:35
but a lot of times artists we are more critical of ourselves
15:39
than anybody else I've had sets of people like you killed and I'm like I don't know about that
15:45
I didn't feel it but that first one and this one I knew was gonna be something special
15:48
because I for about six months I've been touring with that Nina Simone
15:52
song, right? That shifted the way I come on stage. Normally when I go on stage
15:57
I'm coming out with a song that's hitting hard. , I ain't worry about nothing
16:00
Some of I do call and response, but then I say I want to do something different. I want to start
16:04
from scratch. This was very tough for me to do. Doing these arenas with Dave
16:10
DJ Trama would be like, this was my intro. You seen him on HBO
16:14
The Wire, you get a couple claps. You seen him on So-and-So
16:19
you get a couple claps. But then the room explodes when they say, But you fell in love with him as as she
16:26
and before they even finished the sentence, everywhere we went, we talked about 25,000 people going nuts
16:33
That's the energy you're supposed to go on. But I was patient. I would let them go, and then you would hear birds
16:39
and then the stadium would go from 25,000 to you could hear a pin drop
16:45
Quiet. Like, where is it? Where is it coming out? And then when I break that, when I would come out that tunnel
16:51
and I just stood up to it and it just felt like
16:55
because I didn't want to use call and response to start. I was like
17:01
you got to start from ground zero, the joke. And I was wondering with that transfer
17:07
when we were shooting the special, I knew it was something different because when they played Nina Simone
17:12
normally they get quiet and listen to the song. They just stood and clapped
17:16
throughout the whole song. So I was pushed into some energy that I had to follow up on
17:24
And I really believe comedy is so subjective. People are so negative for comedy right now
17:28
It's going to be always somebody, well, blah, blah, blah. It wasn't comparing it
17:34
But all the people I work around, I said, listen, I'm not going to get caught up on people think it's the greatest special ever
17:39
The thing I'm going to get caught up on, does it feel good? Is it a new day
17:44
Does that song resonate? Is it something to be happy about? Are you rooting for this guy
17:50
are you rooting for this guy and what I'm feeling from the streets
17:54
and everything it was people been waiting for it and people are like for the most part people are
18:00
genuinely happy for me and I'm genuinely happy for those people because
18:05
I know that these people have been rocking with me from day one they're saying I want
18:10
to see him do well and I think that a new day
18:14
I think it was a calling card I did like 41 minutes I think it was
18:18
It's an introduction to who I'm as a stand-up, who people haven't seen
18:22
But everything that I got from these last three opportunities, the next one I do, because now I'm revved up for it
18:30
Yeah, you're good. I know what to do. The next one is going to be crazy. Donnell Rollins, man
18:34
Congratulations. Paid his dues to get to that stage. I like the back story
18:40
Me too. How do you decide the first joke? Yeah. I'm going to tell you, in this case with me
18:46
and this is what inspired me, That first joke, Robbie Prowl from Netflix, he's the one that writes the checks
18:54
and when he says you're doing it, you're doing it. And then during this whole process, he said, Donnie, because they look at the numbers and everything
19:00
he said, your first two minutes is the most important part. You get them. And for years, I was like, how do you get somebody right off the rip
19:08
It's not too many people that when they do a stand-up, in like 40 or 30 seconds, you get excited
19:15
and what I always was searching for a joke not similar to
19:19
but the style of Martin Lawrence on You So Crazy Martin Lawrence when he came out
19:23
on You So Crazy he was like give it up for Martin Lawrence
19:27
you could tell the crowd was geeked up you could tell that they were there to see him he had explosive energy
19:32
he was animated Martin is like just a character as soon as you see him you want to laugh
19:36
and he had this energy you're wondering how he's going to follow up what he's going to say and he said give it up
19:41
for a brother making money the right way. People going crazy. You don't know where he's going
19:48
He said, when you making money the right way, you can tell your lady shit like
19:54
shut the up. They'll shut up too. He said, they'd be like, you so crazy
20:02
So I was like, do I got anything in my repertoire that could capture the audience like that
20:11
And what I did was, I took the energy of feeling good
20:14
right and I said and I said you know everybody's like I'm feeling good
20:20
and I'm feeling good and I said why am I feeling good and I knew this
20:24
was going to relate to the fans I said the reason why I'm feeling good because I ain't ashy no more mother
20:29
boom the minute you hear that and you see how I look
20:33
you're already thinking before I say that line oh shit this ain't ashy
20:39
he got a suit He's classy. The got red socks. He's a red sock
20:44
Right, right, right. He was moisturized well. I was moisturized. I peep that. I hit the ankle
20:48
That little part by the ankle bone, no s hit that. And usually if you hit that part, they call you gay
20:54
You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, you moisturized too much. That's like a lotion their ass
20:58
What real s lotion their ass, son? If your ass ain't ashy, son, that 's in the village like, yass
21:05
s with an oily ass. If you got, yo, no disrespect. I'm just telling y'all real shit, son
21:10
I'm just telling y'all real shit. I'm just telling y'all real shit, son
21:15
Yo, , I'm just telling y'all real shit. I'm out of this
21:20
Heather, go ahead. I'm adjacent to this conversation. Go ahead, Heather. I'm just oily ass,
21:26
I'm saying it. I said it. I said it. Daniel's Vaseline gel on baby oil
21:33
And if they squeeze the cheeks while they do it, son. I'm just honest, man
21:38
I thought this was the year of truth. Come on, man. You gotta massage your glutes, man
21:42
Nah, you don't do that, son. You gotta massage your glutes. You don't do that, son. I don't know what a glute is
21:47
I'm a glucose intolerant. Go ahead. Get in here. I'm out of here, man
21:53
Glute intolerant. Glute closest. Damn, man. That was beautiful. Nothing wrong with having a moist ass for y'all
22:00
moist ass s. I'm just not one of them. I'm just not
22:03
No, but he's, listen. That's the only thing I keep asking. What the hell
22:08
Imagine all of this beside him Like Darnell back beside him His leg beside him
22:14
The butt of the ass Scratch marks what did you say
22:18
That ain't harmonious I ain't doing that one You know what I was wondering while I was watching I got butt That visual was horrible Scratch dunk
22:35
Donnell, congratulations. Playing tic-tac-toe on his ass. Thank you, Trent. Tic-tac-toe? With Chuck
22:41
No. With Chuck. With fingernails. You can just do tic-tac-toe. With fingernails on his butt
22:48
That's it. This is Brooklyn all day, you heard? We gotta erase the visual
22:55
All right, go ahead, Trisha. Help us. Donnell, yes, you absolutely killed that
23:00
And I mean that with full sincerity, my guy. I love how you're able to find a balance of making jokes about things that are happening in pop culture right now. Right
23:09
But then also bringing in your personal life. And I also can't wait to hear what Dr. Umar thinks about your special, too
23:16
Do you know what he did? What? Dr. Umar, this was funny because when I wrote that bit, right, I have a lot of respect for Dr. Umar
23:22
Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So do I. And that's, I'm telling you, I would never, ever, ever try to debate him one on one
23:28
He would eat me up. He would destroy me. And especially, I point out the things that I appreciate about him
23:34
And then there's a little thing that I said. There's a little caveat. Probably a little different
23:38
But I was wondering, I did it so tastefully. You know what I'm saying
23:43
I didn't like, Dr. Umar, kiss my ass. I did it so tastefully. I explained that, and I explained, I don't want to give up the punchline
23:49
But I was wondering, I knew it was going to take too long before I get back to him, right
23:53
But this is what I appreciate, the fact that a person can understand a good joke
23:57
and not take themselves so serious. He reposted the joke on his page. Oh, that's dope
24:02
I love. He reposted. And then when I saw it, I was just like, when I saw it, I was like, oh, shit
24:08
I didn't really listen to it, but I was like, he reposted, right? Yeah. And I sent it to Dave
24:12
I said, we on fire, son. I said, Dr. Umar posted. He said, this is the type of shit that make me like that
24:20
That's what he said. You know what I'm saying? Because people do have questions
24:24
I don't want to bother him. And for what he does for the black community and how he feels, we need that
24:30
We need people that are champions. He's very important. Like I said, he's the blackest in the United States
24:35
You can't out-black him. Big facts. You can't do that. You can try. The only closest you're going to get, if you can learn how to speak Swahili fluently
24:43
then you probably can with ooh. But other than that, you can't with him
24:46
but I didn't know that when he posted it it was him watching it
24:51
until I had a chance to listen to the volume so I'm listening to it
24:58
and you can hear somebody snickering he was like and then he could tell the punchline was coming
25:05
then he said okay here we go here we go when I hit that he laughed
25:10
and when I said the bottom line we have to learn how to laugh
25:15
and shit. One of the things that Dave told me once, and the people like your name dropping
25:18
he's one of my closest friends, so y'all. Get the out of here. He said, it is our job as comedians
25:23
to make fun of the things that are troubling the world. And I think it was very refreshing
25:26
knowing that Dr. Kumar has a sense of humor. Yes, indeed. Because every time you see him, he's serious, serious
25:33
He's serious. And another thing I noticed on his page, it was a difference
25:36
because there was a lot of smile emojis on his page. That don't get no smile emojis
25:43
That get black thumbs and black fists the whole time. Yo, yo
25:49
Yo, I was like, we gotta lighten this page up, right? He usually get this, you know
25:54
he get the thumb, the fist, black hands. He used the darkest emojis
26:00
You know how some people have issues? Like, when he go get the emoji color, he go to the one
26:06
way over here. As he should. Double down, black thumb, black fist
26:12
and no light skin shit about his shit. Ever. Ever. But I
26:17
and here's another thing. He's an incredible voice. I love Dr. Umar
26:22
And I'm glad that, because I saw the clip on his page. Right. That's what I'm saying
26:26
It was like, it's cool to know that, you know, we don't have to take ourselves that serious. Yeah
26:32
You know, and again, I'm going back, probably repeating myself, but that's what I really enjoy about this special
26:37
that it feels good. And it's something that's special that can serve everybody
26:42
Like, I got people, like church people. Like, one of my close friends, Jonathan Powell, he helps me with my style and stuff
26:49
He's a church , right? I don't know if that's what I'm about to say. Church ? Can you really say that
26:54
I just said it. Right. Okay. I s with God. Can I say that? Oh, wow
26:58
Wow. Wow. I said it. It's certain s that just s with God. Oh
27:02
You know? I ain't going to be in there like this. Every Sunday, but I s with him
27:07
God accepts all. You better look for s like me, not those churchy s
27:11
Oh, my gosh. You better look for the mothers going through a transition. You done got to save them s and save me
27:17
So many different s. I need help. Different kind of variations. So what did I say
27:22
I lost my thought. What did I say? Church . s with God. Oh, no
27:26
He was telling me. He was like this. He was like, listen, brother. He said, you got the church folks wondering
27:35
But this is how I'm going to evolve to the next level. He said, you got the church folks wanting to see you perform
27:41
But they say, can he not say this? Can he not say that
27:46
Right? And I said, no, I'm going to say it. But I didn't. But I said, my next level of comedy is being able, and I know I can do it, being able to do a show
27:56
And I said this on a couple of joints where I could watch it with my son. But even with this one, even with this special, when we went to the editing, I did say the N-word a lot
28:08
right? And the reason why I said it because I speak like my father in a barbershop
28:12
I speak like my father in a pool hall. You know what I'm saying? People that know
28:16
the language and the flow, they wasn't offended by it. They're like
28:20
that's how this talk. You know what I'm saying? Even I was, I told Dave, I was like, you know what? I'm using
28:26
the word a lot. I don't have to. And I was looking at it. I was like, right here
28:30
I was like, we could cut this out. You won't even notice. I said, you could take this and
28:34
wear it out. You could take this and wear it out. You could take this out. You won't even notice it. And then he was like
28:38
this is what Dave said he said Donnell a 30 plus year career
28:45
you want to switch up now? he said save that shit for the next one
28:49
he said Donnell this is your voice he said this is how you talk to people he said I've seen you
28:54
talk like this around like some very influential he said this is you
29:00
he said this is Donnell you know that's why I listened to him
29:05
and I was going to chop it up and then when I heard I was like ah ah but I was like you know what? The jokes are still there. The energy is still there. But I do my next go around
29:13
Every time I do something, I challenge myself. I know it's going to be unexpected of people
29:18
but if I cannot, if when I do my next one and I could tone that language down where I don't want
29:25
anybody to have an excuse not to listen to me. I don't want anybody to have an excuse of not
29:30
wanting to watch me. And if I could get those church people on board and I just make a couple
29:36
variations, I'll be cool. You know what I'm saying? So that's what my next focus is
29:42
My next focus is. Then I realize the stuff, the stories I tell, they don't need profanity
29:46
It's just that if I'm in a comfortable environment, I'm going to say that
29:50
When I do TV, I never slip up. You know what I'm saying? And the reason why I talk the way this is because this is a free environment
29:58
where you can just let it go. if I'm under certain restrictions, but I don't have a problem doing it
30:03
People are like, oh, why you want to, you want to, nah, man, I'm just trying to be better. You know what I'm saying
30:07
I want to be better, and as I go, I want a broader audience and a broader audience
30:11
And right now, I got the point now, this is an international Netflix release
30:18
Congratulations. 122 countries. How did it do? Have you gotten the feedback
30:23
Well, the feedback is, when it first dropped on the 27th, The next day, I charted it to number two
30:30
My man, Donnell Rollins. Come on, baby. Come on, baby. I started at number two
30:35
I held the number two spot for, I think, three days. It went to number four
30:40
It went to seven. But that's a big deal. Hell yeah. To chart, to be able to say you were in the top ten shows on Netflix at that moment, it says a lot
30:56
It's a big accomplishment. And the crazy thing, here's the crazy thing about even getting to that point
31:01
Like when Dave decided to do these specials, he only wanted us to do a half hour, right
31:06
He wanted us to do a half hour, but we got whole hour money, right
31:11
He wanted to be like an introduction. He was like, we don't got to do it that long. He wanted to do 30 minutes
31:16
Everybody else did a little bit over 30. He wanted 30 minutes. Robbie Praud, the executive at Netflix, he wanted 40 minutes
31:24
And the reason why he wanted 40 minutes is that you have to do at least 40 minutes. for it to even be, to be chartable
31:30
To register, yeah. To register, yeah. So when I talked to Dave about it, I was like this
31:34
man, because at first we was at like 38, and then Dave was like, man, don't worry about that shit, man
31:40
He was like, it's the feeling of it. If it's going to be good, people are going to like it. He was like that, but I was like
31:44
I would like to see how I would chart. Yeah. Right? So it was a clean edit on my special
31:51
It was like two and a half minutes of a joke that I took out
31:55
And it was the joke about Missile Philithemia. Oh, my God. But let me tell you why I took it out
32:00
The reason why I took it out originally because this one, Cat Williams, was hot on the streets, right
32:05
And he's still hot. But I'm talking about this one, all the truth. And then it was all this talk about joke thieves and stuff like that
32:12
I've never stole the joke in my life. But I do know there's certain premises
32:15
that you can hit dissimilar to somebody else. You can think a lot. And it was just so weird because right when we were in editing
32:22
that joke that he did, a joke that popped up on my feed, Right
32:26
And I said, the fact that he even said the word, I was like, man, that
32:30
I don't want the cat smoke. Yeah. I don't want the kitty cats to come at me
32:35
What is the kitty cats? They're the same thing as like the beehive and the barbs
32:39
It's a group of people that support you no matter what. What? It was the kitty
32:44
I call them the kitty cats. Come on, man. Man, the kitty cats. You know the kitty cats. They don't want to hear them be like, where the lie
32:49
Where the lie? He ain't lying. Why nobody ain't say nothing? He ain't lying
32:53
The kitty cats. they're loyal fans I said I don't even want that
32:58
I said if I don't have to deal with this I won't deal with it
33:02
I was like man it and then I asked does the joke stand alone because the joke when I do the missile part missile filler theme
33:08
or what have you said it's a call back I already get the joke off at the beginning
33:12
it's a call back it's called a tag you do one joke and then you come back
33:16
and hit another one that's similar to it but I was like this I said do we lose
33:20
anything if I cut it we didn't lose anything. The joke still played
33:24
It was smooth. It was seamless. But now you're talking about can I register? And
33:30
Ricky Hughes said, well, you cut that joke. She said, you cut it because you didn't want
33:34
to deal with Kat. And then I was like, man, that. I'll deal with Kat. Put that shit back in. Right
33:40
Right? To get to the 40. And then that gives, not leverage, but
33:44
now when I go to negotiate another contract with Netflix, now I can be like, it's charted
33:50
You have the metrics. Yeah, it's the chest. To back it up. You know what I'm saying
33:54
I was like, now we got that. And the thing that I do have in my favor about possibility of doing another one is that and I know people are like you can trust these a lot of the people over Netflix they genuinely like me and as much as we talk about
34:09
the industry and the gatekeepers and all that type of shit here's the thing in this
34:13
business you got two people that's equally talented and I don't give a
34:17
what nobody says the person that's easy to work with the person
34:23
and you can say whatever the you want the person is likable right
34:27
to understand the business, they're equally talented. That's the person who's going to get the job
34:32
I'm not here to ruffle no favors. I'm not here to kiss nobody's ass. But I know in this business, there's a strategy to everything
34:39
Do I like everybody I come in contact with? But I look at it like this. If you're right here, right, if you're right here
34:45
and I'm trying to get to D, right, and I'm like this, yeah, but that time me and me and Sway, we was beefing
34:50
I could hold that to my heart, right? Or I could be like this. All right, can we tolerate each other for me to get to him
34:56
it's all about positioning and it has nothing to do with sucking about somebody's dick
35:01
you didn't do that? never gonna do it it has nothing to do with that shit
35:07
an unfortunate thing about the narrative that people put and it's so ed up about this industry
35:12
when you start seeing someone or a person in this position because they did something right
35:20
then you discredit, you taking away everything how about that person worked hard
35:26
How about that person who had work ethic? How about God said it's the time for that person
35:30
You can't just measure someone's success by, oh, they must do something
35:35
Mothers talk shit to me. I worked my mother ass off for 34 years
35:40
I see s that I would smoke on stage, go past me
35:45
I see them get more money, more fame, never got discouraged, never been the sore loser, that, why'd he get it
35:52
Always said, back to the drawing board. even before I got the special
35:55
a lot of things people don't know Dave threw you a bone Dave was always in my corner
36:00
but when Dave was dragging his feet about the special Netflix said
36:06
we want to do a special with Donnell irregardless if Dave produce it or not
36:12
we want to be in business with him whether Dave ed with it or not
36:17
but me on the business side alright if I do that with Netflix on my own
36:23
It's only a certain amount of money I'm going to get. If I get attached to the brand of Dave
36:29
and if I wait it out for a minute, I know I'm going to get quadruple the amount of money
36:35
I play that side of it. Mothers, oh, Dave put you on
36:39
Nobody put you on. You put yourself on. People can give you a platform to shine
36:45
You know what I'm saying? You come up here. You break an MC or whatever, right
36:50
Oh, yo, Sway put him on. No, Sway got here on a platform for people to see what Sway already believed in him
36:57
So to all of those people, the out of here. I put my work in
37:02
I put my dues in. I paid my dues. And I continue to pay my dues
37:07
I will continue to pay my dues. And just like the name of the title is, it's a new day
37:11
It is so hard, Sway, to not get involved with the negativity
37:16
When I came here today, y'all said, he's sleepy. No, I'm burnt out. because just burnt out with a lot of shit
37:23
You know, having to explain shit, the only thing I ever want to do is be positive, right
37:28
and show my side of it. But we live in the world now is that mothers trying to sell controversy
37:33
and not jokes. Yes. that he say, she say, clap back
37:37
He said, they said, we said. Nah, . And this is the real fight
37:44
all this stupid shit. fight on your with your success years ago when mike epps and tracy morgan was at odds with each
37:56
other with each other we were at the uptown comic club david shipbell was in the back and they was
38:01
about to get in the fight dave came in the middle of that and there was a tv back there dave said hey man y don need to don fight like this Fight right here on the TV That where you want to fight
38:14
Fight on the TV. Fight with your success. And everybody knows, and I've been trying to get away from this
38:19
it's been some controversy about another comic. With comedy. Yeah, and comedy
38:24
And I'm like this. I don't want to argue back and forth for these platforms
38:28
I want to do this. Keep winning. Keep doing my shit. I had a situation where I wanted to, everybody, Michelle Obama says, when they go low, we go high
38:39
I wanted to be high, but I wanted to be low. I wanted to smoke a joint and just go in, right
38:44
And I said, if you engage that, it is so tough for me not to talk about it because I'm a that responds to shit
38:52
And I started, I was like, oh, I can do this. I can say this. I can say that. But then eventually I said, you know what
38:57
I did. I started looking at the comments and stuff. I was like, I don't got to attack
39:01
I don't got to fight back. I got a group of fans. I got a group of people that with me, and I let them deal with that shit
39:06
And I keep on focusing on what's important, and that's making people laugh. There you go, man
39:10
That's my man, Donnell Rollins, man. Donnell. That's Donnell Rollins, bro. Yo, Heather
39:17
My therapy works for him. I see, man. I'm his therapist. You know, I'm just sitting here
39:21
No, you the worst therapist. No, you the worst therapist. Y'all want to hear some real shit? No, I want to hear some real shit
39:27
When this shit was going down, Heather said, , I told you
39:30
I've been trying to say it for years, you wouldn't let me do it
39:35
How nice have I been to comedians, though? Yo, she been wanting to go ham
39:39
She been calling me like, man, that. That corny. That corny
39:44
And I say, Heather, you can't say that. She's like, why not? That corny
39:49
And am I lying? I've always been fair to the community. I was like, well, you know, you can't say that
39:55
They got different styles, boy. When shit was going on, she called me like, I tried to tell you
40:00
You wouldn't let me say it, yo. I'm proud of Darnell. And I know we got our next guest coming in, but I'm so proud of him
40:10
Yes, this is my brother. This is my family and all of that. And we talk a lot off mic
40:16
But I'm so proud of this dude because we met each other doing daytime television
40:20
And I watched Darnell juggle from Dave Chappelle wraparounds, doing that over there, coming to Ricky Lake
40:28
Remember the Spider-Man? Yo, that's what I was about to say And then auditioning for shit
40:32
We at Daytime Television with Ricky Lake Director comes in there and was like
40:36
Where's Darnell? Why you late? Why you not here? Darnell was like
40:42
I had to audition for Spider-Man So I looked up And I'm like damn
40:46
She was like what? You have to be here a certain time
40:50
I don't know what the connection he saw in my eye He's like that
40:54
You know what I'm saying I had to go audition for Spider-Man And I gave him a tap
40:58
I was like, yo, I'm going against Spider-Man. But the thing is, he had that one line or whatever to the Spider-Man
41:07
but it doesn't matter. He fought for that. You know, to your point, you worked hard for that
41:12
Nobody knew what your day was like that day. You had five other things to do. But he stopped and went to another audition while he was working
41:19
And I never forgot that. Do we have time to tell a story about the Spider-Man real quick? Yeah, go ahead, man
41:22
Go get Sir, too, by the way, our next guest. So with the Spider-Man joint, the audition I went to is called a reaction audition
41:29
You go in and they say, Spider-Man is in the elevator. Right? What would you do
41:32
Spider-Man just crossed the street. What would you do? Reaction. You're not booked for a thing, but if they need you to react to something, that's it
41:38
Right? So the week, the crazy thing was during that time, I had got a man on the street job for BET
41:45
Yeah. Right? It was doing the BET Awards. Oh, shit. Listen, baby. Yo. Wow
41:49
You done paid dudes. He was doing everything. Let me tell you. So the thing was, the producer didn't like me
41:54
The director liked me, right? The director liked the producers. They was going back and forth
41:58
So it's like, I'm going to be with Man on the Street joint. So I'm practicing this stuff. They're like, okay, we're going to do it
42:04
I even went to Wardrobe that Friday And I was supposed to be on set for the Man on the Street stuff for BET That next Saturday morning I already I like oh this is going to be the joint
42:18
That night, BET called me. I had already did wardrobe. I'm ready to go to work
42:23
the next day. That night, BET called me. That means they was plotting
42:27
against me. They said, the producer was like, well, I never. They was
42:31
plotting against me. They called me Friday night and said, we're going into another direction
42:37
Right? They didn't want me. And I was so mad swayed. I was like, see, s, that's what I said
42:45
You could have told me that on Monday. You wait until the day before to tell me that
42:50
This is how God works, right? The next morning, I get a call from my manager that said
42:57
Spider-Man called you. They want you to work today. What happened was Stan Lee, that reaction joint
43:06
that was supposed to have been him. that was his cameo right
43:10
Stan Lee does cameos in all the Marvel films so that was supposed to be one of his
43:14
you get it that was supposed to be one of his joints they had to scratch it he got sick or whatever right
43:18
and here's the crazy thing about it now that I went from BET
43:22
award joint nobody remember that to now the next day I gotta go on
43:26
the set of Spider-Man 2 they're gonna flip flip where my location
43:30
was for Spider-Man 2 it was right around the corner for where I was
43:35
supposed to meet the BET s Wow. What? Let me tell you something
43:40
I walked past. I saw the BET s. No, you didn't. The BET s saw me
43:48
They was like, ain't nobody tell them. They was looking at me like, I'm M
43:57
So, M. Somebody, he's here. He's here. Somebody go get it. Security
44:02
Security. I saw people turn their back like, ah, nobody told them. I had to walk past that set to get to the Spider-Man 2
44:15
And here's the thing. That wasn't in the script. They do this
44:20
What's the director of Spider-Man? What's his name? Yo, it's not. I forget it
44:26
Damn it, I feel so bad right now. But go ahead. Raimi
44:31
Sam Raimi. Yeah, Sam Raimi. So Sam Raimi coming up to me. He says, hey, Donnell. Yeah, D.B
44:35
He said, you're the best actor I know in New York. And I was like, thank you. But you're the only actor I know in New York
44:40
Gah, gah, gah, gah, gah, gah. Right? He got jumped. Right? So he's got a long metal thing with a green X on it. Right
44:52
So he's like this. And he's got the sisters and sisters behind him. I'm nervous and shit. Right
44:56
I'm just going off the train for Brooklyn. I got my outfit on. This 's only had wardrobe
45:00
I had the car outfit. That was mine. I was ready. Oh, my God. That was mine
45:03
And he said, okay, Darnell. No, I think he said Darnell. That's how most white people do at the beginning
45:09
until I straighten them. He said, okay. He's got the airway. He's like, this is Spider-Man, right
45:14
He said, Peter, he's coming down the street. He's about to be late for work
45:19
He gets off the bike. He comes out, this is Spider-Man. He's like this
45:24
That's what you know, your eye line. He's like this. And then he says, what are you going to say
45:29
Never mind. He said, what are you going to say? I said, whoa. He stole that guy's pizza
45:38
That mother said, yes. And all day, all he kept saying was, whoa
45:47
He stole that guy's pizza. And that's how it is. Yo, I love that
45:52
I was there. I was there. That's yo, Donnell. I love you, baby
45:56
Love you, man. Congratulations, brother. He worked his ass off, y'all. Congratulations. You truly, Andy
46:00
I'll give you a hard time. You truly a jewel, brother. Thank you, man. I appreciate it. Absolutely. New Day, keep going
46:05
We're going to try to keep it up. Okay, Donnell Rollins, make sure you check out the Netflix special right now
46:11
It's called A New Day
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