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Subscribe now for exclusive interviews and insights from Sway’s Universe! In this must-watch episode of Sway In The Morning, Ricky Smiley brings his signature humor and wisdom to the table as he talks about mentorship, crafting timeless jokes, and the incredible story of earning $25K in just three minutes. From his groundbreaking comedy special "Foolish," premiering on Hulu, to sharing his experiences working with fellow comedians like Cedric the Entertainer and Rita Brent, Ricky opens up about the art of stand-up and the importance of giving back to the next generation.
Discover how Ricky’s selfless approach to comedy, his ability to adapt, and his journey from karaoke nights to performing on major stages have shaped his career. Plus, hear his thoughts on navigating sensitivity in comedy, mentoring rising talent, and the crucial role of discipline and structure in achieving success. Whether you’re a fan of '90s comedy, curious about the behind-the-scenes of stand-up, or just here for the laughs, this episode is packed with gems you don’t want to miss.
Don’t forget to watch Ricky Smiley’s "Foolish" on Hulu and check out his book, "Sideshow: Living with Loss and Moving Forward with Faith." Stay tuned to Sway’s Universe for more exclusive interviews with today’s most influential voices in entertainment, comedy, and beyond. Hit subscribe and join the conversation!
#rickeysmileymorningshow #therickeysmileymorningshow #standupcomedy #trynottolaugh #funny
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Rickey Smiley on New Comedy Special “Foolish”
01:22 - Writing Jokes and Collaborating with Comedians
06:13 - Importance of a Coach and Constructive Criticism
09:16 - Managing Money as a Comedian
11:32 - Overview of Ricky Smiley's Comedy Special
13:27 - Handling Offense from Jokes
15:19 - Sway's Favorite Ricky Smiley Joke
17:40 - Final Thoughts and Reflections
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0:01
come on man 10 three decades plus
0:05
foolish
0:07
at midnight foolish midnight yes that
0:11
comes out at midnight today foolish on
0:14
Hulu hulu
0:16
congratulations man thank you man
0:18
congratulations about 12 years to put
0:20
put this together is this the last time
0:23
I did a special yeah well but I thought
0:25
um in that time is that you collecting
0:28
experiences and building material and
0:31
trying things out it's always best
0:33
instead of just doing uh specials just
0:36
to be doing like like doing when you
0:38
really got something to say you really
0:39
got some material put together that's
0:41
been tested uh some good stuff yeah you
0:44
want to always make sure that your
0:45
special is special you know what I'm
0:48
saying uh so it it if I don't if I don't
0:52
have at least nine jokes in there that
0:55
you could just uh that that are that'll
0:58
go beyond when I leave this earth uhhuh
1:01
then it's not it's not time to do one
1:03
like little Daryl little Daryl yeah that
1:06
joke people that wasn't even they you
1:07
seen the baby version of Little Daryl
1:09
they got the little babies now the
1:11
little AI babies oh they got a baby one
1:13
doing little Daryl it went viral i'm
1:15
like man that joke still y like people
1:17
weren't even born about my name Little
1:19
Daryl that's crazy though man that's a
1:21
testament to your gift right absolutely
1:24
do you write all your jokes yeah well
1:26
okay so uh you don't have to sit down
1:29
and write them i do karaoke night in
1:31
Birmingham at the start i'm sure y'all
1:33
seen it on the internet sold out every
1:35
Monday we was doing it every Monday at
1:37
one point you come up with stuff because
1:39
I'm a musician and I do a lot of
1:41
audience participation so what happens
1:43
is when you when when you're doing this
1:45
stuff you come up with stuff right and
1:47
you're like I can do this Friday i got a
1:50
show in Tampa i'mma take this from
1:52
karaoke which they was laughing at that
1:54
was off the top of my head and I'mma use
1:56
this on stage so you So in between
1:59
sitting down writing jokes and doing
2:02
stuff at karaoke and stuff from the
2:04
radio i got two comedians on the morning
2:06
show you got Rita Brent you got Special
2:08
K sometime we get to talk and say "Hey I
2:12
want to use that can I use that?" We'll
2:14
sit up there we'll agree and uh we'll
2:16
say "Write that down i write it down and
2:17
then now you got material cuz you do
2:19
radio every morning well you said y'all
2:21
agree so that's protocol amongst
2:23
comedians like Rita you should use that
2:25
one with that joke cuz everybody know
2:26
each other's act so if we come up with a
2:29
joke or we talking about something hey
2:30
Rita you need to use that with that part
2:32
of your she said "Oh yeah she'll write
2:34
it down and and we we developing
2:36
material every day." Yeah what happens
2:38
when somebody like have you ever had uh
2:41
someone use your joke without your
2:42
permission i I well well well here
2:45
here's what I what something good that I
2:47
have going and probably nobody ever talk
2:49
about it because people get offended
2:50
about stuff like that as well they
2:52
should but I had some stuff that I was
2:55
doing back in the early 90s that I don't
2:57
do anymore uhhuh right so there's a
3:00
comedian in Atlanta that reminds me of
3:02
myself and he does church style of humor
3:06
i said can you take these jokes that I
3:08
already done and refurbish them and make
3:11
those jokes great they know that I wrote
3:13
the joke but but you're in this element
3:15
right now i'm not in that element
3:16
anymore can you take this joke and
3:19
remodel it and add your own take to it
3:21
and your own twist to it almost like a
3:23
sample like they do a song you remember
3:25
I used to remember I used to do sample
3:27
your joke and made a new song out right
3:29
like like like when I used to do the
3:31
joke when I would model the church hats
3:33
to identify different women that was on
3:35
the auxiliaries of the church this hat
3:38
means that this is the pastor wife or
3:40
whatever when I was making fun of the
3:41
church hat in the 90s well they got new
3:43
styles of church hats i don't do that
3:45
anymore so why don't you do it so he's a
3:48
very very intelligent comedian man he
3:50
does uh uh gospel shows all over the
3:53
country named Alton Walker and uh he's a
3:55
great talented comic so I gave him a lot
3:58
of stuff that's that's just sitting
3:59
there it's just sitting there you're
4:01
different though Ricky you're different
4:03
yeah i mean I mean I love how you are if
4:06
if God if God give you that then why he
4:08
would bless you with other stuff right
4:10
you can't you can't you can't receive
4:12
blessings with a closed fist
4:16
bo come on you've always been that
4:18
selfless though oh yeah that's me that's
4:20
me all day all day all day i I'm I'm
4:24
secure i don't have I don't I'm God is
4:27
good just like I wrote that joke I can
4:28
write another joke if nobody's using the
4:30
joke and somebody is just as talented
4:32
and young give it to them m yeah on the
4:36
buy and use it i know it's not popular i
4:38
know it's Take it here like this joke do
4:41
this joke right here i used to do this
4:42
back in the day this is funny go ahead
4:44
and update the joke boom boom boom boom
4:46
boom i agree with you because um Miss
4:49
Patty Leel was here one time sitting
4:50
down speaking with us and I'd asked her
4:52
about food um I love to cook on the side
4:55
and have fun cooking i know you do your
4:56
thing in the kitchen and cooking and I
4:58
said "How do you feel about sharing your
5:01
recipes?" Um people I when people ask me
5:04
how to make something I just give it and
5:06
like you shouldn't do that you can make
5:07
money it's like what difference does it
5:09
make like just share it and she kind of
5:11
echoed the same thing she said I can
5:13
give you everything it doesn't mean it's
5:15
going to come out the same way we all
5:17
have our gifts we all have our touches
5:19
we all have our things so share it you
5:21
know it's for the world just share it
5:23
out for the world so I totally agree
5:25
with you when you're saying that doesn't
5:26
matter what field you in somebody share
5:28
it with you somebody gave you what you
5:30
got mhm how many times comics have sat
5:32
down uh Cedric the Entertainer wrote Lil
5:34
Daryl m I said "Hey I got an idea here's
5:38
a dude a little kid go to my church."
5:39
Cedric did that yeah yeah he said he he
5:41
he came up with the name that came from
5:44
that came from said right a whole one
5:46
joke that that just just boosted my
5:49
career took my career from zero to 100
5:51
was written by another comedian and how
5:54
to project the joke and how to do the
5:56
joke and I went out on stage and
5:59
executed the joke and I went from $250
6:02
to five grand a
6:04
night off that damn one damn joke to
6:08
five grand a night did you just hit the
6:09
cash
6:11
reg that's funny
6:13
wait can I ask a question about the
6:14
doing the standup because um I met with
6:17
uh some people from Caroline when I was
6:18
trying to do standup before I you know
6:20
really got into uh getting on stage yeah
6:22
and one of the things they said that
6:23
really stuck with me was um the manager
6:25
there was saying "I never tell anybody
6:27
that they are not good." Right because
6:29
he's like "Who am I to judge your talent
6:32
you know you're up there by yourself
6:33
trying to make people laugh that don't
6:35
know you." So how is it beneficial to
6:38
tell people like when they should work
6:40
on their craft as long as it's
6:42
constructive and not destructive where
6:44
it's just like "Oh man you trash that
6:45
joke was ass." You know that's crazy
6:47
that That's crazy listen everybody need
6:50
a coach michael Jordan was the greatest
6:52
basketball player of all time some would
6:54
disagree but guess what he had he had a
6:56
coach somebody got to come on bring you
7:00
to the sideline and draw up the plays so
7:03
you can execute imagine having a lot of
7:06
talent with no structure you understand
7:08
the discipline and the structure it it
7:10
takes discipline and structure to even
7:13
get here on time to do radio you got
7:16
people in the cars the radio is
7:18
appointment setting people listen to
7:20
Sway in the morning and listen to y'all
7:22
every single morning you got to be on
7:24
time you can't go to the club you got to
7:26
have some coaching and some structure
7:28
somebody pull you to the side i I can't
7:30
tell you how many comedians that I pull
7:32
to the side i said 'You have every right
7:35
to curse but just because you can don't
7:39
mean that you should does that cuss word
7:42
help that joke if that cuss word don't
7:45
help that joke then take it out because
7:48
it's like an onion if I give you an
7:50
onion and you eat it it's nasty but what
7:51
if you cut that onion up and saute it
7:53
and put some uh some flour in there some
7:56
water in there it's the same onion but
7:57
you can't taste it and some cube steak
8:00
on top okay at 5,000 a night now you
8:03
know got the 5,000 but who but that
8:06
right there I have pulled so many
8:08
comedians and took them in a room i said
8:10
"Are you open for some coaching?" Some
8:12
they say "Yes please." Cuz nobody won't
8:14
talk to us nobody helping us nobody We
8:17
don't know what to do they just doing
8:18
the best they can well okay let's go
8:20
over the joke let's let's All right the
8:22
joke that you did about this do it again
8:25
i say "Okay now take that out." Okay now
8:27
take that out boom now your joke is
8:29
shorter now you're right you know cut
8:31
all the fat off the meat took all the
8:32
cursing out i said "Because T-Mobile is
8:35
in the audience watching you you don't
8:36
need those cuss words you're missing out
8:38
on sponsorship money who's going to
8:40
represent the product?" You understand i
8:43
uh somebody from uh AT&T back in the day
8:46
came to my show at Uptown Comedy Club in
8:48
Atlanta the one behind Houston's
8:50
restaurant on Peach Tree and I'm just on
8:52
stage doing my thing and somebody said
8:54
"Hey we need you to come and do three
8:56
minutes." It was AT&T i went and did
8:58
three minutes on stage performing people
9:00
gave me $25,000
9:02
damn for three minutes i said my name
9:04
Little Daryl and they land for three
9:06
minutes thank you you know
9:11
what thank you good
9:13
night
9:16
thank you get out of here 25k i love
9:20
that man i mean comedians I don't think
9:22
people realize even if you're not
9:24
somebody that's as visible as some of
9:25
the larger names comedians can make a
9:27
living right sure there's a lot of
9:29
comedians that are doing extremely well
9:31
that I found they are yeah and and then
9:33
but how did you learn how to manage your
9:35
empire uh talking about the the success
9:39
the success the financial the the
9:41
platforms let's talk about that a good
9:43
damn business manager okay a good damn
9:46
business manager a good CPA not not
9:49
manager mhm business manager yeah what's
9:52
the difference the difference between a
9:54
a manager manages your career yeah
9:56
business manager manage your help it she
9:59
manage people that manage your career
10:01
and manage your finances so she's in
10:04
touch with the CPA she's on your
10:07
manager's ass she's on your agent's ass
10:10
you know uh the same I have the same
10:12
business manager as Sydney Portier is a
10:14
old white lady named Laura Lizer out in
10:16
California she owe money so she'll have
10:19
your ass in real estate and good
10:21
investments and all of this kind of
10:23
stuff and uh she'd make sure that you
10:25
protected and no one take advantage of
10:27
you how do you know it's a good business
10:29
manager yeah and not one that's going to
10:31
take advantage of you uh when she's when
10:33
she's uh sending you an email with what
10:36
you have and what you spent for the
10:38
month and what coming in and and telling
10:40
your ass no to getting your uh your
10:42
uncle a car a Cutless and you know what
10:48
$2500 down payment she'll tell you "No
10:50
you can't keep helping people." And then
10:53
get you when you at a point where uh you
10:56
start stealing money from yourself to
10:57
help somebody that mean you got a good
10:59
business so you've had to do that i had
11:02
to steal from myself cuz I don't want to
11:04
ask her or whatever cuz I know what she
11:06
going to say the dude stole from himself
11:09
stole from herself to try to help
11:12
somebody cuz I don't want to hear her
11:14
you know but but but that's what you
11:15
need you need that's structure that's
11:18
structure if you don't have structure
11:19
sway you'll be out here uh you know uh
11:23
15 years from now if I'm not on the
11:24
scene anymore I'm broke you know what
11:26
I'm saying you don't you don't want to
11:28
be be doing that absolutely ricky Smiley
11:31
is here tonight 12 Midnight Foolish
11:34
premieres Friday i said I said what they
11:37
don't say no more i said what they don't
11:40
say no more comedy from the '9s is back
11:43
comedy from the '9s i'm not trying to be
11:45
uh politically correct i said it i said
11:48
it i talked about the little people they
11:50
going to be outside marching uhhuh but I
11:52
had to talk about it you talked about it
11:54
i talked about my 600 lb life mhm they
11:57
going to be outside marching not
11:59
marching but they going to be they going
12:00
to be protesting you said not marching
12:02
they going to be They're going to be
12:04
standing there
12:07
you know what this is Jok yo yo you
12:10
talking about my 600 lb life bro 15th
12:13
bro yes
12:15
yeah that damn I feel bad that lady the
12:17
lady was like "I can't stay in this
12:18
hospital." She said "Because I don't
12:20
like the food here." She said "I'm going
12:23
to starve." And that do that damn doctor
12:25
on there so real he told her he said
12:27
"Man you haven't ate enough to last you
12:29
the next four years."
12:32
I kicked I kicked the coffee table over
12:34
i jumped up and ran out the room i talk
12:36
about my 600 lb cuz that's my favorite
12:38
TV show show your show right yeah i I
12:40
have to watch my cuz I need to know to
12:42
get the recipes i need to know what they
12:43
cooking you know what I'm saying i I end
12:45
up making a a tater tot castle i didn't
12:48
know that those existed you got to watch
12:50
those on on that show yeah lady made a a
12:53
tater tot nobody from 600 lb life eating
12:56
yo that [ __ ] is dead yo you dead eating
12:59
that [ __ ] like I
13:01
mean ignore that like that's really when
13:05
you supposed to be turning
13:08
that's my show i can't help it potato
13:10
that and verse 48 i can't stop watching
13:12
i can't I can't watch verse 48 i get I
13:14
have to watch it man when they have
13:16
church's chicken on that table somebody
13:18
going to jail
13:20
when you got a two-piece and a and a
13:21
little strawberry drink and a biscuit
13:23
somebody ass locked up come on if
13:26
someone Ricky if someone were to come to
13:29
you and say that they were offended for
13:31
whatever reason by a joke that you made
13:33
what's your response they'll be all
13:34
right okay they'll be all right hell I
13:37
talk about myself i talk about myself my
13:39
family i talk about my kids my grandkids
13:41
all that stuff i mean everybody too
13:44
sensitive nowadays man hell Eddie go
13:46
back and look at Delirious and Raw and
13:48
Martin Lawrence special and Jamie Fox
13:50
special hell my one of my idols one of
13:52
my idols now this where I learned how to
13:54
perform Mark Curry mark Curry Oakland
13:57
Town Business come on man bro Curry oh
14:01
God yes i watch it do Do you remember
14:04
the first time Mark Curry was on
14:06
Showtime at the Apollo
14:08
he ripped listen my grandmother and I my
14:11
grandmother dead and gone mark Curry and
14:13
Tommy Davidson watching them on Robert
14:16
Towns and Tommy Davis and watching Mark
14:18
Curry first appearance on Showtime at
14:21
the Apollo he ripped that bro you got to
14:25
watch it he's a giant if you're a comic
14:28
that's something that you just got to
14:29
watch that excuse my lang that is a
14:32
performer and he's funny and and I love
14:35
him i respect him uh he's a mentor
14:38
watching him perform that's when I
14:40
decided that it's time to take my my
14:43
comedy to the next level watching him
14:44
and watching Steve go on stage and
14:46
Cedric the Entertainer that's where you
14:48
learn how to [ __ ] perform
14:51
to perform like like give them a show
14:54
mix music in that baby and just do all
14:56
kind i play the piano on stage and and
14:59
do the characters and all that
15:01
showmanship you want people leaving out
15:03
of there sweating and peed on yourself a
15:06
little bit you want that that's what you
15:07
That's what I want
15:09
when you leave my show you got to take a
15:11
bath that's not a wash up night it's not
15:13
a wash up night you got to take a bath
15:15
you got to get in the shower and go to
15:16
bed i'm done sweet that's it that's it
15:18
that's it ricky Smiley man hey man you
15:21
posted something the other day worry
15:23
about that roach stuck in your clock on
15:26
your stove
15:27
not me yo that [ __ ] had me cracking up
15:31
bro
15:32
that's a wild cuz everybody got a cousin
15:36
or aunt or somebody who had a ro stuck
15:39
in that light on that light you saw that
15:41
man i saw that bro oh my god i didn't
15:43
know you was following come on man i'm
15:45
your man i'm your biggest fan bro stop
15:47
playing with me man bro that's cracking
15:49
up yo hey what was that say it again say
15:51
it again worry about that ro stuck in
15:54
the clock on your stove not me it
15:56
glimmer on that light on that green blue
15:58
light with it's like 818 and the roach
16:02
be blocking part of the eight so you
16:04
don't know if it's a six or eight
16:07
and now you
16:09
late cuz the ro the back of the roach be
16:12
messing up the
16:17
time that's stupid cuz you got to have a
16:19
relative somebody you seen that roach
16:21
mess up the time before
16:25
hold on hold
16:26
Hold on stop
16:28
please what was the ro stuck between you
16:32
that line is six to the eight
16:36
so you're not sure if it's 8 16 or 8
16:42
you got to peep game cuz the microwave
16:45
and clock lights got that one color shut
16:47
up we
16:50
I told her she got to go stage take Can
16:53
you be Heather's coach can you be her
16:54
coach ma'am no i will never come back on
16:57
this show again what's What's up with
17:00
your girl man that's the be
17:03
I'm just observant have to be observant
17:06
i know i just I'm observant Ricky like
17:11
yo man let's That was funny yeah man
17:13
come on let's give it up for Ricky
17:15
smiley man i'm doing that on stage i'm
17:18
Can I use that absolutely
17:21
can I use that absolutely thank you
17:24
thank you Sway i'm doing that on I'm
17:26
saying it just like you said okay and
17:28
and I'm going to send I'm Listen I'm
17:29
going to send you a basket of some roses
17:31
or something okay cuz you almost ran me
17:33
out of this room i I couldn't sit in a
17:35
room with her i would never sit next to
17:37
her at church
17:39
i would never sit next to her yo give it
17:40
up for Ricky Smiley man we love you
17:42
brother foolish the Special premieres
17:44
tonight at 12 midnight on Hulu and get
17:48
the book Sideshow Living with Loss and
17:50
Moving Forward with Faith yes amen thank
17:52
you for your contributions man thank you
17:54
to I love you brother i truly love you
17:57
man okay thank you brother
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