Comedy Jam brings stream of top talent

Talent, the host of the world famous Apollo, has come a long way since he used to perform on the island back in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Following his meteoric rise to fame, which includes his current ­coveted spot on New York’s Kiss 98.7FM’s Morning Show, he is back in Bermuda and will share the stage with three other international comedians as part of the Extreme Comedy Jam next Saturday.

Hosting the show at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess is well-established comedian Nema Williams who will be familiar to local Comedy Jam audiences, while L.A. comedian Steve Brown and comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish will perform full stand up shows.

The New York comic, ­Talent, used to perform shows in Bermuda put on by Bootsie and they would all head to The Spinning Wheel on Court Street to ­enjoy many a late night after party.

“They were a great crowd. During the day we used to get hyped up about getting on scooters and riding the length of the island,” he recalled. “It was an awesome time and of course I remember those beautiful beaches. I’m looking forward to coming back and trying out a few more of those nice rums.”

Talent said that while he may crack a couple of local jokes his material is more about general life observations. “I’m forty year-old bachelor, never been ­married — it’s become a lot of what my material is about,” he said. “It’s about coming of age — you look at who you were when you were 21 to 41 and how much you have changed.”

Talent has had enjoyed some high profile gigs in his career using his blend of off-the-cuff humour and timely delivery. After heading up his own comedy shows and making special appearances on BET’s Comic View, HBO’s Snaps and Def Comedy Jam he landed his own spot on the New York morning show. He continues to headline at the ­prestigious Caroline’s on Broadway, Showtime at the Apollo and BET’s Comic View, on an ongoing basis. Talent has appeared on the big screen working alongside such famed actors as, Danny ­Devito, Marisa Tomei and Rosie Perez.  He has also appeared in the movies, Sunset Park, Full Court Press and A Brother’s Kiss,  and on various music albums ­including multi-platinum selling projects (The Fugees’ The Score & Wyclef Jean’s The Carnival. It was his time with the Fugees that he puts down as one of the highlights of his career.

“It was definitely a highlight — those guys were making musical history and then blowing up as big as they did. The story behind it is funny — there was this comedy room in New Jersey that we worked at every Thursday night and the Fugees are from New ­Jersey. They loved our comedy so they invited us to their studio to do some skits. Back then this was just a few people in a club doing rap there was no money involved or contracts — but when it blew up they came back and made sure we got paid. To this day we ­receive cheques from the Fugees album because it continues to sell.

“I would put that experience up there with being host of the ­Apollo — I worked behind the scenes at The Apollo for years and it took a long time to actually get recognized and get put in that ­position.”

Host of the evening’s comedy is Nema Williams who is no stranger to Bermuda having ­performed here previously. His style is hard-hitting and fast paced. His stand up show has made him a featured college act for the Black Comedy Tour and the Comedy Cabaret Tour earning him return appearances at prestigious colleges such as Notre Dame, Howard, Georgetown, and USC. His list of credits continue to grow including 7 seasons of BET’s Comic View, BET’s Caliente, Jamie Foxx’s Laffapalooza, Showtime’s Whiteboyz in Da Hood, Cedric the Entertainer’s Starting Lineup, Lifetime’s What Should You Do, P.Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy  and Comedy Central’s Comic Groove and Comic Remix.

Most recently Mr. Williams did a special for Showtime called the minority report and Martin Lawrence’s first amendment for Starz network. Mr. Williams’ ­talent has taken him around the world including Korea, Japan, Bosnia and Germany as part of his USO tour and to Holland as a member of the Luck Strikes. More recently he travelled to Iraq.

Film career

In addition to television, Mr. Williams has appeared in several independent films such as Gangsta Rap: The Glockumentary, ­Issues, One More Round, So Fresh So Clean…A Down and Dirty Comedy, N.T.V. Volumes 1 & 2, Sugar Valentine and Out on ­Parole and performed in the theatre productions I Sing for Love and Not a Day Goes By. 

Tiffany Haddish’s entry into the world of comedy is rather a unique one. She credits her social worker for her success as a comedian and actress.Growing up in foster care in South Central L.A., Ms. Haddish’s excessive talking and imaginary friends prompted her social worker to enrol her on to the world famous Laugh Factory Comedy Camp for Children. She has never turned back appearing on VH1’s Best Week Ever, HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes for TV One and also on ComedyCentral’s Reality Bites.

Not only is she a comedian, she has proven to be a versatile ­actress appearing in such diverse projects with guest star roles in ABC’s In the Motherhood and Comedy Central’s Reno:911. She also was seen in the film comedy Meet the Spartans and the lifetime drama Racing for Time, where she played a lead role opposite Charles Dutton. Currently, she is appearing opposite Ice Cube in Janky Promoters.

Ms. Haddish’s comedy career has taken her all over the world — she has just returned a USO tour in Japan for U.S. troops. And has performed all over Southern Californian comedy clubs including The Laugh Factory, The Comedy Store and Improv.

MS. Haddish sees herself as sexy as Halle Berry, as funny as Jim Carrey, raw like Richard ­Pryor with the comedic timing of Lucille Ball, smooth like Eddie Murphy, Jewish as Whoopi Goldberg and hopes to some day have money like Oprah.

L.A.born Steve Brown was actually brought up in Tuscaloosa, ­Alabama where most of his material is derived from. His signature high pitched voice and high-energy stage presence are a world away from what he is known for in the community. Raised in the church by his grandparents he has continued to show his love for church congregations on stage. Mr. Brown began his career ­during his freshman year at his alma mater Stillman College. ­After completing his Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communications, he pursued a professional career on the comedy circuit landing himself appearances on nationally televised shows.

Mr. Brown is a single father of three young men, and his involvement in the community is always expected. He coaches Little League teams, he has his own Scholarship Fund for students, and still finds time to substitute teach in the Tuscaloosa County school system in the state of ­Alabama.