lil’ rel – The Comedy Bureau

Who Else Could Have Been Nominated (and Maybe Win) for Best Comedy Album at The Grammys Besides an Undeserving Louis C.K.?

As much as we’d love to dissect C.K.’s lack of a proper mea culpa for being an admitted, repeated sex pest, how that has soured his comedy since his return, and how he’s wholly undeserving of his third Best Comedy Album Grammy win (he’s artistically regressed with his last couple of hours), we’re pretty sure that such words would only be affirmed by those already demoralized by his latest success or tossed to the metaphorical curb by his diehard acolytes. We could even spend hundreds of words on how The Recording Academy, the governing body responsible for The Grammy Awards, has long since been out of touch with what would supposedly be the “Best Comedy Album” having largely succumbed to Netflix and HBO and the like putting out audio versions of highly produced and promoted specials that end up edging out other purely audio comedy albums from ever even getting nominated.

Hmph. We digress.

Rather than delve into that endless rabbit hole or go into the systemic issues at The Recording Academy that reduce this particular Grammy category, amongst others, to mostly a popularity contest (the voters for this category, like any major awards, have no real incentive to listen to every single album and often just go with what they know ahead of time), we’ll instead show you the folks that met all the qualifications to even be in the running to be nominated (ostensibly, who was left out of the equation against C.K.’s lackluster Sincerely Louis C.K.)

You already know that the other nominees for Best Comedy Album were Kevin Hart: Zero F***s Given, Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American, Lewis Black: Thanks For Risking Your Life, Chelsea Handler: Evolution, and Lavell Crawford: The Comedy Vaccine. One could make the argument, if you’re already OK with CK returning to stand-up, that he is most definitely in the running against the five other nominees (especially Kevin Hart’s very tone-deaf special done in his basement that’s bigger than most apartments anywhere).

However, there are plenty of folks that, because of lack of fame, prestige, etc., were already doomed to not get any recognition from the Recording Academy despite their comedic prowess (and explicit lack of sex crimes). Amongst those that could have been nominated for Best Comedy Album this year were Beth Stelling, Rory Scovel, Michelle Buteau, Chad Daniels, Sean Devlin, Ester Steinberg, Ziwe, Tim Minchin, Atsuko Okatsuka, Ben Roy, Robin Tran, Tim Heidecker, Ian Edwards, Lisa Curry, Chris Gethard, Dan Soder, Sam Tallent, Dave Helem, and Lil’ Rel. Those names represent some of the very funniest people in comedy right at this moment, but only a fraction of who could have been nominated for a Best Comedy Album Grammy this year (and possibly beat out Louis CK).

Thanks to an industry source, we’ve got a list of pretty much everyone else that was in the running for a Grammy nomination this year, but ultimately was left out for the aforementioned reasons above and many others. Even though you might think major awards ceremony are largely overly self-important and indulgent, we hope that you can get some perspective on who is left out (and much more likely has the actual Best Comedy Album of this past year).

Nicole Burch: Never Been Kissed
Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia
Colin Cook: This Won’t Work
Affion Crockett: Mirror II Society
Lisa Curry: Alive for A While
Chad Daniels: Twelfth Night
Sandy Danto: Daddy Boy
Jim David: Gay Jokes for Straight Cruisers
DC Benny: Adrift in Predicaments-Stories of Shoulda Known Better
Mark DeMayo: Bangers
Sean Devlin: Airport, Animals
Eleanor Kerrigan: Lady Like
Paul Kim: The Lion Kim
Raul Kohli: All My Heroes Are Dead, in Jail, or Touched Up Your Nan
Nish Kumar: It’s In Your Nature To Destroy Yourselves, Parts 1 & 2
Preacher Lawson: Get to Know Me
Lewberger: Live at Lincoln Hall in Chicago
Orlando Leyba: Adorable
Lil’ Rel: Humbly Vulnerable-I Said What I Said
Joe List: I Hate Myself
Ignacio Lopez: EspañYOLO
Jonny Loquasto: The In 3-D
Levin McCachen: Illuminati
Ed Hill: Candy and Smiley
Melinda Hill: Inappropriate
Katie Hughes: Queen of the Castle
London Hughs: To Catch a D***
Taylor Hughes: Chasing Wonder
Katie-Ellen Humphries: Ladyfinger
David Huntsberger: Big Nothingness
Eddie Ifft: Sweet Home Malibama
Ryan James: I’m Fine
The Jerky Boys (self-titled)
Maz Jobrani: Pandemic Warrior
Danny Jolles: Six Parts
Jamie Kaler: Homeschooled
Noah Gardenswartz: New Fodder
Arthur Gaus: Nice Jokes for Smart People
Chris Gethard: Half My Life
Harrison Greenbaum: Live at Madison Square Garden
Nick Guerra: Love Me at My Worst
Joey Guila: Ringleader
Nathan Hansen: I Was Supposed To Get Married Today
Kevin Hart: Zero F***s Given
John Hastings: Float Like a Butterfly, John Hastings Like a Bee
Tim Heidecker: An Evening with Tim Heidecker
Dave Helem: D.J. the Chicago Kid
Amy Hill: Shades
Kevin Yee: One Boy Band
Ziwe: Ziwe-A Famously Iconic Soundtrack
Kevin Doyle: 30 Year Old Virgin
Scout Durwood: Comedy Electronica Vol. 1
Jeff Dye: Dumb Is Gooder
Mat Edgar: Take the L
Ian Edwards: Bill Burr presents IanTalk-Ideas Not Worth Spreading
Mark Ellis: Dog Stepfather
Felipe Esparza: Bad Decisions
Matt Falk: Optimistical
Randy Feltface: The Book of Randicus
Adam Ferrara: It’s Scary in Here
Glen Foster: Unchecked
Jen Fulwiler: The Naughty Corner
Jerry Garcia: It’s Not My Weekend
Tryf Da Comedian: Symphunny, Vol. 1
Bill Burr Presents the Ringers
More Funny Women of a Certain Age
Ron Vaudry: Talking on Thin Ice
Joey Villagomez: Jokes, Drugs, Rock & Roll
Paul Virzi: I’ll Say This
Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang
Jeremiah Watkins: Family Reunion
Daniel Webb: Hoe’s Parade at The Rose Bowl
Aaron Weber: Shirts and Skins
Jacob Williams: Unemotional Roller Coaster
Lance Woods: Undeniable
Glenn Wool: Viva Forever
Heather McDonald: Juicy Scoop
Harmony McElligot: The Struggle Continues
Michael McIntyre: Showman
Sean McLoughlin: Hail Mary
Doug Mellard: I’m Worried About Me
Garrett Millerick: Smile
Tim Minchin: Apart Together
Ginger Minj: Gummy Together
Daniel Muggleton: Unprecedented
Atsuko Okatsuka: They Call Me Stacey
Natalie Palamides: Nate – A One Man Show
Brian Parise: Last Wishes
Eddie Pence: The (Un)Special Comedy Special
Rojo Perez: Words
Nick Rado: On-Trend
Adam Ray: I’ll Take It From Here-The Crowd Work Album
Brian Regan: On The Rocks
Erica Rhodes: La Vie en Rhodes
Erik Rivera: Super White
Shayla Rivera: It’s Not Rocket Science
Darrin Rose: Wearing a Suit
Ben Roy: Take the Sandwich
Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities
Amber Ruffin: The Amber Ruffin Show-Music from the Original Series
Marc Ryan: The Clean Album
Brendan Sagalow: Not Now More Than Ever
Andrew Schulz: Brilliant Idiot
Rory Scovel: Live Without Fear
Harry Shearer: The Many Moods of Donald Trump
Dan Soder: Son of a Gary
Gianmarco Soresi: Shelf Life
Ester Steinberg: Burning Bush
Beth Stelling: Girl Daddy
Fatimah Taliah: Nice to Meet Me
Sam Tallent: Waiting for Death to Claim Us
Erik Terrell: Live at Helium Comedy Club
Robin Tran: Don’t Look at Me
Jesus Trejo: Stay at Home Son
Steve Treviño: I Speak Wife

Comedy Central Launches Black Comedy Docu-series “Dark Humor”

February 4, 2021

News

chloe hilliard, gina yashere, jordan temple, josh johnson, lil' rel, luenell, ms. pat, nore davis, open mike eagle, rae sanni, roy wood jr, sinbad, yamaneika saunders

As the art form of comedy continues to evolve, there have been plenty of documentaries and docu-series that examine how comedy, whether it be stand-up, sketch, improv, etc. has transformed over the decades. The examination of black comedians and their journey, often one that’s mutually exclusive from mainstream/white comedy, has not been as closely examined even though some of the most revered comedians of all time include Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle, and Chris Rock.

So, Comedy Central’s new digital series, Dark Humor, offers such a look into the experience of black stand-up comedians today and their work that’s reflective of their black experience. It’ll feature plenty of clips as well as interviews from the likes of Baron Vaughn, Tommy Davidson, Sinbad, Nore Davis, Ms. Pat, Sonia Denis, Chloe Hilliard, Lil Rel Howery, Yamaneika Saunders, Roy Wood Jr., Josh Johnson, Damien Lemon, Jordan Temple, Open Mike Eagle, Rae Sanni, Cipha Sounds, Gina Yashere, and more.

They just launched Dark Humor just as Black History Month started and new episodes will come out every Mon. on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel.

You can get a taste of Dark Humor both with the series trailer as well as the very first episode which dives into the deep end by going into black comedy and American politics.

Lil’ Rel Made Head of Comedy at kweliTV

October 22, 2020

News

kwelitv, lil' rel

(via Deadline)

Lil’ Rel might be breaking new ground as the Head of Comedy of a new streaming platform. It’s not often that talent gets to take a part of actual programming in terms of curation when it comes to any sort of comedy network/studio/streaming platform, much less be in charge of the whole thing. Sure, Funny or Die had Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart started his very own mutli-platform comedy network Laugh Out Loud, but they’ve either stepped from their executive duties or have delegated such duties as looking for new content/talent to one or several other people.

Yet, that’s what kweliTV, a self-ascribed global destination for indie black cinema, is aiming for. Rel will oversee his very own channel on the streaming platform as well as curating comedic content for the whole kweliTV brand (in collaboration with top brass).

Lil’ Rel will undoubtedly highlight some stuff that we’ve all should have been watching, but he might also be setting a new precedent for streaming services to get an edge over each other in having a certain type of name in charge, in some capacity, of part of their scheduling.

Stand-up comedian @LilRel4 is about to lead the charge when it comes to comedy at kweliTV https://t.co/s7NI8Wn7qZ

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) October 20, 2020

Eric Andre and Lil’ Rel Prank Movie ‘Bad Trip’ Set for Oct. 25th Release

January 30, 2019

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eric andre, eric andre show, kitao sakurai, lil' rel

Eric Andre and Lil’ Rel Prank Movie ‘Bad Trip’ Set for Oct. 25th Release

Eric Andre along with Lil’ Rel and Eric Andre Show director Kitao Sakurai have made a feature length prank movie that will come out right before Halloween.

Effectively, it’ll be The Eric Andre Show: The Movie (with Lil’ Rel instead of Hannibal Buress), right?

We’ll be curious to see a teaser of just exactly what they got away with.

Jerrod Carmichael Set Up Two Put Pilots at Fox Starring Lil’ Rel and Nate Bargatze

October 18, 2017

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fox, jerrod carmichael, lil' rel, nate bagatze, pilot

In the span of a few weeks, Jerrod Carmichael has three pilots being made for three different stand-up comedians from an overall deal he has at 20th Century Fox TV.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that a Hulu pilot for Muslim comedy with Ramy Youssef got ordered.

Just this afternoon, Fox announced two put pilots from Carmichael. One (via Variety) is starring and will be based on the life of comedian Nate Bargatze (Carmichael is attached to write and produce). The other (via Deadline) will star Lil’ Rel from The Carmichael Show and will be written and produced by Lil’ Rel, Josh Rabinowitz, and Kevin Barnett (Carmichael and Mike Scully are attached as EPs).

If all three go to series, Carmichael will be the latest stand-up comedian to become a legitimate TV power player.

Jay-Z Has an All Black Version of “Friends” Starring Jerrod Carmichael and Issa Rae in His Music Video for “Moonlight”

August 11, 2017

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alan yang, friends, issa rae, jay z, jerrod carmichael, lakeith stanfield, lil' rel, moonlight, music video, parody, tessa thompson, tiffany haddish

Well, there’s a lot to unpack here.

Jay-Z has plenty of layers to his brand new album 4:44 and the same goes for each song and accompanying music videos.

“Moonlight”, which features an sound byte from this year’s Oscars SNAFU when Moonlight and La La Land got mixed up for winners for Best Picture, has a music video that preempts the song with a big scene from a classic episode of Friends, but done with a cast of all famous black actors and comedians:

Jerrod Carmichael as Ross
Issa Rae as Rachel
Lil Rel Howery as Joey
Lakeith Stanfield as Chandler
Tessa Thompson as Monica
Tiffany Haddish as Phoebe

Before they go into a full remake of the episode, the song kicks in as the aspect ratio changes and a much more somber tone pervades the video. You might have to watch it a few times to even grasp how you feel about it and what you’ll take away from it in terms of black representation and visibility on both the big and small screens.

Also, there are outtakes that could stand alone on their own and also happen to include Hannibal Buress.

On top of all of that, Master of None co-creator Alan Yang got to direct the whole thing.

Take all of Jay-Z’s music video for Moonlight here.

TruTV Gives Greenlights First Sketch Comedy Series “Friends of the People”

March 4, 2014

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greenlight, jennifer bartels, josh rabinowitz, kevin barnett, lil' rel, lucas bros., sketch comedy, trutv

TruTV Gives Greenlights First Sketch Comedy Series “Friends of the People”

Coming this Summer, TruTV will expand their branding as a network to include a sketch comedy show starring the likes of Kevin Barnett, Jennifer Bartels, Jermaine Fowler, Lil Rel Howery , The Lucas Bros. and Josh Rabinowitz.

So, TruTV first had comedians do talking heads on shows like World’s Dumbest Criminals, then had Impractical Jokers, and now will go on with fully contained sketch comedy, which is very nice to see.