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Some major TV competition shows that shall not be named make it seem as if humans are born inherently talented, as talented as they’ll ever be and burst onto the scene out of nowhere. All they must do is showcase, one time. But, that’s rarely true. What actually happens – particularly for comedians – involves many years (think seven to 20) of open mics in the backs of bookstores, unpaid bar shows, under-the-radar comedy festivals, followed by an underwhelming amount of bookings, followed by despair.
Any standup comedian who really does it definitely gets the idea. Tiffany Haddish won a 2021 Grammy for Best Comedy Album for Black Mitzvah, but that came 15 years after her first break on Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes? The journey is long.
Like Haddish, many of other Black comediennes are just that committed. Here are seven Los Angeles comics to look out for as they grind their way to the top. They’ve each combined inherent talent plus years of hard work to become comedic forces with which to be reckoned.
Jil Chrissie, IG: @JilChrissie
I remember the first time I saw Chrissie, I was struck by the juxtaposition of her sweet voice and bubbly disposition, combined with her hard-hitting truths and personal revelations about mental health. Chrissie says, “I think confidence is one of those things where you can fake it til you make it. Ladies…I don’t care if you got a bald spot on your head b*tch. If you’re confident walking into a room, you know what those people are going to say?….’Damn. That b*tch got a bald spot on her head.’ …But it’s not about them. It’s about you.” In 2018, Chrissie wrote, produced, and starred in her one-woman show “Comedy Hoe,” which eventually made it onto the festival circuit and won Chrissie an Encore Producer’s award.
