KEEP AT IT!

Disclaimer: You ever looked at something you wanted, but knew you couldn’t have it? Like food… Geesh those some good looking yams! But I already got these mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese on my plate! Nah…? Me neither! And you guessed it, that has NOTHING to do with this blog! Welp… Here it goes!

 

I toyed with the idea of doing comedy. My thought process was… Hosting, comedy, acting, producing. Why did I put them in that order? NO CLUE! Just thought that’s how it went. Look at Kevin Hart. But Terrence J just did hosting to acting. So… What now Dukes? You want to be a comedian!?!? Ummm… NO! I want to be the best host I can be. A host with comedic appeal! That sounds better. But I realized that the ONLY way I can know if my intentional jokes are actually funny is to get on-stage in front of people who actually like to laugh. Hence, low-key comedy. And hey.. If I get good enough at it, I will hit a couple of stages to pay a couple bills. I say that to say, don’t get confused. To be the best stand-up comedian or, the next Kevin Hart, is NOT the goal. I just want to be the best host with enough versatility to cater to young and old.

 

A couple things I have noticed, young people- rock to music. Older people- like to laugh. Any host that is one-dimensional is up for a WORLD of trouble. Take my Clemson show! PERFECT example! That was my very first show out of college. All I knew was an HBCU crowd. Didn’t fly at Clemson. Back to the drawing board. BUT… one thing I can say about our people is that they respect the grind… IF you let them see the grind. Anybody who just pops up on the scene, people are quick to scream Illuminati. But if you let them see the grind, they respect it.

 

Take Hungreeboy. Follow my dude-à @hungreeboy. We threw a couple of parties together and we did ok. One time we lost at least $1,000 EACH on a whole Labor Day weekend. I JUST got out of school, so I’m not used to losing. G called me and told me not to quit. “You win some, you lose some. But you just got to keep at it”. I got frustrated. I’m OUT! But Hungreeboy keep at it! And not even a year later, Hungreeboy Ent. is the arguably the youngest, most effective brand in Upstate’s Nightlife.

 

It’s all about what YOU want to do. What are you passionate about? That’s what you need to go get! This comedy thing, is NOT the easiest thing in the world! A comedian told me, “You HAVE to get on stage because as a ninja with an ego, EVERYTHING is funny to YOU! But you have to find out what’s universally funny”. You can go on Youtube and just look up some comedians. You have some comedians who have been doing the SAME jokes for YEARS! Why? Because it actually takes that long to develop that craft. Once you have a good joke that everybody laughed at… OOOO… SNAP! I’m keeping that one.

 

First comedy show I did in Anderson- People just looked like, “WTF is he doing up there”? Second show in Atlanta- I got ignored first and when people realized that I, JAY DUKES, was supposed to be the one telling the jokes, I got boo’ed. Third show in Atlanta- Didn’t get boo’ed, but a couple people paid attention. Fourth show at the comedy house in Columbia- I got a couple of giggles and a, “NEXT”! Fifth show at Club XI in Spartanburg- Got ignored. People thought they were early for the party and was like, “Why TF are they up there talking”?! Sixth show at The Black and White Affair with Gary Owen and Lyfe Jennings- UUUUHHHH… Let’s just say good exposure. Seventh show at Greenville Technical College on Saturday, September 8^th- I ROCKED! They actually laughed. Like… the WHOLE ROOM LAUGHED! Stayed, took pictures after and all. It was a GREAT feeling.

One of the administrators told me, “Good show tonight man”.
“Thank you. My name is-”
“I know… Jay Dukes, right? You probably don’t remember, but I met you when you hosted at Clemson in 2010”.
“*Blows breath* That TERRIBLE show”!
“Lol. But hey… You’re still at it. Good show tonight. REAL good show. Look forward to having you at the next one”!

In closing, I want you to remember the following:
“If you are going to start something. Even if you just put forth a measly 25%, do NOT quit! It doesn’t make sense because failing doesn’t take ANY effort! Failing might hurt your pride. Ok… Oh well. But quitting hurts your pockets! KEEP AT IT!”

~Jay Dukes qka Mr. Million Dollars qka Mr. “Hey… You Look Familiar”

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