MONTH SHOWS THE IMPACT OF THE DC COMEDY SCENE AND WHAT IT HAS HAD ON THE BUSINESS AS A WHOLE. AND JOINING US LIVE THIS MORNING. BLESS YOU. BY THE WAY, MORE ON THE MECCA OF COMEDY IS DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER PARRISH SMITH, AS WELL AS COMEDIAN SYLVIA TRAYMORE. GOOD MORNING GUYS. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. GOOD MORNING JENNIFER. GOOD MORNING. I’M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE. SO EXCITED TO HAVE YOU HERE. YOU ARE ONE OF THE ORIGINAL WRITERS OF SNL. YEAH, YEAH, 1979. WOW. SO YOU WORKED WITH THE GREATS, THE BIG ONES, THE BIG ONES. JOHN BELUSHI, JANE CURTIN, GILDA RADNER, THAT WHOLE FIRST CREW, GARRETT MORRIS. YEAH, SO MANY QUESTIONS. I WANT TO ASK YOU, BUT FIRST, LET’S START WITH YOUR DOCUMENTS. WHAT’S IT CALLED AND WHERE CAN PEOPLE WATCH IT? IT’S CALLED THE MECCA OF COMEDY. UM, IT’S CURRENTLY STREAMING ON AMAZON PRIME, APPLE TV AND TUBI. UM, SO IT’S A 90 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE RICH HISTORY AND LEGACY OF BLACK COMEDIANS FROM THE FROM DC AND THE DMV AREA. WELL, TELL ME ABOUT THE HISTORY. WHAT IS IT? AS RICH IN HISTORY? UM, SO WE HAVE PEOPLE INCLUDED IN THAT, SUCH AS WANDA. WANDA SYKES, OLIVIA TREMOR MORRISON, AND THE EVANS TOMMIE DAVIDSON, DONNELL RAWLINGS, RAE GRANT, JOE CLAIR. IT’S A PLETHORA OF COMEDIANS. EVERYONE KNOWS DAVE CHAPPELLE. WE KNOW MARTIN LAWRENCE. BUT WHO CAME BEFORE THEM? WHO ARE THEIR MENTORS? SO SYLVIA WAS A MENTOR. AND THE EVANS WHO WAS IN THE GREENROOM? HE WAS A MENTOR OF MARTIN LAWRENCE. HE WAS A MENTOR OF OF WANDA SYKES. SO IT’S A COLLECTIVE OF GREAT RICH TALENT FROM THE DMV AREA TO TALK ABOUT THE INFLUENCE THAT THAT HAS HAD ON COMEDY AS A WHOLE. I MEAN, A LOT OF THE COMEDIANS REALLY INTRODUCED A DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT CULTURES TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY. AND SOME OF, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING IN YOUR FAMILIES EVERY DAY ON THE STREET. ABSOLUTELY. THE THING ABOUT WASHINGTON, DC IS THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED AUDIENCES AROUND. THEY’RE SMART, THEY’RE INTELLIGENT. SO IF YOU ARE A DC COMIC, YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE INFORMED YOU HAVE TO BE INTELLIGENT AS WELL, BECAUSE YOU CAN’T BLUFF YOUR WAY THROUGH A DC AUDIENCE. NO, YOU CAN’T BECAUSE THEY WILL CALL YOU OUT. WELL, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE WORLD IN POLITICS. YEAH. SO SO WHAT’S THAT BEEN LIKE TO TRY TO BRING THAT TO THE AUDIENCE? WELL, FOR ME IT’S IT’S LIKE I’VE BEEN AROUND SO LONG. I’M AN IMPRESSIONIST, SO I’M A COMEDIC IMPRESSIONIST, MEANING THAT I DON’T REALLY HAVE TO FOCUS ON THE ACTUAL JOKES AND SO FORTH BECAUSE I DO VOICES. BUT FOR THE PEOPLE COMING UP BEHIND ME, IT’S LIKE YOU GOT TO CONSTANTLY BE ON YOUR JOB. YOU GOT TO BE WRITING, YOU GOT TO BE THINKING, YOU GOT TO BE FOCUSING. YOU GOT TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. YOU GOT TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE UP AGAINST AND YOU BETTER BRING IT, OR ELSE THEY WILL. LET YOU KNOW. OH, YES, THEY WILL. BECAUSE THEY WON’T LAUGH. NO, NO. RIGHT, RIGHT. WON’T LAUGH AT YOUR JOKES. SO, SO ESPECIALLY WITH SNL TOO. YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CURRENT. SO HOW IMPORTANT HAS THAT BEEN EVEN IN YOUR DOCUMENTARY DEALING WITH THE DIFFERENT COMICS THAT YOU TALK WITH ABOUT MAKING SURE YOU ARE RIGHT THERE WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING, IT’S IMPORTANT. I MEAN, DC IS A VERY HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL TOWN. SO YOU JUST YOU JUST CAN’T BLUFF YOUR WAY THROUGH. I CAN’T STRESS THAT ENOUGH. WHEN, WHEN WHEN COMEDIANS FROM DC LEAVE DC, THEY ARE READY FOR PRIME TIME TELEVISION. ABSOLUTELY. THEY ARE READY FOR THE NATIONAL STAGE. YES, DC PREPARES YOU FOR THAT. DO A LITTLE BIT OF WHOOPI GOLDBERG FOR THEM. WELL, IF HE WAS HERE, WHAT HE WOULD SAY, LET ME, LET ME LET ME JUST SAY THIS BECAUSE I’VE BEEN WANTING TO SAY IT FOR A LONG TIME. OKAY. YOU GOT IT. YOU GOT ME. YOU GOT ME, YOU GOT HER. YOU’VE ACTUALLY GOT HER. WHAT MAKES AN EAST COAST COMIC DIFFERENT THAN A WEST COAST COMIC? YOU KNOW, THAT’S OBJECTIVE. SO WASHINGTON, DC, NEW YORK CITY, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE GREAT. YOU KNOW, CITIES OF COMEDY, CHICAGO, ATLANTA AS WELL. BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THERE’S AN ABUNDANT ABUNDANCE OF TALENT THAT COMES FROM DC. IT PALES IN SIZE TO NEW YORK, CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, BUT IT DOESN’T PALE IN SIZE OF TALENT. SO WHEN YOU LEAVE DC LIKE YOU ARE, YOU’RE WELL PREPARED. I’M NOT SURE IF THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEST COAST AND, YOU KNOW, AND EAST COAST COMEDY. THEY’RE ALL SMART. BUT BUT BUT THE EXCEPTION IS THAT DC JUST HAS A DIFFERENT UMPH TO IT. ALL RIGHT. HERE’S A QUESTION I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW BECAUSE COMEDY HAS CHANGED. SO MUCH OVER THE YEARS. LOOK, THERE WERE THINGS THAT WERE ACCEPTABLE TO SAY. TEN, 15, 20, CERTAINLY 30 YEARS AGO. COMICS CAN’T SAY TODAY OR MAYBE SHOULDN’T SAY TODAY OR CAN’T SAY TODAY. HOW HAS THAT MADE IT DIFFICULT AND BETTER OR WORSE, OR HOW? I THINK THAT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS SO MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES AND SO MANY CHANGES IN, IN, IN LIVING IN ACTUAL LIVING HAS TAKEN PLACE THAT SOME THINGS ARE JUST SO TO SOME PEOPLE LIKE, UH, NOT NICE, NOT, YOU KNOW, AND IT’S LIKE A DIFFERENT CHANGE IN, IN PEOPLE’S LIVING AND WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO DO WITH THEIR LIVES. AND SO YOU CAN’T GET UP THERE AND, AND SAY SOME THINGS THAT’S DEROGATORY. RIGHT. UH, BUT A LOT OF COMICS FEEL LIKE THEY’RE TAKING AWAY FROM THE COMEDIANS THEIR ABILITY OR THEIR NECESSITY TO WANT TO TALK ABOUT CERTAIN SUBJECTS BECAUSE THEY’RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, JUST EMBARRASS SOMEBODY OR HURT THEIR FEELINGS OR, OR DO SOMETHING. HAS IT MADE COMICS HAVE TO BE SMARTER NOW? THEY HAVE TO WRITE SMARTER. THEIR MATERIAL HAS TO BE MORE, HAS TO BE MORE HAS TO BE CURRENT. BUT ONE MORE THING TO YOU CAN’T DO SCARED. COMEDY LIKE COMEDIAN IS A LINE STEPPERS. AND SO THEY TAKE A RISK. THAT’S PART OF COMEDY RIGHT. AND NOW YOU KNOW NOWADAYS TOO IT’S MORE ABOUT TELLING YOUR TRUTH WHEN IT COMES TO COMEDY, WHICH MAKES THE COMEDY MORE IDENTIFIABLE TO WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON SO MORE AUTHENTIC. ABSOLUTELY. I’M SO GLAD YOU’RE SAYING ALL THIS STUFF. THAT’S GOOD. AND LISTEN, BEFORE WE GO, WE HAVE TO WRAP, UM, POLITICS. POLITICS SORT OF USED TO BE FUNNY IN COMEDY. NOW IT DOESN’T FEEL AS FUNNY BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE SO POLARIZED. HAS THAT MADE THINGS MORE DIFFICULT? YOU TAKE THAT ONE. WELL, YOU KNOW, IT’S LIKE POP CRITICS HAS EVEN CHANGED A LOT. YEAH, OVER THE LAST 20, 30, 40 YEARS. I MEAN, TO A POINT WHERE, UH, ANYTHING YOU SAY ABOUT ANYBODY IN POLITICS AS A COMEDIAN, YOU ALMOST HAVE TO TREAD A LITTLE BIT, OR ELSE THEY’LL CANCEL. YOU. SURE. IF THAT’S WHAT THE WORD IS. IT’S LIKE I GET CONFUSED. I JUST I JUST DO IT. I JUST GO AHEAD AND HOPE I’M OKAY. I DO A BIT WITH MELANIA TRUMP AND, UH, MICHELLE OBAMA AND THANK GOODNESS, YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST STARTED TRYING IT OUT, IT IT WORKED, YOU KNOW, SO WHEN YOU FIND THAT IT WORKS, IT’S LIKE GOOD. BUT WHEN ONCE YOU HIT A HIT, SOMETHING THAT STINGS, YOU KNOW, YOU GOT BACK DOWN. IT’S IT’S WEIRD. SO YOU’RE ALWAYS LEARNING. ALWAYS LEARNING. LISTEN, GUYS, THANKS FOR COMING IN I APPRECIATE IT. WATCH YOU ON AMAZON PRIME. APPLE TV WHERE ELSE? TUBI AND TUBI AND TOBY. AND THE WEBSITE IS THE MECCA OF COMEDY DOT COM. WHAT A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU. AND I WISH WE HAD LONGER STAY WITH US. WE HAVE FARMERS STAND JOINING US WITH SOME BABY GOATS. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS. PLUS, DALENCIA HAS ANOTHER CHECK OF OUR FORECAST. CAN YOU LEAD INTO HER WITH WHOOPI? WELL, YOU KNOW, WE’RE GONNA