Club Shay Shay - Arnez J. Part 1

Summary

Podcast Summary: Club Shay Shay - Arnez J. Part 1

Episode Details:

• Title: Club Shay Shay - Arnez J. Part 1
• Host: Shannon Sharpe
• Guest: Arnez J.
• Release Date: June 4, 2025
• Description: NFL legend Shannon Sharpe sits down with the biggest athletes, celebrities, and influencers to discuss their accomplishments, challenges, and everything in-between.

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Introduction and Reconnecting Old Friends

Shannon Sharpe welcomes Arnez J., a beloved figure in the comedy world with a career spanning nearly 35 years. Arnez J. is celebrated for his fearless and physical comedy style, his tenure as the host of BET Comic View, and his ability to leave audiences both in tears and in stitches. The conversation begins with Sharpe welcoming Arnez back, hinting at a past friendship that has seen its ups and downs.

Notable Quote:

"I hadn't seen this man in a long time. But hey, we about to catch up." – Shannon Sharpe [01:26]

Past Friendship and Falling Out

The dialogue delves into the history between Sharpe and Arnez J., revealing a strained relationship that began around 2020. Sharpe confronts Arnez about cutting him off after he couldn't attend Arnez's Hall of Fame induction due to contractual obligations. Arnez expresses hurt over Sharpe's sudden distancing and seeks closure regarding their fallout.

Notable Quotes:

"I tried to get a hold of you. There was no number to get a hold of you." – Arnez J. [07:23]

"Why would you cut a friend off?" – Arnez J. [04:32]

Family and Personal Struggles

Arnez J. opens up about his dysfunctional family background, touching on the loss of his brothers Emmanuel and Rodney. He discusses the challenges of maintaining relationships with his sisters, leading to estrangement over the years. This segment provides a deep insight into Arnez's personal life, revealing the emotional baggage he carries and how it influences his comedy.

Notable Quotes:

"My family is very dysfunctional. I don't even look like anybody in my family." – Arnez J. [19:31]

"These are the only two people you're hurting. You. You're hurting us, too." – Arnez J. [25:44]

Rodney: The Constant in Arnez's Comedy

A significant portion of the conversation centers around Arnez's brother Rodney, who has a condition that Arnez incorporates into his comedic acts. Arnez emphasizes that Rodney is portrayed respectfully and with strength, countering any perception of mockery. He explains how Rodney's presence adds depth to his performances and resonates with audiences.

Notable Quotes:

"I make Rodney strong people. You know how many women always tell me, where your brother at?" – Arnez J. [13:28]

"I make Rodney strong. People may say he's handicapped or challenged, but I make him strong people." – Arnez J. [12:54]

Comedy Career and Evolution

Arnez J. discusses his extensive career in comedy, highlighting his commitment to original material and his disdain for joke stealing. He criticizes the modern comedy scene for its reliance on social media and lack of originality, contrasting it with the hard work required in earlier decades. Arnez recounts incidents involving other comedians like Kevin Hart and Katt Williams, showcasing the competitive and sometimes toxic nature of the industry.

Notable Quotes:

"When I added Rodney into the show, Rodney helped me. I didn't help him." – Arnez J. [12:07]

"I'm very agitated about joke stealing. ... it's originality that matters." – Arnez J. [61:50]

Handling Criticism and Maintaining Integrity

The conversation touches on how Arnez handles criticism and maintains his integrity in the face of adversity. He shares his experiences with negative feedback and how he uses his platform to uplift rather than demean. Arnez underscores the importance of staying true to oneself and not letting negativity dictate his actions.

Notable Quotes:

"I refuse to let negativity win with me." – Arnez J. [37:46]

"I do comedy for the people. There's a whole bunch of audience for my type of comedy." – Arnez J. [31:31]

Personal Loss and Resilience

Arnez recounts the profound impact of losing his brothers and how these tragedies have shaped his life and comedy. He explains how performing on stage became a coping mechanism, allowing him to channel his grief into humor and connect with his audience on a deeper level. This resilience is a testament to his strength and dedication to his craft.

Notable Quotes:

"When my mother died, the best show I'd ever given in my life." – Arnez J. [38:21]

"I handle my business, cuz... That was the story." – Arnez J. [19:36]

Current Projects and Future Aspirations

Arnez discusses his latest stand-up special, "Not Gonna Stop," which he released on YouTube after Netflix declined to pick it up. He expresses satisfaction with the independent release, noting the substantial viewership and his ownership of the content. Arnez hints at future projects and his unwavering commitment to continue performing, regardless of obstacles.

Notable Quotes:

"My special aired 18 days ago. Now 19 days... I own that." – Arnez J. [31:40]

"I refuse to let negativity win with me." – Arnez J. [31:31]

Conflict Resolution and Moving Forward

Towards the end of the transcript, Arnez shares his approach to resolving conflicts, particularly within the comedy community. He recounts a personal encounter with Ricky Smiler, illustrating his preference for handling disputes maturely rather than escalating tensions. This segment emphasizes Arnez's growth and his desire to foster a supportive environment among comedians.

Notable Quotes:

"We were on a plane... We laughed. We laughed." – Arnez J. [57:09]

"God says it was time." – Arnez J. [57:40]

Conclusion

The first part of Arnez J.'s conversation with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay offers an in-depth look into the comedian's personal and professional life. From reconciling old friendships and addressing family tragedies to discussing the evolution of comedy and maintaining integrity, Arnez provides a candid and heartfelt narrative. The episode sets the stage for a deeper exploration of his life and career in Part 2.

Closing Quote:

"This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you can." – Shannon Sharpe [76:08]

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This summary captures the essence of the conversation between Shannon Sharpe and Arnez J., highlighting their personal histories, professional insights, and the complexities of navigating relationships within the comedy industry. The inclusion of direct quotes with timestamps provides authenticity and aids in understanding the flow of their discussion.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[B]

Is it true Katt gave you money?

[A]

Katt did something for my brother that where I will always hold the highest respect for him. There's nothing you could ever tell me wrong about this man all my life.

[B]

Been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price wanna slice got to roll a dice that's why all my.

[A]

Life I be grinding all my life look all my life been grinding all.

[B]

My life Sacrifice hustle paid the price want a not to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life hello. Welcome to another episode of Club Shay Shay. I am your host, Shannon Sharpe. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shay Shay. Stopping by for conversation on a drink today is a fan favorite. A familiar face on the comedy circle. He's been a stand up comedian for almost 35 years. He was host of BET Comic View for two seasons. Deaf comedy jam alum. One of the most physical and fearless comedians ever. One of the Dade's best working artists. A dynamic actor and writer. He has an infectious energy and a gift for storytelling. He leaves a crowd in tears, laughter. He performs the sold out shows across the country. He calls himself one of the great fishermen. Let him tell that he was also a great athlete when he was younger.

[A]

Here he is, the homie.

[B]

I hadn't seen this man in a long time. But hey, we about to catch up. Mr. Arnes J.

[A]

Come on now. See, there you go. Come on now. That was pretty good. One of them things you read? I went, huh? No, but it's all this.

[B]

You.

[A]

That's all. That's me.

[B]

All these, all this you 35 in the game.

[A]

I would not say that. I'm a writer.

[B]

You're not a writer.

[A]

Nah, I'm not a writer. I'm a visionary. I visualize and I see things in my head and I guess it jots itself down.

[B]

Right? But you don't write. You don't write down anything.

[A]

No, no. Cause I would get an F. Trust.

[B]

Me, you weren't good at school.

[A]

I have good penmanship. No, you know, I was good at school as far as learning, right? But the reason I said I wasn't good in school. Cause you and I haven't known each other for a long time.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

When I saw how brainy you were, I basically shut the hell up. Cause I was like, it don't make no sense a black man to talk with this much arturic, this much articulation in his brain. But he's straight country. I don't get it. I don't get that. He go catfishing, but he can hang out with the rest of the crew. I mean, I don't get it.

[B]

Yeah, I'm pretty good.

[A]

You are. You're intelligent, very intelligent.

[B]

I appreciate that.

[A]

You really are.

[B]

You know what? Let's start off with this. You've been in the game 35 years and a lot. I mean, you always. Normally, not always, but you tell a story. One of your favorite storylines is you talk about your brother Rodney. Everybody wants to know, how is Rodney doing?

[A]

Rodney, I will never, ever be able to let go out of my comedy because my fans won't allow it.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And I'm not one of these. I'm not one of these comedians. When somebody says, do this, you. You despite them and say, no, I'm not going to do it because you don't feel like doing it.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You better feel like remembering who paid you get gotten you where you're at besides God.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So I'm very humble when my fans, they will not let Rodney ever go because there's always. There's always a new story about Rodney, but they won't let him go, so I can't let him go. But before we get into all that, because I know this is your show and everything, I got something to ask you. Real talk. You and I have known each other for a long time. I'm going to say 2020. I want to know what happened to us. The reason I'm asking you that is.

[B]

Because you know what happened.

[A]

No, why you interrupted. See, that's how. That's how. That's when people lie. That's how they do it. They jump in.

[B]

Okay, my bad.

[A]

Okay. The last time we connected. Yeah. We were on the plane.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You sent me an invitation to you being inducted to the hall of Fame.

[B]

Yeah, I did.

[A]

I could not make it. And when I could not make it.

[B]

I cut you off.

[A]

You cut me off. Thank you for being honest about it. Thank you for being honest about it. Thank you, Jesus, for sticking your thumb in his eye. Why would you cut a friend off? And now especially you really need me.

[B]

I need you now.

[A]

I know, but now I don't know if I want be. I don't know him.

[B]

No. What happened? No, no. What we.

[A]

Please tell the truth.

[B]

Actually. Actually, we had a fishing trip planned before. Before. Before the hall of Fame.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then, you know, I think you got scared because I, you know, you didn't walk. You didn't walk because you brought up the fishing. I didn't Bring up the fishing. You brought that up.

[A]

You good at deflecting. I know that.

[B]

Yeah. But I'm just telling how I gotta tell the whole story. I gotta add context.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Cause you just wanna get right to the. But, no, no, there's something that led up. There was a series of events. It's kinda like the Limited Snickers. There was a series of events that led to this.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And the series of events, you and I having a conversation.

[A]

Hey, yeah.

[B]

How you doing, man? Man, love your father, your career, man. You was a hell of a player. Congratulations on everything. The super bowl, man. How was it? Look, we having a great conversation.

[A]

Got it.

[B]

Hey, you was courteous. I was receptive to courtesy. I thought we good.

[A]

Good. We were good.

[B]

Called a couple of times. Hey, James. Hey, Sharp, man. How you doing, man? I'm good, man. Glad you called. What's going on? Blah, blah, blah. Then had this fishing trip scheduled.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I was like, okay, man. Said he.

[A]

Where's the camera? I can look in real quick. This one right here, that's you. Okay, continue.

[B]

Okay, so what, you know, Deep south say, hey, how you want to. Do you want a line fish, you want shore fish, you want to go in the boat? Blah, blah, blah. Hey, man, I'm deep sea fishing. You know, Black grouper. That's your thing.

[A]

It is, yeah.

[B]

See what I'm saying?

[A]

It is Black grouper.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, man. You know, black grouper. I catch drum, Sheep head, you know, blah, blah, blah. I said, okay, bro, all them fancy name. I get all that.

[A]

I got it. Okay.

[B]

And then I was like, you know what? I'mma have a. You know, I'm Have a look, you know. Cause that. It wasn't no celebs in my little station. I ain't have no celebs. I don't really know nobody. I said, you know what? It'd be real nice when they paying the audience.

[A]

They like, ma' am, man, Sharp. No rnev J. Yeah, but I don't even hang out with celebrities like that.

[B]

I know.

[A]

I never have. I'm a loner. I mean, because me personally, not to say anything, but sometimes, you know, there's a difference. When you hang out with regular folks and then hang out with people who want to get to a place or at that place, right? And I ain't fronting for nobody, plain and simple. So, you know, either you like me, you don't. I ain't got time.

[B]

And then you change your number.

[A]

Ooh, Lord. Okay, that's the story.

[B]

You gonna roll with guy you changed the number. I tried to reach out to you. I DMed you several times. Fell on deaf ears. Bullshit.

[A]

But okay, I just want to know what happened.

[B]

To the best of your recollection.

[A]

Best. My recollection is I get a invite.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

To your inauguration.

[B]

Hall of Fame induction.

[A]

Yes. Yep. You were going in. Yes. And I was so overjoyed and happy for you. I wanted to go. I could not go because I could not get out of my contract. I had a contract. They weren't trying to hear. They weren't trying to let me out of a contract at that time, to go. I could have just said, no, I'm not going to. But other than just you, I also have to think about my fans that paid their money.

[B]

Yeah, I get that.

[A]

So I have to go both ways. I tried to get a hold of you. There was no number to get a hold of you. There was blank. It was, you know, that one famous sound. It was one of them. One of them things.

[B]

The number you call is Surrey. I feel you reached this number.

[A]

You ain't even gotta do all that. As soon as you hear. You already know, just hang up. No, man. So that has always kind of.

[B]

I started saying, the folk look for you.

[A]

What folk? The folk look for you. I'm just saying, bro. I was just wondering what happened, and this is what I feel. What true friends do. They can talk.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And they can. Sometimes people can't deal with the truth.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

So that's why, you know, I asked, because I even told my road manager, Roderick, I said, look, this is one of the first things I need to ask him, because it has bothered me for so long.

[B]

It bothered me. Then people ask him, like, man. Cause a lot of times, obviously, you know, Club Shay Shay. I've had a lot of comedians on, a lot of comedians. They're like, man, when you gonna have Arnaz J? I said, that's a good question. I said, when y' all see him, ask him.

[A]

Mm, I've been seen.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

I ain't saying about all of them, but I've been seen.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Because that's what everybody been saying, man. You had, man, this one and that one, man. You would have had all the OGs from comic view and Defcon together. I said, yeah, I know. Say, man, what about.

[A]

They call me Triple OG now. Triple? What y' all know about that? You ain't got Triple on you. Triple? You got all the young youngs in here working for it. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Let me ask you this about Rodney. When did you Realize that he was gonna be a part of your show because you mentioned the term. You say, rodney is not handicapped. He has a condition. And sometimes, you know, we like, we've done away with the word handicap and we say, okay, he's challenged. Or now.

[A]

Cause the word used to be they slow. They slow.

[B]

Or to use the R word.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

That we don't.

[A]

Yeah, I know, but I said it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, see, this is what I mean, okay? Because you changed a word don't mean it's different. You get enough pressure put on you. You know, things change. You know, But I figured. I feel. This is one of the most inconsistent countries in the world. United States is inconsistent.

[B]

Right.

[A]

We'll go just, you know, and I'm not trying to jump on, you know, all this, but why is a young black guy that may commit a crime at 17 is called a man, but a young white guy at 18 is still called a teenager?

[B]

Right.

[A]

I don't get that. I don't get that, and I will never get it, and I won't be quiet about it.

[B]

Okay? Okay. Now, Rodney, at what point in time.

[A]

Early in your career did you say.

[B]

You said, you know what? I'm gonna add him to the show.

[A]

Rodney has always been a part of the show from day one.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Because I've been. I've been a big kid from day one. My eyesight and my visualization of what I've seen in life has always been about expression.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

You have to realize when you're a person that is a loner, what do you have to do? You have to entertain yourself. When you entertain yourself, you see things that other people don't see.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

You mimic things that other people just don't think about mimicking. When I got my first Hot Wheel track, we used to get tore up with a Hot Wheel track.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

That was an orange extension cord. You understand what I'm saying?

[B]

Cars would go right on the track.

[A]

And the track will go on your. Yeah, and then you say that somebody. Now, Hot Wheel trail. Hot Wheel, Right. Yeah. Well, look it up. Do your research. Right. You know, the world revolves so much, and there's so much information for us to gather. So when I added Rodney into the show, Rodney helped me. I didn't help him.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

But what I did do is I emboldened Rodney. I never. If you ever look at my comedy, I never target anyone in my comedy.

[B]

Great.

[A]

I don't target people because to me, that's not comedy.

[B]

Right? Oh, okay.

[A]

Okay. That's not comedy. Even within the Chapters of other comedians. People used to say, oh, all he does is do flips and jump around. That's my style of comedy, right? You sit down on the microphone, you just talk.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You've given your information. I'm giving my information. And if they are laughing with my information, information, where is the problem? Why are you losing sleep over what I do? That belongs to me.

[B]

Right.

[A]

My fans are in my life for a reason. I'm very overprotective of my fans. So when I do Rodney, I'm not the one that, like, want to bring up. My fans want me to do him right. So when he's done, because there's so much with him, I make Rodney strong. Yeah. People may say he's handicapped or challenged, but I make him strong people. You know how many women. You know how many women always tell me, where your brother at? Can I talk about that thang thing on it?

[B]

Right?

[A]

But I don't care. Cause he may be slow or whatever you want to say, right? They want to see that thang. Thang.

[B]

Does Rodney know you doing him in your comedy?

[A]

Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Rodney hit me upside the head one time with a Superman lunch bell. You know those they used to make the characters.

[B]

Yes, absolutely.

[A]

In the garage. So that thing reverbed. Yeah, he hit me. So people don't understand. You mess with people challenge. They got strength. Real strong. Yeah, Real strong.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, real strong. Yeah. He hit me with that thing and. But they don't. My brother. They didn't see me making fun of them, okay? They see their brother, who loves them, talking about them and including me in it. I. I made them. I strengthened who he was. Not less. Like there was. We did a show, what, two. Two weeks ago, right? We were so. Oh, no, it was Buffalo. Buffalo, New York. Guy came into the show, sat right up front. He had a drifting eyeball. Oh, Lord. One went that way, and the other one scanned the room. Instead of running away from him, I walked up to him while he was there, and this girl, I said, yo, man, I'm just gonna say this. And this is exactly how I said, man, I'm gonna say this. Nigga, you got me up right now. Cause I can't see where I'm going. I'm thinking I'm talking to you when you really over here.

[B]

So he had an eye that scan, but.

[A]

Yes, but he laughed at himself because I did not diminish him.

[B]

Right?

[A]

And I had other people. I say, and you right across from me. Are you okay? I added him in to the show, to me, not to make fun of him, but to say, okay, you got a straight eye and one that's scanning. It's okay, right? But I'mma talk about it. Right, but that's yours. You owning it. Cause if you didn't own it, you'd have had on some shades. I wouldn't have seen it, right? But I seen that eye. And I told him, and I said, and I think you did it on purpose. Cause there's some fine women here. And I think you slick, looking straight ahead. So your girl don't know that you ain't doing it. But that other eye catching it. Thank you, slick, but I got you.

[B]

Do you think you mentioned, like, okay, the gentleman that had the eye issue, do you think? Because obviously he knows it. This is not. That was not the first time he had heard it. But do you.

[A]

But he heard it in a different manner probably, right?

[B]

But do you think because he owned his frailty, that therefore someone couldn't make him feel insecure about it?

[A]

Is that how you say that one more time?

[B]

I say, do you think because he had heard that before for such a long time that he owned it, that therefore you couldn't make him feel insecure about that?

[A]

No, I don't think that. I do think he owned it, right? But I don't think that he didn't think that. I couldn't make him feel insecure.

[B]

Right?

[A]

I'm dangerous. I can make you feel insecure, Right? But that's not what I want.

[B]

That wasn't the purpose of that.

[A]

It's never the purpose of that. I don't choose to do that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I'm not one of those ones you want to get into dozens with, right? I bring up your mama. I don't care. I bring people out of the grave. I don't care. Don't play that. Won't get that.

[B]

I thought you said you didn't do mamas.

[A]

I said I. What did I just say? Did you listen?

[B]

No. Yes. We talked about it earlier. You say you do dad, but you don't do moms.

[A]

What? I said I could bring up the mama or people from the grave, but I choose not to even want to do. I choose not to do that. And then the mamas. I'm not into talking about people's mamas. That's your birthplace, right? That's where you came out of, right? That's the woman that looked at you and said, you my child. Right, dad across the way somewhere eating a McDonald burger or something. I don't Know. But man, please.

[B]

Okay. You mentioned. Okay. You got a brother that's challenged.

[A]

I do.

[B]

Do other people that come to. May come to your show that might be challenged. Have they ever said Arnell?

[A]

Never. Wow. Five or six times, if not more. I've had a group of challenged people that were brought in to come and see my show. Wow. I had a lady out there doing sign language at my show.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah. Sign language.

[B]

What if she wasn't saying what you were saying, though?

[A]

Well, this is how I tested her. I'm glad you said that. That's my proof right there. I said, you say what I say, and you better be doing it right. So I was like, yeah, baby, put it in. She was like. I said, no, put it in, baby. Stick it in there. She started going like this. I said, yeah, you doing it right? You doing it right? You doing it? Yeah. So I. I just. Because there are some that don't like that one that was in Africa. Give a sign language.

[B]

Yeah. A lot of them be doing it. They just be up there. They don't be doing nothing. They like their manager talking about steel sector. Yeah.

[A]

He left the car in the parking lot. We're talking about nuclear bomb. Yeah. So. Yeah. So I never. I'd never that I know of received any bad audience from anybody that's challenged. Because I embrace them. I don't mock them. I don't try to hurt anybody that. I don't believe in that. Because like I said, my family is very dysfunctional. Very. I don't even look like anybody in my family. I still. Today. Still today. And, you know, it gets to me. He told me, don't cry, because I get my feelings. But I remember when my. When my grandmother passed, I was a flight attendant, and I was in my flight attendant uniform, and I had to go, who in the hell you work for?

[B]

Who let you be a flight attendant?

[A]

I flew for Continental Airlines for seven years, bro.

[B]

Might explain why I handle my business.

[A]

I handle my business, cuz.

[B]

Plane go down, you the first one off. You're supposed to be the last one.

[A]

I ain't gonna be the last one.

[B]

You a flight attendant.

[A]

Show me in the rule book where it says Ernest J. Supposed to be lasting off the plane. We had a bomb threat one time. We did. We had a bomb threat. Yeah. We can get. We can get. But what was I talking about? Cause you groom a train of thought. No.

[B]

You say you don't look like anybody in your family.

[A]

Yeah, I don't like. Cause when I was at my grandmother's Funeral. I told my aunt before I left. Cause I had to go catch a flight. I said, auntie, I'm getting ready to go talk to dad before I leave out of here and stuff.

[B]

Were you dressed in your flight attendant?

[A]

I was. Cause I had to go straight through the airport.

[B]

You didn't wanna. Okay, go ahead.

[A]

I had to go straight to the airport. Okay.

[B]

Straight.

[A]

And my aunt said, oh, you mean the man that raised you. What? What can you imagine as a grown up, you hearing that? Yeah. For the first time, I'm like, what? That wasn't your. She go, oh, oh. Talk to your mom. My world is now. You don't got. My world just got blew up. I already don't look like nobody in the family. Then you tell me the man that raised me. I go to my mama and I said, mama, I need to ask you a question before I leave. Please be honest with me. I said, mama, is daddy my real daddy tell you what she did, boy, and walked off? That's not an answer.

[B]

It wasn't an answer you wanted to hear, but you got the answer.

[A]

I mean, like, boy, go on with that. I mean, that's not an answer. Yay or nay? Yes or no is the answer.

[B]

Did you ask her again? Did you ever ask her again?

[A]

No, because I knew she wasn't going to answer it.

[B]

But did you know deep down, did you know?

[A]

No, I didn't. That's the problem. You have to realize, even as adults, a lot of times we don't get closure on things that mess with us when we were a child or that have been through our life. And me being a loner like I was and like I still am and somewhat. But I have a great family. So I'm not alone. I have a great partner. My man, my wife.

[B]

Do you have siblings? Do you have brothers and sisters?

[A]

I do.

[B]

It's a yes or no.

[A]

No. Listen to what I'm getting right here.

[B]

Okay. I'm listening.

[A]

I do.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I have two sisters that are left and we don't speak.

[B]

Why? Life too short. Arnaz.

[A]

Do you wanna know the story or you just.

[B]

No, seriously, I wanna know the story. I think the audience willing to know the story.

[A]

Okay. And people get shocked because there's a lot more people like me.

[B]

Before you go, how long? When was the last time you spoke to them?

[A]

Almost four years ago. Three to four years. Oh, one, it's been about eight years. One, it's been about four years. It's four years now.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Maybe even five.

[B]

Okay. You wanna discuss what caused this falling.

[A]

Out, one of my sisters. It's kind of always been there where she had maybe seemed a little mental issues going on, and we just weren't close.

[B]

You weren't close?

[A]

Even as growing up as. Yeah, we just weren't. We weren't close. Okay. And one time that she called me one day, kind of out the blue, stating that she was getting ready to get, you know, put out. And I'm her brother. Are you calling me? So I fly all the way to Kansas City, Missouri, to help her.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

I get there, I call her. No answer. Texting her. No reply.

[B]

Let me get it straight. Your sister called you. She's about to get evicted. Put out, whatever the case may be.

[A]

From her home because of supposedly why they was doing it was the wrong reason. So I want to talk to. I had my team. Cause we were gonna talk for the landlord. Yeah. And I kept texting her. I done flew from Atlanta to go to Kansas City. You ain't answering the phone.

[B]

Did you tell her you were coming?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. So she knows you're coming.

[A]

Text her, where are you at? I'm here. No answer. I stayed through the whole weekend. Monday morning, I get home. Monday afternoon, I get a text. Still today I saw her name and that she had texted me. And then I saw. This is all I saw. I didn't. When I said I didn't know as far as I read.

[B]

So to this day, you still haven't read the reign of the text.

[A]

You want to know the truth?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And please, my audience, forgive me. I don't give a. Because you took my heart and you stomped on it. How many times you going to stomp on my heart? I'm there to help you. You had me fly there, and. And please forgive me. Even Rod tells me, man. Don't you think, well, you know, maybe you should just try to talk. Why would I try to talk? And you haven't reached out. You haven't reached out with that one text when I got back.

[B]

And you.

[A]

Have not reached out to me.

[B]

Do you think she was embarrassed because she's having to call her brother and ask for assistance? Do you think there was a level of embarrassment?

[A]

Do you think you weren't that embarrassed when you asked me to help you? You weren't that embarrassed when I told you, I'm getting on a plane. You wasn't that embarrassed and said, okay, I'll be here. Just call me when you get in. You wasn't embarrassed? Then we're bloodlined. Yeah. You can't be embarrassed. Not when you ask when you're asking a person for help, and that person has reciprocated to say, I'm gonna help you, but you're nowhere to be found. Where is the embarrassment?

[B]

Wow.

[A]

And I don't even know why she didn't. And like I stated, she may have some mental issues going on. She's always been that way. But you took me away from my family to come and help you, and you didn't reciprocate to me when I got there. You let me stand out there with my eyes open, out there by myself, looking for you.

[B]

Do you think that it ever occur to you she might have had an episode?

[A]

No. Cause that's not how it started. That's not how that text even started. I didn't know.

[B]

Meaning I didn't know you were coming when actuality, we had talked, and I told you, I'm getting on a plane. I told you I'm coming to help.

[A]

Not only did talk, we talked for three days before I came out there. And that's not even the worst. The worst is the sister, now the youngest.

[B]

Are you the oldest?

[A]

I'm the oldest.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

My sister is the youngest now. My brother died.

[B]

Okay. Reed, Rodney.

[A]

No, that was Emmanuel.

[B]

Emmanuel. Are you the oldest in the family?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay. You're the oldest.

[A]

Okay. He died by himself, meaning he died alone. My other brother before him died alone by himself in a hotel room. He was eating Burger King four times a day. They said his arteries were so clogged you could barely see the vein lines. That's all he ate. So when I say I come from a dysfunctional family, I come from a very dysfunctional family.

[B]

Were you guys when you were growing up, when you were 7, 10, 12, 15?

[A]

I had to take care of them. Oh.

[B]

Do you believe they view you as a father figure instead of a brother?

[A]

I think they viewed me as when I started becoming who I was, that I was supposed to take care of everything. So they do. My sister, the youngest. When my brother died, we were going to cremate him because he had been in a hotel room for so long by himself and never checked on him. So I was saying, okay. And she just kept directing. Directing. I said, wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is how we need to do it. She kept trying to chastise. I said, oh, whoa, back up, back up. Hold on, shorty. Hold up. I'm the oldest here.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

She had the people at the people that do the death certificate.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

She said, there's only one death certificate to be done. And it was to go to her only.

[B]

How did she get to make that decision?

[A]

That's my point. She thought that she was to take charge. So I said, okay, I'm allowing you to do this. Because guess who had to pay the money for the cremation and everything. You see him in this room?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's funny. People that's gonna do the least want the most responsive that part. You let her handle it, though.

[A]

I let her handle it.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Then she tried to chastise me. And I pumped the brakes and I said, look here. And my fans, see, they don't see this side of me.

[B]

Right.

[A]

This is what I hold inside. That's why my fans are so important to me. I get to release and make them laugh. When I see them laugh, it turns me on. It makes me feel better who I am. Because they are that important to me. That's why I'm this long standing in this business. Right now, my special aired and I'm going to get back to this. My special aired 18 days ago. Now 19 days. Something on the fifth day of a special that went straight to YouTube that Netflix turned down. You think I was gonna cry over that? I had already done one on that, but you think I was gonna cry over that. Now I have full ownership at YouTube the fifth day. And look and see how many people has done this. The fifth day. I was at a million views in five days. At 18. We're now at 1.5 something in 18 days.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

On YouTube. And you own it, by the way. It's called RNSJ. Not gonna stop. Anyway, so I own that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Thank you. Netflix got a great company. They're doing what they're doing. But maybe my type of comedy, way.

[B]

I do, it wasn't for them at that time. Who knows, you might come back.

[A]

But here's the thing with that. I do comedy for the people. There's a whole bunch of audience for my type of comedy. Because I'm that clown. I've even had other comedians used to call me, tried to say I was stepping, fetch it. I'm a clown. I don't care. That clown got me a nice house, nice, nice way of life being that clown. Like I said, that's my type of comedy. But my sister tried to chastise me and this is when it blew up. And I probably shouldn't be saying this, but I trust you. I trust your people. And maybe it's something that I need to get out. Cause it's getting ready to come out.

[B]

Right?

[A]

I told Her. I said, let me explain something to you. When you were in college and you had these girls who wanted to beat your ass cause you was messing with one of the boyfriends that played football, who came to your rescue? It wasn't mama. It wasn't daddy. It was your big brother that put the word out. Don't touch that one. When you needed money, who gave it to you? It wasn't your mama. It wasn't your daddy. It was your big brother. When you had your child by this dude, you needed money, who gave it to you? It wasn't your mama. It wasn't your daddy. But you gonna try to chastise me. And this is exactly how I said it. I didn't. You. That boy's daddy's the one that laid with you. The school teacher that you afraid to go get child support from. But you getting mad at me because I'm telling you what you need to do. Only person you hurting is my nephew and me. These are the only two people you're hurting. You. You're hurting us, too. But because of you, I'm not going to be with him. Then she put it out there on social media. If my brother died, it feels like I lost. It feels like I'm so sad. I'm so depressed. I lost my last brother. But you still.

[B]

But did you picture something like, well.

[A]

Damn, I'm still Shannon. When she said that, I said, you know what?

[B]

That's it.

[A]

So let it be written. So let it be done. I bet you you called me forever. Pick up a phone to call you.

[B]

So that means you haven't talked to your nephew either. Nope.

[A]

And I got a little video of him that I look at all the time that I made. I look at that video all the time.

[B]

When you talk to your wife about it, does she say Arnaz?

[A]

Nope. She might ride or die.

[B]

Right.

[A]

She know the situation. Mm. And she ain't the one you wanna play with either, though.

[B]

But you do realize, Arnaz, that's. You said it earlier in the conversation, that that's blood.

[A]

So what are you supposed to do with blood when. Blood through the blood.

[B]

Yeah. You know, sometimes all family members ain't.

[A]

Meant to be family.

[B]

Sometimes the only family is the bloodline. Because you have nothing.

[A]

This guy to my right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

My road manager, Roderick.

[B]

That's your left, but okay.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Well, I guess. Cause I used my. Didn't I tell you how smart he was? Don't know how to be.

[B]

Don't know.

[A]

Don't know how to be stupid. For a minute. Well, actually, he does.

[B]

There you go. There you go. There you go.

[A]

I didn't say. I'm just saying my mouth hit the floor.

[B]

And I feel it's time.

[A]

I'm just saying. Can I say this one thing?

[B]

No. We early the conversation. We early the conversation. We gotta get like another 20, 30 minutes in.

[A]

I just. It was gonna be quick, but.

[B]

Okay. But you was about to say your road manager is more family than my family. Actual family.

[A]

If I call him, he coming. Not because I pay him, because his heart is coming. His heart is in that car. Not his pocket park is in that car. I'm a feel you out. I'm a see you for what you are. Then I'll handle it accordingly. Accordingly. I don't have a lot of people around me. Some of my best friends mainly. All fish, fish, fish. We love the fish. My fans. I give. I don't care if it's one person already or just 10,000. I give everything that I got when I'm on that stage. Everything I got. And I've been doing that for 34, 35 years. I refuse, refuse to let negativity win with me.

[B]

I was about to ask you. You strike me as a person that I will not let whatever's going on in my life personally affect, impact what I have to do professionally.

[A]

No. When they told me, my mama passed. Guess what I was doing? Guess. Take a wild guess.

[B]

Fishing.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

On stage.

[A]

I was about to walk out on stage, and I got grabbed. Wait, wait, wait. Take this call. I'm getting ready to go out. They called my name. Take this call. Arnaz. Mama's gone. She didn't make it.

[B]

Did a part of you, like, damn.

[A]

I get the best show I ever gave him in my life.

[B]

Because that's what your mom would have wanted you to do. Or you felt you was obligated.

[A]

I had energy.

[B]

You needed that.

[A]

At that time, I needed that. If I didn't have that, I would have broken apart. When they told me my brother died, guess who I was on the air during the interview, talking about molesting that had happened to me and I was getting a lender to somebody else. My mama called me, told me my brother died. I crawled on my knees back in the studio, on my knees and got back on that microphone. But when my mother died, best show I'd ever given in my life. I couldn't have done nothing that would ever succeed that soon as I got off the stage and she was in Orlando, she was in Kissimmee. I Was in Miami. I jumped in the car. I swear to God, I must have been hitting about 110 all the way to Kissimmee. Then I said to myself later on, why she gone? You know why, though?

[B]

Why?

[A]

Because that phone call did not go out on that stage. But the energy from that phone call, the grief I grieved after I got off that stage and wanted to get to her is if I could save her, she was gone.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

My mom at one point hurt me at one time, she said, Cause I used to wonder, why do you seem to treat the other kids differently than me? You know what she told me?

[B]

What she told you?

[A]

Cause I don't worry about you. I know you gonna make it. They need me.

[B]

I think older kids get that a lot.

[A]

She said, I'm not worried about you. I don't have to worry about you. But your brothers and sisters, those are the ones I gotta worry about. Made sense.

[B]

It made sense. But as a. I don't know how old when you ask her this, or how old you was when she told you this, but at the time, you just wanted your mom to be like, no, that's not the truth. Because I love all y' all to say, even though. Even though that's a lie.

[A]

It was because you were raised by your grandmother.

[B]

I absolutely was.

[A]

And I'm gonna say this. People sometimes that are raised men. I'm gonna say men.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Because I'm a man. You're a man.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Men that are sometimes raised by a grandmother sometimes suffer trauma from the other side of the family that affects them as they get older. And I think that kind of happened.

[B]

Manifested.

[A]

Yeah. You have to adjust. And like I said, I'm not trying to make this a Down Debbie conversation, but we speak in truth. And I don't get to do this.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I don't get to let my friends know who I am.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, I don't. You know, I beat to the beat of my own drums.

[B]

Is that why you. Is that why you're so animated? You're so hyped? You're sweating like a Baptist minister at revival?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is that why you're so animated? You're so engaged with your audience? Because all this trauma, all this stuff is built up in your personal life? And now I get to be the real Arne FJ out here in front of 10,000, 15,000 people?

[A]

I think when I do that also that. I think that's part of it. I think there's a lot of Part of it, though. But I think I take on this armor, and I even tell my friends sometimes, you here. You made it here. Now I got you. Release everything that's going on wrong with you. Let it. Let it come into me. I got it.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

Then I'm gonna turn it around, spin it out differently. Because, like, Rod and I were talking, and we were talking, I said, well, there's a lot of people that the comedy world where I'm at, because I can't say nothing about the music world, because I'm not in the music world.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

But I'm in this comedy world.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I done been there from the very early to the now. The comedians nowadays, are they lazy? I think so. Internet has helped them be lazy.

[B]

Mm. I get that.

[A]

When we used to do comedy, you had to grind, Jay. Grind to get three to five minutes. I never. That's why I know God has me in a different. Different light in a different way. I never featured one time, meaning I featured one time in a club comedy club, which is in Mobile, Alabama. I featured one time after that. I said, I'm not featuring for nobody else. I'm the one that got myself into the clubs. A lot of these cats nowadays, they can't really get themselves in the club. They need agents and management or whatever. I got myself into a club, then I got management. This is a cutthroat business. A lot of these comedians that are out here, and it's sad. There's a lot of great comedians, but unfortunately, somebody asked me, do comedians want other comedians to fail? Hell, yes, they do.

[B]

I'm glad you brought that up, because, you know, I had cat on here.

[A]

I do.

[B]

And a lot of.

[A]

I think the world know you had him on there.

[B]

But, Jay, people got mad at me because they said I shouldn't allow him. I was like, wait a minute.

[A]

Wait, wait. You shouldn't allow him to do what?

[B]

I shouldn't allow him to say what he said about those comedians. Why? I was like, y' all make it seem like I knew what he was gonna say.

[A]

Can we be honest?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That was the best thing that you did. It was monetarily also.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So was there a moral involved in that? I don't know. Cause I don't really know. You like that, right? Would anybody else might have done that same thing? Hell, yeah, they would've.

[B]

So you. A lot of people, and I believe a lot of people that was in the space that I do do podcasting, I believe they got upset with me because he didn't say what he said on their podcast. He Said it on mine, and I got the benefit from it. But there have been comedians that said, oh, he shouldn't have said that. He should have checked him. I was like, bro, how do I.

[A]

And who. Wait, who are those comedians that said.

[B]

I don't want to get.

[A]

No, no, no, I'm not gonna talk about them. But the reason I asked you that, because then I can give you a revelation to that.

[B]

But I know, because I think a lot of the comedians were close to the comedians that he was talking about.

[A]

There lies in the problem. There lies in the problem of I know Kat, I know Kevin, I know Mike. Steve said, I know all of them, but when they beef with each other, I know all them. I love this man here. I love that man there. But I also know you are what he said you are. You do what you said he did. That's yalls beef. That's not for me to get involved. Do I want y' all to do it? No, I do not. I do not want you to do it. It's how you handle the adversity that's put upon you. If you're gonna do what you're gonna do, you're gonna do what you're gonna do.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

But always expect something to come back. Something to come back. If you can expect it, then you can sleep. But if you get in shock mode, say, I can't believe this happened. You ain't gonna have no good night's sleep. You ain't gonna have no good night's sleep.

[B]

I think in a large part because like you said, you can't speak to the music industry because you're not in it. You can't speak to say whatever else because you're not in it. You're in the comedy space. So you knew a lot of this. I don't believe the outside world knew a lot of this. And what Kat did, of course they didn't. Cat peeled back the COVID and allow people that's not in that comedy space to see that there's this animosity going on. And a lot of people say, well, he shouldn't have said that. He should have just gone to the individual and whatever personal issue he might have had with, he should have addressed it. That's what they telling me. But I'm like, bro, why? I was like, I didn't.

[A]

Everybody always needs to talk. Yeah, Everybody always needs to say something. Everybody always needs to offer that information, what they think, how it should be. If y' all don't want this, then stop watching social media. Get rid of it. But you want it because there's always something interesting on it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. He did it on your show.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

It was that time, I guess.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I can't get mad at you. I might even have it. I might. I may even have an opinion to say, you know what? Yeah. Maybe you let them go a bit too far. I could say that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But I can't say that because then I wonder. They say, well, what? You know what? You know what? I can't stand what people do. I wouldn'ta. That's that word. I wouldna. Who in the is. I wouldn'ta. I know you did.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I know that 5 million went to somebody's pocket. I know it didn't go to somebody else's pocket.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know what a lot of comedians hate?

[B]

What?

[A]

When somebody says, oh, he's funny, or she's funny, but they didn't mention their name.

[B]

I got that too.

[A]

They didn't mention their name. You know what a comedian may say, oh, he's all right, or she's all right. That's deep animosity. Me, I don't watch other comedians.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Nah. I don't watch him. People at one time, long time when I was gonna come, and it's mainly a lot of LA comics, used to say, oh, he's stealing material. I do it in front of you, you know, and. And then you have to show them you're not the one to be played with.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And being that I was always kind of by myself, but I walked by myself. I walked in a crowd by myself. Somebody said, oh, man, somebody looking for you. Really? So when I seen him, I heard you looking for me. What up?

[B]

Nah, nah, we good.

[A]

But it's just like. It's just like when you had Ocho. You doing something with Ocho?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the brother told me he's gonna knock him out or whatever the case may be. Y' all tried to demean Ocho by saying he'll hurt you.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But you couldn't take Ocho's heart.

[B]

No.

[A]

Even though. Even though he may think this brother might hurt me.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Why in the world would he allow you to see that?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Shannon, you're a big dude. If you talking shit to me right now, you think I'm gonna run out this room, I'm gonna start taking stuff off. What are we going to do?

[B]

It'll take you a while to get that.

[A]

No, I'm going to leave this on. I might use this. Bitch. Did you see this rock? Oh, and this? Beautiful. I think it's beautiful.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Was made by a brother. Two brothers in Atlanta, Georgia. And that thing is called Rod. Got the name for me. He's going to give it to me. They made this especially for me.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I told him I had this, my watch on. I said I want to kind of go with the watch.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Had this done in three days. And what's that? Instagram. Yeah.

[B]

John.

[A]

John set 75. John set 75. So in case you want. He makes bracelets. Makes the chains. Good brother.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Chatty, but a good brother. Yeah.

[B]

You want something big to be seen.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Because everybody ain't got muscles. Everybody got these things he got. I know you got. But that's all right, everybody.

[B]

So when you saw the cat video, talk to me. What did you do? You like? Oh, my goodness. Oh, cat. Don't let the cat. Here's a real.

[A]

You wanna know my opinion?

[B]

Yes. What did you think? Did you. I mean, did you really know it was like this?

[A]

Arnaz, I know he lied when he said he was running that 4:2.

[B]

I know he said he can beat you.

[A]

No, that's a triple lie. Kevin Hart, Katt Williams and Arnes J raced during a show, Right. I think it was Cleveland. I can't remember. You asked both of them who won. You outran Kat and I'm older than both of them.

[B]

You outran Cat and Kevin Hart.

[A]

You don't wanna mess with that. Right there. You don't wanna mess with that, cuz you don't wanna mess with that. These are Slim Jims. You don't wanna mess with a Slim Jim. So you have to realize I ran track, I played baseball, but that was. I played football. I could give a less if it was right before Jesus graduated. I still did it.

[B]

How do you know they did? Kev went out for the basketball team.

[A]

Kev, come play a little ball. Yeah, yeah. But we talking running.

[B]

But you saw Kev random jumpers. He was with Lethal Shooter. Random dropping threes at the top of the key.

[A]

You saw it? I got mine on film.

[B]

You saw it?

[A]

I got mine on film. I told this dude, get it out the net. Before I shot it. Then I shot one. It was in there. I said go. Why you move to the left, it's coming down.

[B]

This man.

[A]

One thing I ain't gonna do is lie.

[B]

Well, since you're not gonna lie, when you heard him going in on certain people that he was talking about, what is your opinion? What like you said, what you not going to do is what he should have done or what he shouldn't have done. What was your opinion on the conversation? He and I was having my.

[A]

My. My thing. When I heard it, I said, okay, it's. The can is open now. But see, you have to realize with me, I don't get involved with that. See, here's the problem. A lot of people have a lot of comedians, and they come into the game real young and stuff. I mean, I was young and stuff, but I was already married with a child. I was already doing a man's life, okay? I didn't have a bunch of family that was coming like Wayne brothers. I didn't have all of that. I didn't have a big family like that. I had RNSJ and who he's taking care of.

[B]

Right.

[A]

My thing was to take care, Let me do my job and go home. Did I up sometime? You damn straight I did.

[B]

Right?

[A]

But it happens, right? It's how you deal with it. No, I don't want. No, no, I didn't click. I'm not a clicker, okay? I don't have time to click. I have time to do a job and get it done. People say, why aren't you in more movies? There's a lot of reasons why I'm not in more movies. Some people at one point, at one point said, well, he can't act. Well, I know that's a lie. Some of the best acting is not acting, is being who you are.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

All this stuff doesn't happen now. Now the flowers are coming. People call me Triple OG and everything else and give me the respect people Instagram and say, hey, man, I apologize for this back then. Once again, I'm not the fire starter. If you respect me, I give you the respect. I go to battle for you. But you try to demean me. You can't demean something that God created that will not be demeaned. Do you realize how many people, and as well as in your case, want to see you not succeed?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That's why my special is called Not Gonna Stop. I'll probably be telling jokes when I'm in my coffin. I don't know. Something may happen, right? I may turn a flip in that bad boy. Who knows? I don't know. But what I'm saying, in this business, Shannon, there's so many people that want other people to fail that they might have a chance to succeed.

[B]

Did you know it was like this when you got into business? Was it always like this?

[A]

I started finding out, yes. Oh, yes. Especially when people become territorial. There's people who used to Think LA comics were the funniest comics in the world, that it had to go through them?

[B]

What?

[A]

Man, I'll tell you some stories. Blow your mind. Some of that stuff Cat got ain't ain't shit. What I.

[B]

What you got stuff?

[A]

No, it ain't happened. But.

[B]

No, but I tell you what. But hold on. You and Ricky Smiler had an issue. Y' all put it to bed after 20 years. How did y' all come to us? Like, you know what, man? Come on, man. We grown, we got grand.

[A]

How do you really wanna ask that question?

[B]

Well, Dar, how I really wanna ask it?

[A]

How you wanna ask it? Don't sugarcoat what caused the beef.

[B]

And then who. What idea was it was to squash the beef after 20 years?

[A]

Well, Ricky can say I caused it. And I'm damn gonna say he caused it.

[B]

Right?

[A]

It started out of Atlanta. And that's when you should have asked Kat and DL what happened. It was. He got a misunderstanding. But the problem that I had was. You have the misunderstanding, like you said, come to me, right? But he went to the black social media and said, I disrespect it. And here's where the problem came in in the Atlanta Constitution. Here's where the problem came in. You didn't give me a chance to say nothing.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know why? I was on a Tom Joyner cruise where we both were supposed to be, right? He didn't come. I went. I can't defend myself. I'm on the ocean. But they printed it anyway. But everybody know him. Everybody know me, so to say. And we were young, but still I was fine. I'm always fine. I'm only not fine until you come in my zone and you come up with the wrong intentions. It was squashed because God says it. God said it was time. We were on a plane.

[B]

You both happened to be on the plane.

[A]

Check this out. We were both on the plane. I sat in the wrong seat.

[B]

Look at him. Won't he do it?

[A]

Do it when he want to.

[B]

And he ended up having to sit next to you.

[A]

No, I sat in the wrong seat.

[B]

Yes. And then Ricky end up sitting next to you, right?

[A]

Because I went to my seat and I sat down and I didn't even know it was him. And he turned and said, arnaz, I don't know if it was nerves or if it was. Cause I'm out the Poke Bean projects and you that close.

[B]

To poker.

[A]

Beans.

[B]

We.

[A]

We laughed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I'm not going to sit up here. We laughed. We. You know, I can Call him. He can call me. But people have to realize one thing about fans. Fans aren't stupid. They really are. And my fans, I don't call fans. And I apologize. My fans are fans. That's how I feel about when I perform for them. I'm performing for them. Yeah, you paid your money. But I'm. I'm.

[B]

I wish you get your money worth.

[A]

Whatever happened to you at your job? I got you today. You know, you broke up with somebody. I got you today. I give, man. Do you realize it's.

[B]

It.

[A]

Like a lot of people don't see me dress like this? People know that I can dress. I wear certain things accordingly.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

I dress to my own beat. Yes, your little smart ass. I dress to the way that I feel. Yes. I feel like a black king right now. Yeah. I feel like a sugar booger right now. Yeah. I feel like the pimp of the slimps right now. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like I just walked out of the 60s right now. Yeah. I feel that. I feel that.

[B]

That's how you feel.

[A]

I feel that. I mean, everybody can't wear golf gear and look like that. Everybody can't wear old golf gear. I bet you ain't got one pair of loose underwear. I bet you all of them tight.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I'm still.

[B]

I'm still fairly young. I don't wear. I wear boxes to bed, but, you know, I don't wear boxes out in the street.

[A]

Neither do I. I wear tights.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

See?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you older than me.

[A]

Yeah, but that's okay. That's okay. I still beat your arm wrestling, though. That happened. Yeah, I could.

[B]

Let me ask you a question. You joke telling. Let's go with joke stealing first.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Where are you on joke stealing? Because, look, I've had a lot of. Like I said, you know, I've had a lot of comedians on here, and some says, okay, it's not. Is that your only joke? Is that the last joke you're gonna ever tell? If it's not, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Some say no. Hell to the nah. You ain't been to steal it and try to rearrange and make it this and say that when you know the premise of that joke is mine.

[A]

So what are you asking me?

[B]

I'm asking you, where are you on this joke stealing?

[A]

I'm very agitated about joke stealing. Watch this. I know you ain't putting the camera. Roderick, how do I feel about joke stealing? You are. You are dead set against it. I took somebody Up. I took somebody off my crew who I love because they did a joke that somebody did and they couldn't understand what was the problem. I said, I tell you what, you go home and sit about a month, you come back, you keep looking at it, you sit about a month, then you come back to me, tell me what's going on. It is a must that you be original, as original as you can be. I'm not saying people don't sometimes have a concept.

[B]

Yeah. Because.

[A]

I mean, because black people have every. Everybody black know about Kool Aid. Great Kool Aid, bologna sandwiches.

[B]

Yes, yes.

[A]

But it's how you do it. You know when that. You know when it belongs to somebody else, you do. You know when it belongs to somebody else, you do. No matter how all the excuses you try to make, you know when it belongs to somebody else. But yet you want to go. You think because you get a laugh for it, you don't blow the worst thing. I hate when a comedian says, I ripped it. I've never said that. I've never said that. I've never said I ripped it. I never said I tore the house down. I look at a comedy as a war sometime. I want you to be good. If I go behind you, I'm coming with everything I got. If I go in front of you, stand by and be ready.

[B]

So it doesn't really matter where you go in the show.

[A]

It does not. Because a lot of people say, well, Jay, you should have closed the show. That ain't.

[B]

That's not for you to decide.

[A]

That's not for me to decide. What decides? That is my contract. I go where I think the money is right for me. You want me to close? I don't have a problem with that. But you are going to pay me to be in that position because there's a lot that comes along with that.

[B]

Okay, Okay, I see.

[A]

Everybody's not a closer. I don't care how much television you got. These streets is war out here. When you step on that stage, that's war. Oh, you leave that television behind. I hope you ain't got in the car with. You leave that television behind because you know why you leave it behind? Because that's what they saw on tv. Now they're getting ready to see you live. What you gonna do.

[B]

It's a big difference performing in front of that tube as opposed to in front of them. 10,000.

[A]

It's a big difference to perform in front of your family on the porch than it is when you're getting paid for it. To do it professionally. Everybody's in the comedy game. Shouldn't be in the comedy game.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Everybody that's in the comedy game should not be in a comedy game. Do your due diligence, serve yourself, sweat. And I'm not. I'm not saying any particular person, right? I'm saying what it is. But when a comedian says to me, I ripped it, I just.

[B]

Oh, really? Huh.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Because you've been at this thing 34, 35 years. You've seen the evolution of joke telling.

[A]

I have.

[B]

There are jokes that you could tell in 1990, 1995, and 2000 you can't do now. You better not touch in 2020.

[A]

But here's the thing.

[B]

What's that?

[A]

That's where the word relevance come in. Can you be relevant? Why do you think people won't let go of Rodney? Why do you think they won't let me allow him to rest in peace? Because he's evolution. No matter if it's back then or if it's now, they don't care about what you're talking about. They just care about that it's Rodney, right? When you do. Like I said, I don't target people. I don't talk about a person's demise. If you are gonna talk about murder, debt, I don't talk about death. But if you're gonna do it, make sure you're ready for the response you're gonna get. Make sure you're ready to do that like it's supposed to be told. Cause you can make death funny. But don't go in there just because you done seen it. You automatically think, oh, this is what I'm gonna say, right? Cause it don't work that way. It don't work that way.

[B]

How have Arne SJ had to evolve? Because like you said, there are some jokes that you could tell back then that you wouldn't say it, that you brought the house down or you ripped it. So how have you had to evolve knowing that, you know. You know, joke, even gay jokes, you like, you. You made fun of gay mannerisms.

[A]

I sure do. You know why?

[B]

Why?

[A]

Because that's around me, right? I grew up with it, okay? I'm allowed to talk about people that are challenged. I grew up around it, right? It's in my family. It gives me the right.

[B]

Right? And there's intimate, personal knowledge about it. Because you, like you said, you grew up around it.

[A]

I grew up around. I saw it.

[B]

My uncle.

[A]

My uncle, man. Let me tell you something. I went back home one time in Florida One of my cousins. I walked to the living room, I asked my Uncle Font. I said, uncle Font? I said, who. Who. Who's that girl in there? He just walked up and said, boy, that's your cousin. I said, who? That's your cousin. I said, who? What son you think I got? That would be your cousin. I looked back and I said, nigga, you lying. He completely transgendered over. Think I wasn't gonna get it?

[B]

First chance gonna get it.

[A]

But I had to be around him.

[B]

To get it, right?

[A]

See, I don't. I don't. I gotta be around it.

[B]

So you don't make jokes about things that you have that you don't have a per. Intimate or personal knowledge. Because had Quake and had Bruce Bruce, two of my favorites. I saw them and I gotta get to one of your shows. They said their job is to take real life events and make em funny. You being around that situation, you being around Rodney, you being around your cousin, your Uncle Charlie. Yeah, you around that. You saw that. You picked up on that. That's years and years.

[A]

And everybody has an Uncle Charlie. Everybody's black anyway. Even somebody white may have an Uncle Charlie, right? Always. In Africa, they wear their pants high. Yeah, on purpose.

[B]

So when you. When you made the joke about your cousin, did he know you were joking about him? Has he ever said anything about.

[A]

Come on, bro, you let that go. I ain't saying nothing to me. Mm mm. He's the one I talk about when he. When he says something, he always points to the left. Every time, never goes to the right. I would, hmm. And looks you dead in your face. You could be at the table eating. What'd you. What'd you say?

[B]

Africa.

[A]

A lot of Africans love me, and I love them. But they funny, right? African dudes lie all the time. I'm not saying all of them, but they lie. That was talking about what they got. But you had TSA working, huh? What did I say? So one half a dude told me one time, scanner went up. He was like, come forward, come forward. You know, that's cool, but you ain't got to talk to me like that. No, no, no, no. He said, buck up, Buckle. Buck up, buck up. I said, okay. He said, come forward, come forward. I said, man, you ain't got to do all that. Come forward. I'm the supervisor.

[B]

I said, no.

[A]

I'm not going to come forward. I remember you. Oh, he got mad. He got mad.

[B]

Do you ever get hate mail for doing a joke or talking about, I don't know, like you say you say, I don't know. You say your job. You're not trying to do. Demeanor.

[A]

I got one. One email that I know of in 35 years. Three years ago, from a family that lived in Australia.

[B]

Damn.

[A]

Said we saw him and he wasn't who we thought he was.

[B]

Where did they think you were?

[A]

I don't know. I don't know. Maybe they. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know, Shannon.

[B]

But other comedians, because you did, and you had the mannerism down to a T, they thought you were gay. What?

[A]

They thought I was gay before I was a comedian. Before I was a comedian.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Here's a funny story, and I hope he see this. You know I don't do names, right? This comedian trying to get with a girl.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That was just a good friend that we knew.

[B]

I know he didn't do what I think.

[A]

Yes, he did.

[B]

He didn't tell her you would.

[A]

Yes, he did. And the word he used was Arnaz.

[B]

J.

[A]

That's a friend of yours? Oh, he a. That's why you gotta watch who you run your mouth, too. He said, oh, he'll.

[B]

Yeah, he like.

[A]

He like. He like boys.

[B]

Really?

[A]

So this is why I say, God is great. We were doing a show, uh, oh, in Philadelphia. Think we had Tulane, college. He just happened to be on the show. Rod was in the room. He came in to knock on the door. Hey, man. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

[B]

Like, ain't nothing. Like he ain't nothing. Like he ain't say what he say.

[A]

I said, thank you, Jesus. I ain't got to go to his room. I said, rod, I need you to step out for a minute. I need you to step out for a minute. So I looked at him and I looked at him just like that. I sat down. He's like, where you are? He said, yeah, yeah, what's up? I said, I'll tell you what. We can handle this one of two ways, but it's going to get handled. We can talk about it like grown men or we can go to the street. And I said, and you know me, you know, I'm praying that you want to go to the street with it. So I'm a man. And he just knew. And he went, what? I said, what? Who's What? I'm a. I like boys. Oh, man. I was just. You were just trying to. What? I said, I've been nothing but nice to you and your son ever. But I tell you what, though, you needed to say that to a woman about another Man. So you could think that was gonna get you somewhere or you just being hateful? I said, that's what little do.

[B]

Are.

[A]

You a. I said, I think so.

[B]

Damn.

[A]

Don't like that, Artie. I said, I think so.

[B]

What'd he say? Crying.

[A]

I didn't say that. You did.

[B]

You cried out there.

[A]

I'm just saying.

[B]

He apologized.

[A]

Yeah, he apologized.

[B]

You want to do it like Harlem knights? And I want everything you took here tonight and everything you took in all week, nigga.

[A]

That's funny. That's funny to me. No, he ain't nothing. I want it on. He ain't have nothing.

[B]

So let me ask you.

[A]

So he's wearing tennis shoes.

[B]

So let me ask you a question. After that point, did he ever say anything else to you? Y' all cool now?

[A]

No, we're not. Cause, I mean, we're cool, right? But I got the feeling he wasn't sincere. It was that in the moment. And the walls were in on him. Cause I'm like, why? And I even asked, why would you do something like that? What inspires you to do that? Bro, it's hard enough out here, but we banging on each other now.

[B]

About a brawl, too.

[A]

Yeah, about. About a woman that you want to get with.

[B]

Now, you had happened, though, J.

[A]

I in my life, ain't never dogged another man to get with a woman.

[B]

Nope. Nope, it ain't.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Nope.

[A]

I'm the type of dude, back in the day, a woman looked at me, like, outside. I was like, I'm side eye, too. My mama told me I was cute, too. I don't know what the hell you.

[B]

No should have did.

[A]

Just like my cousin.

[B]

No, I don't believe in that. I don't believe in that.

[A]

That is a code.

[B]

Yes. What?

[A]

It used to be that used to be.

[B]

It used to be.

[A]

Used to be.

[B]

Because.

[A]

And why did it change? When did it change? Why is it changing?

[B]

I have no idea. Because even if. Even if a guy had a girl and they're not together and she come ask me, I know you knew what I know. Oh, I know you knew. He had such and such. I don't know nothing.

[A]

First of all, bet no female ever walk up with me like that. Yeah, but.

[B]

Because they want you.

[A]

Because, first of all, if that's my friend, that's my friend. Don't walk up on me and ask me something crazy. They have.

[B]

They already know. Don't ask me. I had homeboy say, I ain't going to even ask Shannon, because I already know he going to lie. I met. I met you through him. My loyalties are to him.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Never. I'm never going. I've never said anything. I say never. And I hate saying never. All or every.

[A]

Gotcha. I got you.

[B]

But you not fitting to get me to talk bad about somebody else just so I can get in a favorable position with someone else.

[A]

That ain't how it work, boy. I wish you had more time on there. There's some boys. Oh, but see, young, youngs. I could they.

[B]

They doing that now, though. They do that. This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you can. You just listen to part one on. Just simply go back to Club Shay profile and I'll see you there.

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.