TCB Infomercial: Donnell Rawlings

Summary

The Commercial Break — TCB Infomercial: Donnell Rawlings

Episode Date: July 1, 2025
Hosts: Bryan Green & Kristen Joy Hoadley
Guest: Donnell Rawlings

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Overview

In this lively, laughter-filled infomercial episode, Bryan and Krissy welcome renowned comedian and actor Donnell Rawlings—the “Ashy Larry” of Chappelle’s Show fame. The hosts dive into Donnell’s comedic origins, his experience in the military, family and fatherhood, stories from The Wire and Chappelle’s Show, the realities of stand-up comedy, and navigating internet drama. Throughout, classic TCB banter complements Donnell’s signature wit and candid storytelling, making the episode both insightful and disarmingly funny.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

Donnell’s Stand-Up Persona and “Jungle Fever” Bit

[00:00–01:39]

• Donnell opens with a signature bit on “jungle fever” (interracial dating) and his humorous obsession with Starbucks and farmer’s markets:
  • Quote: “I used to go hunting for white chicks... had a Bruce Springsteen T-shirt, cut-off shorts... White chicks love kale and gluten free. A year ago, I didn’t even know what gluten free meant.” (Donnell, 00:00)
• Jokes about the differences in dating and cultural trends, setting the irreverent, self-deprecating tone that continues throughout the episode.

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On “Sounding Wise” and Jamaican Accents

[01:39–02:25]

• Bryan and Donnell riff on the profundity of Jamaican accents in comedy.
  • Quote: “If one man put one burger on one bun with one piece of cheese, what do you have? You have a cheeseburger, man.” (Donnell, recalling a past bit, 02:02)

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Introducing Donnell’s Comedy Career

[02:33–06:36]

• Bryan and Krissy hype Donnell’s body of work—Chappelle’s Show, The Wire, The Corner, stand-up, and his legendary “I’m rich, b*tch!” tagline.
• Discuss Donnell's lasting influence as a comic, his acting work, and the anticipation for learning about his unique journey into comedy.

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Military Service and Pat patriotism

[07:31–11:10]

• Donnell shares his unvarnished take on joining the military:
  • Quote: “I was in the military, but I wasn’t patriotic... Black folks and white folks go in the military for two different reasons ... You’d expect me, future comedian, to protect you or keep you safe, you better off committing suicide.” (Donnell, 08:16, 08:25)
• Tells a hilarious story about repeatedly “dying” during training exercises in Korea and how, for him and many peers, the military was a stepping stone rather than a calling.
  • Quote: “Every time we did an exercise, I died. Within the first minutes of the war, I was dead... All the black guys were in the gym talking about money.” (Donnell, 09:37)

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Parenting and the Chaos of Stand-up Gigs

[11:09–14:36]

• The group discusses Donnell’s viral video from a Texas Improv show, where a fight broke out:
  • Quote: “I saw a couple people get up... and next thing you know, it went crazy.” (Donnell, 12:07)
  • He handled it improvisationally, singing Bill Withers’s “Lean On Me” as audience members took shelter on stage:
    Quote: “A group of women just jumped behind me on stage... I wanted to tell them, you do know that I’m not patriotic, right?” (Donnell, 13:23–13:31)
• Reflects on unpredictability in live shows—adjusting and improvising are essential comic skills.

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On Open Carry, Upbringings & Stage Survival

[14:12–15:44]

• Recounting experiences with gun laws and violence, the hosts and Donnell discuss the cultural differences between cities.
  • Quote (joking on Chicago roots): “Oh, you’re so privileged. You probably had both your parents too. You so lucky.” (Donnell, 15:38)

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Acting on ‘The Wire’ and ‘The Corner’

[16:24–20:52]

• Donnell details his noteworthy roles in The Corner and The Wire, including how he unintentionally landed the role, not by traditional auditioning, but by “throwing away” the lines for a more authentic portrayal.
  • Quote: “Like most [actors auditioning]... played into the stereotype. They wanted to see the human side… and I think me throwing the lines away landed that role.” (Donnell, 17:14)
• Shares how Baltimore’s tourism board pushed to change the show’s narrative from drug violence, affecting his character’s arc, but creator David Simon ensured he stayed involved.

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Fatherhood, Family Structure, and Co-Parenting

[20:52–27:05]

• Donnell discusses how having a son later in life reshaped (but didn’t fundamentally alter) his focus and brought a deeper sense of responsibility.
  • Quote: “When you have a kid... the lens goes from a wide lens to a very, very fine-tuned [one].” (Donnell, 21:18)
• Candidly describes co-parenting after separation and making family memories, referencing his own complex relationship with his father—a heroin kingpin in D.C.—and his social worker mother:
  • Quote: “He was a heroin kingpin and my mother was a social worker, and they had the same clients.” (Donnell, 22:27)
• Emphasizes the importance of shared experiences:
  • “When he says family, he doesn’t separate me from his mom. And he knows family means us together.” (Donnell, 24:03)

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From Heckler to Headliner: Donnell’s Comedy Origins

[27:55–30:36]

• Donnell started comedy as a notorious heckler in D.C. clubs, eventually moving onstage after drawing crowds just for his heckling.
  • Quote: “I started becoming good at heckling. People started actually coming [to hear me heckle]. I was so good at destroying those shows... I went to the club owner and tried to get a door deal.” (Donnell, 29:00)
  • His first time on the mic, he got a standing ovation, realizing instantly he’d found his calling.

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Keys to Comedy Success & “Burning the Bridge”

[30:36–32:03]

• Advice to aspiring comedians: embrace being broke and don’t give yourself a Plan B.
  • Quote: “If you give yourself other options, it’s likely you’ll get other options... burn the bridge, that way you know you can’t go back.” (Donnell, 31:02)

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Career Highlights: Chappelle’s Show, ‘Soul’, and More

[32:12–36:21]

• Reflects on favorite projects: The Wire, The Corner, and especially Chappelle’s Show:
  • Quote: “When I was on the show, I was on the show... and I used to go to the set just to hang out for the free food and my boys.”
• Shares his pride in voicing a character in Pixar’s Soul, which earned his son’s admiration.
  • Quote: “My son didn’t have respect for Chappelle Show, The Wire... But the minute I was on Soul… now it’s like ‘my dad is in that movie.’” (Donnell, 33:47)

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Chappelle Show Backstory & Relationships in Comedy

[36:52–40:24]

• Details his connection with Dave Chappelle through the D.C. scene; their mutual competitive respect.
• Credits Neil Brennan for “tossing him a bone” that landed him on Chappelle’s Show.

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The Grind: Life on the Road, Podcasting, and “Mailbox Money”

[40:24–44:49]

• Donnell still tours heavily, even as a father, but tries to find balance.
• Reluctantly embraced podcasting, realizing its profit potential as a form of “mailbox money.”
  • Quote: “The number one thing [in podcasting] you got to do: the consistency... it’s just right there... mailbox money.” (Donnell, 44:49)

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Internet Drama, Clickbait, and ‘Kill Tony’ Feud

[45:05–48:41]

• Opens up about controversy with the ‘Kill Tony’ podcast—how edited clips painted him as a villain and fans latched onto the narrative:
  • Quote: “...They edited this video, this clip that went viral, and they made it look like the guy was roasting me and I walked off and stormed off.” (Donnell, 46:39)
• Reflects on the toxic side of “roast” culture and why he avoids unnecessary drama:
  • “They say, ‘These are just jokes.’ Yeah, but they hurt. And a punch in the face hurts, too. So let’s just avoid.” (Donnell, 48:24–48:34)

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Touring & Reconnecting with Atlanta

[49:04–49:51]

• Announces upcoming gigs in Atlanta, expressing his fondness for the city and the Laughing Skull Lounge.
• Bryan and Krissy invite Donnell to join a future in-person show there.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “I used to go hunting for white chicks... had a Bruce Springsteen T-shirt… White chicks love kale and gluten free. A year ago, I didn't even know what gluten free meant.”
  Donnell Rawlings, 00:00
• “I was in the military, but I wasn't patriotic... You'd expect me, future comedian, to protect you or keep you safe, you better off committing suicide.”
  Donnell, 08:16–08:25
• “Every time we did an exercise, I died... All the black guys were in the gym talking about money.”
  Donnell, 09:37
• “If you give yourself other options, it's likely you'll get other options... burn the bridge, that way you know you can't go back.”
  Donnell, 31:02
• “My son didn't have respect for Chappelle Show, The Wire... But the minute I was on Soul… now it's like 'my dad is in that movie.'”
  Donnell, 33:47
• “They edited this video, this clip that went viral, and they made it look like the guy was roasting me and I walked off and stormed off.”
  Donnell, 46:39
• “They say, ‘These are just jokes.’ Yeah, but they hurt. And a punch in the face hurts, too. So let's just avoid.”
  Donnell, 48:33

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Donnell’s opening “jungle fever” comedy bit: [00:00–01:39]
• Jamaican wisdom riff: [01:39–02:25, 31:02–32:03]
• Donnell’s military stories: [07:46–11:10]
• The Improv incident (brawl at a show): [11:09–14:36]
• His journey on ‘The Wire’/‘The Corner’: [16:24–20:52]
• Reflections on fatherhood & co-parenting: [20:52–27:05]
• Comedy origins, heckling career: [27:55–30:36]
• Career highlights & ‘Soul’ voice acting: [32:12–36:21]
• Chappelle Show backstory: [36:52–40:24]
• Podcasting & “mailbox money”: [41:24–44:49]
• Kill Tony/Clickbait controversy: [45:05–48:41]
• Upcoming Atlanta shows & invitation: [49:04–49:51]

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Takeaways

• Donnell Rawlings strips away celebrity veneer, telling stories with rooted honesty, sharp observational humor, and self-awareness.
• He gives invaluable advice for would-be comics: own your path, be ready for struggle, and commit fully.
• The show’s blend of raw, candid discussion and hilarious anecdotes—plus the hosts’ easy camaraderie—highlights why The Commercial Break stands out among comedy podcasts.

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For more laughs and information on Donnell Rawlings:

• Check his latest special, social media, and podcasts in the show notes!
• Catch him live on tour, especially if you’re in Atlanta.

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End Note:
This episode is rich in Donnell’s comedic storytelling, practical wisdom, and the authentic chaos TCB fans love. Whether you’re a fan of Chappelle’s Show, The Wire, or just great stand-up, this conversation is both a masterclass in resilience and a wild comedic ride.

Transcript

[Donnell Rawlings]

There's a lot of white chicks here in Montreal. O.J. simpson would have a field day out here because he had jungle fever. Jungle fever is interracial dating. I had jungle fever before. I had it for two years. I don't know where I caught it. I'm sure it was Starbucks. It had to be Starbucks. I used to go to Starbucks every morning. I used to hide behind a plastic plant just waiting for them to come in with them lemon Lulu yoga pants and them Ugg boots. And I used to wait for them to call a coffee order. They'd be like, double frappuccino for Amber. I'm like, oh, I had jungle fever so bad. I used to go hunting for white chicks. I used to go to the farmer's market every Sunday, six o' clock in the morning. I had the farmer's market outfit on. I had a baseball cap. I kept squeezing the brim, make it look like a Hootie. And a blowfish hat. I had a Bruce Springsteen T shirt, cut off shorts. I had flip flops, Pilates ball under one arm, I had a yoga mat. On the other arm, I had a recycled bag made out of a recycled bag that was just recycled with a whole bunch of kale and gluten free stuff. White chicks love kale and gluten free. A year ago, I didn't even know what gluten free meant. This dude said gluten free. I was like, how long was he locked up, dawg? On this episode of the commercial break.

[Brian Green]

You know, Jamaican guys, like, they sound very wise because of that accent. I just gotta admit it. They could say anything and it would sound like wisdom. I went to Jamaica once and there was a guy that was talking to me and I couldn't tell you half of the stuff that he was saying, but I felt it was profound because of the way he was saying it. Yes. Whatever you're saying, that's. That is. That is pretty wise.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah, that's so funny because I used to have a bit about that. I was like a Jamaican be like, if one man put one burger on one bun with one piece of cheese, what do you have? You have a cheeseburger, man.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

That's awesome.

[Donnell Rawlings]

The next episode of the commercial break starts now.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah. Cats and kittens. Welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green. This is my dear friend and the co host of this show, Kristen Joy Hoadley. Best to you, Chris.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Bestie.

[Brian Green]

Brian, best to you out there in the podcast universe. Thanks for joining us on a TCB infomercial Tuesday with Donnell Rawlings. I mean, a. A generational comic. A guy who only comes around once in a generation.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

His body of work is his body.

[Brian Green]

And his body of work, pages and pages. And actor heckler, former air force police sergeant, comics, stand up comedy, all the things. The Chappelle show, the Wire.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

The wire, yep.

[Brian Green]

The corner, which I never heard about until Chrissy started talking about, but we'll talk to him about that if we get into it. And stand up comic. He's currently out there on the road. He's got a brand new special links in the show. Notes. Donnell has been on the Chappelle show. I'm rich, bitch. Yep, that's his tagline. You all know it. Ashy Larry.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Ashy Larry.

[Brian Green]

Ashy Larry. He was ashy lar. He was all the thing. I mean, the guy is like, quite frankly, I'm.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I'm a little.

[Brian Green]

I got goosebumps that even Donnell even agreed to come on the commercial break. Clearly this is a mistake and we better do it quickly before he changes his mind. And we'll talk to Donnell about all of those things. Can't wait. I actually saw Donnell was with Joe List, Rory Scoville, Mark Normand, and that guy who plays Dr. Phil worse than I do. I play Dr. Phil much better than he does. But, you know, he's made up Adam. Adam Ray. Adam Ray comedy. Adam Ray comedy on Instagram, if you want to follow him. He's become Dr. Phil. He's had Dr. Phil on the Dr. Phil Show. Yes, he has.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

That's funny.

[Brian Green]

He plays Dr. Phil. He has a, you know, he puts on a bald cap and mustache and he does a really good Dr. Phil impression and he's become this character and he's selling out theaters being Dr. Phil, essentially. The comic Dr. Phil, obviously, but he had Dr. Phil on the Dr. Phil show. Lots of other famous people have showed up. He is like an offshoot of Kill Tony. Want to ask Donnell about Kill Ton? Because there was a dust up online at some point about Kill Tony. We'll ask him about that and what exactly the drama is there. We're not a drama show. But we should ask him, Chrissy.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, we should scratch the edge.

[Brian Green]

We should scratch the surface. We'll scratch the surface. We'll get into clickbait real quick and then we'll dive out. We'll go in and then we'll get out. Yeah, real quick. But Donnell Rawlings can be found online. He's got a huge body of work, as Chrissy said, On YouTube, on Netflix, on Hulu on all these different places because he's been in so many different shoot shows, most notably the Chappelle show, but not too far below that, the Wire, which is one of the greatest.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Television shows on any critics list you look at at all. The Wire is either, if not number one, definitely in the top five.

[Brian Green]

Rightfully so.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

So good.

[Brian Green]

Rightfully so.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Such a good show.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. If you haven't seen the wire, you are 10 years too late to catch onto it when it was hot. But go watch it because as Chrissy said, anything.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

I actually watched it after it was already done.

[Brian Green]

Me too many years after I watched it during the pandemic, I think I. Yeah, like at the beginning of the pandemic, I started watching it. Blew through it.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

God, I know you're addicted right away.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I was watching episodes and episodes per day because I just couldn't get away from this fascinating world that they had created. And Donnell was part of that. And I'm very interested to know how and why he got, you know, got the part. And my understanding is that Donnell actually started in comedy because he was heckling, heckling people. And he became such a good heckler that they said, you should be on stage, dude, if you're going to heckle all the other comedians, why don't you try it yourself? And he did.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

And it took off.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. And 30 years later, Donnell is a name not to be missed when he comes close to your town. So let's do this. Let's take a break and then do the magic of telepodcasting. Donnell Raleigh legend. Donnell Rawlings right here on little old commercial break for your earballs. Okay? Sound good?

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Let's do it.

[Brian Green]

All right, we'll be back.

[Rachel]

Why don't you text us and we can text back and then you can text us and reply, then so on. It's a fun little game I've been playing, and I think you'll be great at it. 212-4333-TCB. That's 212-433-3822. You could leave a message too. If you do, maybe you'll end up being the voice of the show. But be warned, the pay is not great. You could go to the website and drop us an email. Also tcbpodcast.com and while you're there, you can get a free sticker. Who doesn't want a free sticker? Just go to the contact us button and ask for one. Follow us on Insta at the commercial break and watch the [e-mail] thecommercialbreak Now I'm gonna go back to that texting game. You wanna play? Come on. Bye.

[Brian Green]

Mr. Rawlings here with us now. Donnell, thanks so much for being here today. Really appreciate it. You are a former military guy, right? Yeah, Air Force, yeah. So I have a question that's timely and topical.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Okay.

[Brian Green]

You are in Los Angeles right now. We're just talking about this. You. We have friends that are out there and our agents out there and they're largely noticing nothing because I think this kind of drama that's going on with the National Guard and the Marines is all happening in just a few pockets of Los Angeles. Obviously not everybody's down in those pockets, but how. What's your take on if you were in the military and being deployed into the US cities? Do you. I'm thinking about like from a soldier's point of view. Is it just orders?

[Donnell Rawlings]

Let me stop you for really quick. I was in the military, but I wasn't patriotic. Okay.

[Brian Green]

That's my question. There you go.

[Donnell Rawlings]

You know what I'm saying? Like, I'll just put it, I'll be honest. Black folks and white folks go in the military for two different reasons. You asked a white guy why you join the military? To protect my country and its honor, sir. You asked a black guy, GI Bill College I was on the basketball team. They told me I was going to be a general in three weeks and I was going to have my own private jet. When people come up to me, they'd be like, thank you, thank you for protecting me and keeping me safe. I got to be honest, everybody's listens. I did my time. If you would expected me, future comedian, to protect you or keep you safe, you better off committing suicide. Because if I get shot, everybody around me is getting shot. I'm just telling you.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah, fair enough. I feel for the soldiers, man, because, you know, I, I got to imagine a lot of them are in the same mindset that you are. I am here for a job, to get a college education, to, you know, feed my family, whatever it is. I am not here for all the drama. And you know, it's a great sacrifice that you make because essentially you say, hey, if we go to war, I'm going to put myself in front of a bullet.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But I'm going to add to that. Yes, why I know I wouldn't been able to save any lives when I was in the military. I was stationed in Kunsan, Korea. Right. And we had nuclear weapons on that building. So we have what they call exercise exercises. When you Practice if the base is going to be. Come under attack, how you protect the base and everything. So it's like a simulated war. And this is why I know I wouldn't have been able to help anybody. Because every time we did an exercise, I died. Within the first minutes of the war, I was dead. And the reason why I died because when you get. When they shoot you, they got. The mouths get peeped, your stuff go off. So you gotta. You gotta lay on the field and then they gotta simulate. What would the response team do? So they gotta come and take you off the field. But when they take you off the field, you know where they take you? They take you to the basketball gymnasium. So needless to say, in all these war efforts, all the black guys were in the gym talking about money.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And those white dudes had their face painted up like, be quiet. They're gonna know where we are. Low crawl, low crawl. We was in there. Like, we was like, I got next. Who got next? So, I mean, you might want talk to somebody else. I do respect what the military did for me as far as the transition from not exactly knowing what I want to do in my life. But I gotta be honest. I'm not gonna lie to anybody. I wasn't like, God bless America, you know, I was like, God bless this job.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Right?

[Brian Green]

Fair enough.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Gave me.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, fair enough. You've been doing this a long time. I saw a real. A couple days ago, I was looking at your Instagram and I saw a reel where two dudes just started smashing each other in the fucking. In the. In the front row or like in the second row of. You're at the improv.

[Donnell Rawlings]

You know what's going on. This is why you're full of shit, okay? It's because out of all the videos, I got videos of my son and you just as guilty as. Everybody clicked on it. I got some stuff like this. Oh, my God, he's such a great dad.

[Brian Green]

And guess what?

[Donnell Rawlings]

You asked me what happened at your fucking show. They going crazy, bro.

[Brian Green]

It's crazy. Yeah. Well, hey, I'll get you your son too, because I like. I like what you have to say about being a parent. So.

[Donnell Rawlings]

No, I will say this. It was interesting because I was in Arlington Improv. And I don't want to, like, throw any shade on the club. It just was one of those nights. I don't know how often it happens there, but I was starting off my show. I'm usually like a firecracker right out the gate. Bam, bam, bam.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But for Some reason I hadn't connected with the audience yet, right. So I kind of felt the room, it felt somewhat uneasy. And I saw a couple of people get up and I was getting ready to start roasting them. I'm like this, all right, you can't come in here, get my stuff together. And next thing you know, it went crazy.

[Brian Green]

But.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I've seen some interesting stuff, but, you know, even with that said, it was an opportunity. I could have been like, guess who gets off work early today.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, guess who's going home right now.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah. I'm like, you know, Chuck's gonna be the same. Then I kind of felt sorry because a situation like that for the club, because it's an opportunity for the audience just to leave without paying their tabs. You know, I've been in some similar situations like that where I was at a club and they had a blackout and I had to do 45 minutes in the dark with no microphone or anything. I told people to put their fl. The lights on their phone just so they could illuminate the room, just so the club had opportunity to make money. So I did that part. But the first thing I did when it happened, I was like, what the hell is going on? Yeah. And I'm thinking, what can you do? What do we need right now? And then I kind of drew from one of my favorite songs, Bill Withers. I started saying, sometimes in our lives, we all had pray.

[Rachel]

And then.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And the funny thing about it was a group of women just jumped. Just jumped behind me on stage.

[Brian Green]

I saw that. Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I wanted to tell them, you do know that I'm not patriotic, right?

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

That's a good segue.

[Brian Green]

I'm the last person.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I'm like, yo, you gonna die? Or at least go to the basketball gym with me. It was like. And then I had a decision to make. I was like, do I quit? But I man through it, and I did. Another 45 minutes after it was over, of course, some of the people left the show, but I was surprised that half of the audience still stayed and I got to finish my show. It wasn't exactly the show that I thought in my brain, but at the same time, the interesting thing about comedy is the comedians that can adjust, you know what I mean? Improvise and just keep it going. And that's what I did.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Well, the thing I was so happy for, we were in Texas. And Texas is. Texas is definitely a. Is a gun carrying state. And that was the one thing that I was really nervous about because it was. It Was chaotic. And then there was a moment of silence and then all I kept on was just bracing myself to hear pop, pop, pop.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

That never happened. I got 600, 000 likes. So I won.

[Brian Green]

I know. The real went crazy. Yeah. Georgia is one of those states too. It's an open carry state.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

And time after time, judges in this state have said it doesn't matter what you put on the front door. You know, it's an open carry state. So you, you gotta be careful. And I, you know, when we first had that law come out, I thought for sure we, I do on occasion go to the grocery store and see someone with a holster. And that makes me a little bit nervous. But you know that, that was what I thought when I saw the video first. I thought clearly there's popping coming because these guys went right at it. I mean it was like came out of nowhere.

[Donnell Rawlings]

It's interesting that you say that being in an open carry state because I grew up in metropolitan areas like D.C. new York and whenever you saw a gun, you thought it was about to be a crime committed. It wasn't. It wasn't my right. Bare arms. It was just like. You got a gun? Oh my God.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. I grew up in, in Chicago and so I mean you there, we didn't see guns. That's not what we saw. But you come down here to Georgia, it's just a whole.

[Donnell Rawlings]

It sounds like you grew up in a nice part of Chicago.

[Brian Green]

Because I'm not going to claim I grew up in Cabrini Green, Ronald. I'm just not going to tell.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I'm like you said, Chicago and haven't seen a gun. Oh, you're so privileged. You probably had both your par parents too. You so lucky.

[Brian Green]

I had both my parents for a while. I had both my parents. You've been doing this for a long time and actually when I see your face, I think I remember a lot of your character, like your acting work as well as your comedic work too. You were in one of my favorite television shows. I know you get this all the time. The Wire. Tell us a little bit about the experience working on the Wire. It's so, it's so raw on television.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

When it came out.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I'll tell you this, if you like, if you're a historian of David Simon, you would know that before the Wire there was a miniseries that won three Emmys. It was called the Corner. Charles Dutton directed that. It was a six part miniseries and that was written by David Simon and it was a story About a family that was digging, dealing with addiction and the trials and the tribulations of being addicted. And that story was a very, very interesting story. And it was so successful that they wanted to do something else, but they couldn't contain that story. And that's why the Wire was a spin off of the. Of the corner. And I had the opportunity to work on a corner. I played a heroin addict. And it was interesting because I was very, very young talent at the time. And when I did this audition, I clearly thought I bombed in the audition. There was nothing that you were going to tell me that gave me any indication that I would get this role. To the point where when I first met David Simon, I had to ask him and I was already. I already booked it. I said, why me? Right? I was like, why me? I said, I swear that I bombed in that audition. And he said, we like the fact that you threw away the lines. Right. I didn't go off the script, but he thought that that was a skill. That was me not being prepared because everybody that like read the entire script and knew what was going on, I think most of them, knowing that it was a heroin addict, they played into the stereotype. So I'm sure everyone that audition was like, had the voice out. Yeah, man. And they didn't want to see him like that. They wanted to see the human side of him. They wanted to see who he was on the corner, on the block, making people laugh, how he interacted with family and everything. And I think me throwing the lines away, not intentional, but just by accident, it landed that role, which led me to get the role on the Wire. And the crazy thing, the Robert Colesberry, he was one of the executive producers of the show. When I got on set of the Wire, he said, you know, we were really, really considering you to play the role of Omar.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Oh, wow. That was huge. Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But they said they wanted to save the role. I played Damian Price Day. They said, we thought it was something special about this role. And we thought that you bring something to this and if you follow that show, you notice the first season, it was all about the towers, the Internet.

[Brian Green]

Yes.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But what happened was the Baltimore tourism board complained that every time there's a production in Baltimore, it depicts Baltimore as being a grimy, drug infested neighborhood. And I'm like, have you walked through Baltimore? But they didn't want the flack of that. So, yeah, what happened was they changed the storyline from the towers and then they went to the docks and then when they went to the Docks. That's when my character got lost. Because if you really look at that show, you could tell that my character was going to do something crazy first off, to go be a driver to Senator Clay Davis, to introduce myself to Lieutenant Daniels as day date price and he's Lieutenant Daniels. And then to get caught with $30,000 in cash, get arrested, get released, you have to follow the money. So that character was going to be. I was so excited about it because it was going to be the connection with the polit and the streets. But once the character, once they change the storyline, my character got lost. But David Simon was a real huge fan of mine, so he went above and beyond to create something for me to come back and like in the series. And that's was my relationship with the Wire.

[Brian Green]

I think he did a great job with the Wire. I now that you're saying it, the story arc follows what you're saying. Right. And I can understand, yeah, I can understand the pressure from the tourism board to say, hey, we'd like people to actually show up to our city. So if you could stop, you know, painting it in this light. And, and I bet, I bet the people involved in the production had to say to themselves, well, maybe we should turn it a little bit so that we have a friendly environment. That.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And then David Simon, I mean it'd be one thing if you're a writer that's like from say like anywhere but Baltimore, that experience has so much experience with police journalism. So he's really fond of the city. So I'm pretty sure his situation was. I don't want any due to anything to disturb the great relationship that I've had in this city for like 40, 50 years. So you gotta respect him for that.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, you, you're a father, you've got a nine year old son. When you had your son. I always, I always like to ask this question of comedians who have children, and especially younger children, does that change the way that you look at. I mean it changes everything about your life being a father. I know that. But does it change the way you look at comedy in any way, shape or form? Does that affect the way, the way the creative process for you or what you think about.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Well, to answer your question, no, it didn't really affect my life that much because I've always been locked in with comedy. It's like the thing that like, it's just my everything. And I've always had a lens, I've always been focused. But the lens, when you have a kid and you have that Sense of responsibility. It goes from a wide lens to a very, very fine tuned, fine tune.

[Brian Green]

Interesting.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And you're not doing things. It's one thing to just put. Be living for yourself, you know what I mean? So you don't have to be considerate of too much anybody. You don't have to be considerate of yourself. But then when you got another human being that you're trying to make the best human you can, then you can't. You, you know, some of the selfish things that you did, some of the things that you had to consider, you, you know, you. It's. It's just a, it's just a different. It's just the situation is like, I'm living for this guy now, so I got to be the best person I can be.

[Brian Green]

Absolutely. Doesn't affect your comedy necessarily, but it affects the way that you see the world and you act in the. You're out there in the world. Did you have a good relationship with your father?

[Donnell Rawlings]

Not really. Not in a bad way. My father was a. It's interesting because my father was a Heroin Kingspin in D.C. oh, really?

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Wow.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah. The funny thing was my parents was totally opposite. He was a heroin kingpin and my mother was a social worker and they had the same clients.

[Brian Green]

No.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Oh my God.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But it was like he was in and out. He was in and out of prison. You know, he chose, he chose a lifestyle. He had a lot of kids. He chose a lifestyle that did give him the opportunity to, I want to say, spend as much time as he should have wanted to. But I don't have no regrets about the relationship that I had with my father. But I will say that that really made me want to like, create every memory I could with my son. Like with the relationship I had my father, I could probably. Two handfuls of memories that I remember important things. And I told myself, I don't want that relationship that I have with my son. That's why, like this kid gets all the opportunities. I spend as much time as possible with him. I try to encourage him to be the best he can be. I'm in. I mean, although me and his mom aren't together, we have a great, I guess, tolerable co parenting relationship. And the thing I, and I know it's kind of tough, tough co parenting at times. But the thing that I really respect about what we're doing with him, like the other day I went to go visit him, he was at his mom house and he was like, dad, can you come over in the morning? Because I Want to have family, Family breakfast with you and watch a movie. And when he says family, he doesn't separate me from his mom. And he knows family means us together.

[Brian Green]

Wow. And then you and your. And then you and your ex or the mother of your child, you guys get together and do stuff like that. That.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Oh, yeah, I encourage it. I don't. I don't know. It's. I don't. I don't think. I mean, yeah, I. I'm really a person that strongly believes in that. And it was so funny because I can draw how I feel from a relationship I had years ago. I was dating this woman and her parents had separated when they. She were like, like 10. Her brother, like 10 and 12. And as an. An adult, I knew her and their parents would always do stuff, go on trips, and he would come over and cook dinner for them and me. I think food is a love language. Right.

[Brian Green]

Fair enough.

[Donnell Rawlings]

If I'm cooking for you, I'm smashing.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

So I was like this. I was like, oh, man, he's still hitting. He's still hitting. That was the best jerk chicken I ever had in my life. He still hitting that. Right. And then. And she was like, no, they not. And it wasn't until I got in that situation and realized the importance of keeping that family structured together as most as possible, as best as possible.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, I think that's really. I mean, I don't need to tell you, but I think that's really big of you. My parents, when they got divorced, that was it. See you later, Sayonora. The only time they ever got together in the same room was for like, super family functions. Right. Someone graduated or something, like a marriage, a wedding, and they just, just. They just don't tolerate each other in that way. They. They wouldn't.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I'm not going to sit up here and act like it's been easy.

[Brian Green]

Oh, I can't imagine.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah. But I will say, and I do tolerate a lot because I'm very, very good to her. You know, I'm very good to her on the financial side. I'm very good to her on being in my son's life. And like I say, it hasn't been easy. And sometimes I just want to look at him and say, boy, you owe me for this. Because I want to say, here's the money. See you later.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I think part of that is because I don't know if I would have had the same sentiment if I was a young dad, you know, like in my early 20s or whatever. But I think that some of that is. Contribute to the fact that I had my son very, very late stage of my life. So I really respect what that is. And I, and I also look at it like it's a blessing because I was. Was already of the mindset that I wasn't going to have kids. I was like. And then most people, because psychologically you got to prepare yourself for that because it'll drive you crazy. And I was like, okay. Most people in this situation, if they decide they don't want to have kids for some reason they can't have kids, then they bury themselves in their jobs. You know, they bury themselves in a relationship. They have their nieces and their nephews, and you can find, you can find yourself content in that. And I was, I was ready to be content with that. But then when I found out that she was pregnant or anything, was it just. It was so overwhelming. I was like, oh, my God, we really doing this?

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we're really doing this. I've. I had kids later on in life too. I. I'm an older father, and for a number of different reasons, I think that's a blessing. And, and there's some curse to it too. You know, when you're an older father, you don't have the energy you did and all that other good gravy. But at the end of the day, I'm sure that these. I. I was such an asshat one in my 20s. If I had, I can't imagine having kids. I'm such a shithead out on the street prowling like a stray cat.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I know I'd have been like this, okay, diapers, bag of weed.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Y. Yeah, exactly.

[Brian Green]

I would have been like, diapers, bag of blow, 12, pack of bud Light. I'll take the night shift, honey, you take the morning. No problem.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I want to try to make it as kid friendly as possible. Brian?

[Brian Green]

Yeah? If you're letting your kids listen to this show, you're an idiot.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

I read somewhere that you were a heckler. Like, your step into comedy was like.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, he was a professional heckler. That's what I heard.

[Donnell Rawlings]

It was interesting because, you know, you talk to some comedians, they always say, oh, when I was a kid, I knew I wanted to do this. I had no idea if this is what I would be doing in my life. In fact, I was a military police officer in the Air Force. So I was waiting to be a D.C. police officer in Washington, D.C. and I took a job. In the interim, I was head of security for this grocery chain. I was like the head of Rent A Cops or whatever. And there was a guy who used to come to one of the stores I had supervised. And he worked for Hostess Cupcake company. He would stock the shelves. He was a comedian at night, and he would give us free tickets to go to the comedy club. And I would go just as something to do with, you know, people I work with. And I just started heckling the comedians. I started heckling and I started becoming good at heckling. People started actually coming. They were like, like, yo, by chance, is that asshole gonna be here tonight? Right.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

You're part of the show.

[Donnell Rawlings]

My part of the show. And then I started building the audience. And I was so good at destroying those shows and bringing people to hear me heckle that I went to the club owner and tried to get a door deal.

[Brian Green]

You wanted to take a cut of the door while you were at the show.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I was like, look, man, when I'm here, I increase your business by 30%. I want any in. And they was like, if you don't get the hell out of here, what we will do is like, you think you're so bad. They didn't want. I'm sure that club did not want me to succeed. They wanted me to shut the up, of course, but it didn't happen that way. And I'm being. I'm being honest the first time, and I think this was excitement of people coming week by week and wondering when this guy was going to take the next step. Right. The first time I touched the microphone, I got a standing ovation.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Wow.

[Donnell Rawlings]

No. And I knew that this was going to be what I would be doing for the rest of my life. That was. And I. And I never. I mean, we talking 30 plus years later. I never gave myself another option. I never looked for a job to offset bills. I was like, if you're broke, you're broke, you know? And I never gave myself a plan.

[Brian Green]

B. I think it worked out okay for you. Yeah.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah. Your body of work is so long.

[Donnell Rawlings]

It's not everybody's path. The path that I chose and how I did it, in fact, you know, people come up to me and they ask for mentoring advice, and the first thing I say is, like, if you really serious about this business, first off, you have to be able to be happy being broke.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Yes.

[Donnell Rawlings]

If you can't find happiness in the struggle, then you're going to.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

We know all about that, Brian.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we know all about that. Yeah. And the other thing is, is that you, You. You just said something I think is Like a tidbit of wisdom. If somebody is out there looking to be a standup comedian, a creative type, whatever it is, is if you give yourself other options, it's likely you'll get other options. Right. It's likely you'll go other directions. You have to. There's that kind of this blind faith that you have to have almost.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I've met this Jamaican guy, and he used to give me advice about certain things. And he said, daniel, you know, the people say you don't burn bridges. He said, I say burn it down. That way, you know, you can't go back.

[Brian Green]

You know, Jamaican guys, like, they sound very wise because of that accent. I just gotta admit it. They could say anything and it would sound like wisdom. I went to Jamaica once, and there was a guy that was talking to me, and I couldn't tell you half of the stuff that he was saying, but I felt it was profound because of the way he was saying it. Yes. Whatever you're saying, that's. That's. That is pretty wise.

[Donnell Rawlings]

That's so funny, because I used to have a bit about that. I was like a Jamaican be like, if one man put one burger on one bun with one piece of cheese, what do you have? You have a fucking cheeseburger, man.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

That's awesome.

[Brian Green]

Wow. Yeah, Chrissy is right, too. You do have quite the body of work you have put together.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

What are some of your favorite sets that you've been on? I mean, it's so varied. Anywhere from the Chappelle show, which a lot of people know from.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I would say. I would say the wire in the corner, that relationship I had there, because I've never took an acting class or anything. So it was a student to everybody. Everybody was kind of helping me out. I didn't know what I was doing, doing, and I wasn't ashamed to say I didn't know what I was doing. And people helped me out, I think in Chappelle show was another one. That show never felt like I was doing work. You know, they. In fact, I used to. What people don't know is if I wasn't really on the show a lot. But when I was on the show, I was on the show.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And it was times that I used to have so much fun on set. Even on my days off, I would go. Go to the set just to hang out. I love it for a couple reasons. I was like. Didn't have a lot of money at the time. I was like, I get free food, right? I get to hang out with my Boys. And then there was a strong chance that. And this happened on so many sketches that Dave and Neil would just say, hey, you're, you're. You want to get some of this? And that's a lot of the roles that I got. It was just because me being there and me like just being in the presence and giving myself an opportunity. 20 but one of the, the things that, one of the things that I really, really appreciate that I got. I'm glad that was under my belt was being in the Pixar's movie Soul. Oh, man.

[Brian Green]

It's one of our, it's one of our family. Family's favorite movies.

[Donnell Rawlings]

My son, because my son didn't have respect for Chappelle show the Wire. He didn't give a.

[Brian Green]

About none of that.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Right. But the minute I was on Soul and the thing about it was, was so the year so came and that's when it was supposed to come out. That summer pandemic.

[Brian Green]

That's right.

[Donnell Rawlings]

So they sent us a screener to watch and this was before they did any promotion of it. And I had a little watch party for my son and his friends and they could care less about that movie. And this was. Ruined it in that situation for me because I ordered McDonald Happy Meals for all the kids and they got delivered right, right when my scene was coming.

[Brian Green]

Yes, yes, it's over. It's game over. Yeah, Happy Meal.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But the power of marketing. But once they started Talking about soul, YouTube and McDonald's and everything, now it's like my dad is in that movie. So to get his, get his approval. And him. They just, just the other day he asked me what was my favorite voice actors. And I told him, Eddie Murphy. I named a couple people and I asked him, I haven't been in a lot of stuff.

[Brian Green]

Stuff.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I was like, who your favorite voice actors? And he said, you number one daddy Jack Black. And everything. That made me feel good. The fact that he could go to school and brag and everything and feel good about it, that was, that, that was a great moment. But I look at my careers, everything moves the dial. And I've done a lot of stuff. I forget I was hanging out with Chappelle a couple weeks ago. He said, donna, I don't know if you understand, understand every black show that resonated with pop culture, that was a hit. You've been on it.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, interesting.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Like the last 30 years. Like everyone. I don't look at that because I don't, I don't look at my resume. I don't look at anything. Because I just feel good that I found my God given talent and I was able to do something with it. I don't connect with family, I don't connect with celebrity. I don't abuse fame or celebrity. The only time I would abuse famous celebrity if I'm at Disneyland or something and I don't want to stand, there.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

You go, pull out the card.

[Donnell Rawlings]

It's for my son. I'm like, you know, but that's the only thing, the only time I would use my celebrity for anything. If it, if it can help my son out.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. And as a matter of fact, I'm going to Disney World in a couple of weeks and I'm going to use your fame to get me on the rise. I'm going to say, I know Donna's now, you know, Soul is one of those movies, if I'm not mistaken, one of the first movies or the first movie premiered on when Disney came out. Am I right about that? Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Because the theaters were closed.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, the theaters were closed. And I remember watching that with my then young son and we watched that on a loop for weeks. We loved that movie. And some of the first questions about life in general, life and death and all the. That came from that movie. And yeah, that was, that was a big movie for our family and we still watch it on occasion here. How did you meet Chappelle? Like, how did you get involved in the Chappelle Show? I'm not sure I've ever heard the story.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Well, we knew each other because we're both from Washington, D.C. and then being from that city is a great town for comedy. Like, it was someone before you, which Dave was. I'm older than him, but he was before me. You kind of followed their career because you asked yourself, what did they do to leave, you know.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

First sign of making this business is leaving your hometown. It's not like that today because you can be successful, make yourself famous anywhere now. But back then it's like, all right, he's serious. He moved to New York or la. That was just it. It wasn't Atlanta, it wasn't no Austin, Texas. It was none of that. So I knew of him from being the D.C. guy who was making it. And he shared this story. On my fiftiet birthday, someone asked him, how did you and Donnell meet? And Dave said, you know, I'll tell you how, he said, I was popping, I was getting money and I was New York. And I would go back for the holidays and I would ask, who's the guys that's really doing something. And it was always the regular names that he heard year after year, he said, but then they were like, but there's this one guy named Daniel Rollins that's. And Dave being a competitive spirit of the years, when they told him that, he said, donald.

[Brian Green]

They said.

[Donnell Rawlings]

The funniest thing was I had said that about him.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I said, who from D.C. is really killing it, because I want to go for that next. And they said. I was like, what about him? They say he's young, he's smart, so and so. And I said the same. Dave Chappelle. So we knew of each other from our reputation and what we did to dc, and then that just was one thing about, you know, when you go to New York, like, if you're coming from dc, it wasn't too many of us. And it was like you just had, like, just a connection because, oh, that's the dude he from so and so. What's poppin? You know? Yeah, that. That led to him me being on the radar of a funny guy. But it was a relationship that I had with Neil. Brittany Brennan, ah, really landed me the job on his show because Neil and Dave had wrote the movie Half Baked and. And it's a cult favorite. And Neil got some writing gigs. He wrote, like, three other movies that he got paid for, but the movies weren't getting the green light, so they was just being canned. So he thought that, you know, maybe he would try his foot in directing. He never directed anything, but he wrote this one. This short film was only one person and another person. And he reached out to my manager. He's like, man, I really like Daniel. You think he would do this for me? And I did it. And I was already doing a corner and some other stuff.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I said, man, I know you can't afford to pay me. I said, if you ever, in a situation where you could toss me a bone, do it. And that bone was tossed as the Chappelle show, like, three months after that.

[Brian Green]

Oh, wow, look at that.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

What a bone.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. What a bone. Yeah. We had Neil on the. The show and we heard the story about the early kind of, you know, blossoming of the whole Chappelle Show. It's a fascinating story in and of it. In and of it.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I agree. I will as much as. As much as Dave is the star of the show and you don't have a show without a star and as much support he gave me, I can't. I can't, you know, thank Neil enough, because if it Wasn't for him co signing and really pushing for me being on the show, you know, there would be no eschew. There'd be no beautiful. It'd be none of that.

[Brian Green]

Yeah. All right, so you're on the road still today. I mean, I gotta imagine for almost all the comics that we talked to, with maybe the exception of a few who are doing less now because they can, but I gotta imagine that that's just in your blood. You like traveling, you like doing the road, you like being out there, there cutting your teeth and find a new material.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I do. But, you know, I will say that it's been more difficult because of me having a young son. The role isn't as appealing as it used to be, but, you know, it's probably like 70 to 75% of my bread and butter, so there's no way for me to get around it. But I continue to try to make steps to where, you know, I don't have to have such a vigorous schedule where I could. I'm trying to position myself where I could get to that point where I can just go two or three months and be good for the rest of the year. Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Well, do you do the podcast, too? Right. When did you.

[Donnell Rawlings]

That's so funny you said that, because when I was on Rogan's podcast some years ago, I said, I think I need to reinvent myself or just reintroduce myself to Hollywood. I need to make money in Hollywood so I can be or more. And he was like, just start a podcast. And I was like, ain't no damn money, no podcast. And then I Googled his network. I was like, so.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, you know.

[Donnell Rawlings]

One thing about it. Anybody tell you what? The podcast, the number one thing you got to do, the consistency of it, you know, I was super, super aggressive with it during the pandemic because I didn't have too many options. But once the world started opening up where I could go out and get my normal money, I probably didn't put as much interest in it as I should. But the other day, my. One of my. One of my. One of my Internet dudes, or graph, whatever you want to call it, he was like, you got to update your W9. You got some money waiting in Facebook, right? And I looked at. I was like, how did we do that? I was like, it was a nice amount. I was like, we need to do more of that.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Yes. That's it. That's the thing is that, you know, is largely about content creation. And once you create the content, it can just keep on turning and burning. And a lot of these platforms are automated. They make the money for you. They find the sponsors. You know, they. They take a good cut of it. But you're so prolific and you've done so much that if you just keep on putting, repurposing that content, you get the, the thing that I like about what, what we're doing, and you have done this for the last 30 years, is that you've got a library of content, right? Digital, audio, tv, whatever it is, that library can continue to be repurposed and recached in over and over and over again. Look at Rogan. He's got 4000 episodes, 1500 episodes, whatever it is, he can just keep on turning and burning that catalog. He could retire tomorrow and people would continue to buy that like it was Seinfeld on retail peaks.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But that's why it goes to, like, what we're talking about in regard to how, how important college is going to be. And for that, you got a person like me that's an older guy, that might not be as nice as that, but that's going to be a job. It's going to be a guy like this. You know what? Hire me. I'm going to do the scrubbing. I'll find it all, I'll set it up, and it's. It's right there. But it's like, who's going to dial in?

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Put it together for you.

[Brian Green]

There are whole agencies that do this. I mean, you know, you. I'm happy to discuss that with you. I don't want to bore the audience, but there are agencies that do this for you, May take a cut of the revenue, but they go out and they do that. They find the good material, they put it out there for you. You know, video production companies, social agencies that will do this. And with a huge library of content like you have, you know, you just keep filming yourself when you go to these standups, and you'll be doing this forever and ever. Podcasting is a game of consistency. It really is. We. We are not that good at what we do on any given day, but we, we have, you know, almost a thousand episodes. So for us, it's like we have an advantage in the sense that we just keep on doing it. Blind faith, right, Donnell? Blind faith. Like the Jamaican guy said, we burned bridges a long time ago. We're stuck.

[Donnell Rawlings]

That's good. I mean, and then I see people like yourself and other guys. Other guys and gals, women, them. They. Thus that really.

[Rachel]

Yes.

[Donnell Rawlings]

All of us Put the focus on. And it's something that lately I've been, I've been getting back on it, but it's something that I know that I have to do because. Because it's just right there. And it's like what they call. It's mailbox money.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Oh, mailbox money.

[Brian Green]

That's what it is. It's mailbox money. I saw you were out in Indianapolis with Dr. Phil. The Dr. Phil and Rory Scoville, Joe List. And you guys. Did you guys do a show over the weekend?

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah, we did. That was my first time doing Dr. Phil. Adam Carolla thing. I've been knowing Adam Carolla for years. I'm really super excited that he's found a lick, if you want to say. That's really doing well for him. And he's like, been a fan of mine for years. And I, I, I, I went to go see his show some time ago. Teddy Swims, one of the guests. And I wanted to go hang out with Teddy, and he just happened to be on Adam's show. And I was like, adam, you got to give me a date. And he got the date and we did it. And I was had little reservations because that character was a spin off of. Off of Kill Tony. Ah, ah, right. And then for some reason, sometimes to Kill Tony, they not huge fans of mine.

[Brian Green]

What happened with Kill Tony? You got like, there was some, like, dust up at some point or something.

[Donnell Rawlings]

It was like, you know, everything is. I'm going to tell you, the biggest person with a podcast is your producer, how they edit clips.

[Brian Green]

That's right.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I was, I was doing one of the shows in Austin, Texas. Texas. And this was a time during the pandemic where nobody wanted to do Kill Tony. They were afraid of getting Covid. And I had just happened to be there. It was like, yo, I need you when you come on the show. And I did him a favor. I said, I'm not gonna be here too much longer. Too long. I was on the show for two hours, started getting a little buzz. I had some prior that I had to do, and I got into a situation with one of the comedians, and they edited this video, this clip that went viral, and they made it look like the guy was roasting me. And I walked off and stormed off.

[Brian Green]

They did make it look like that, for sure, for sure. No doubt about it.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And then those, those fans are. So whoever, whatever they are.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, yeah, I got it.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And I've been on different platforms, tried to explain what happened. Nobody believed me, but I was, I'M not going to waste my time and energy trying to, you know, prove to these guys who I am, you know.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

You know, as much as they want to see, say I'm the walk off guy. But if you go through the bank and they got up thousands of shows to kill Tony, you ask them how many times anybody's ever got a standing ovation. I show. And I was one of them when I just Lucas on it. But I look at like, you have people that are trolls. It doesn't matter what you do, you won't win them over. But at the end of the day, engagement is engagement. And whenever I'm on those shows or I'm a part of them, that's what happens.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, man. That's the dangerous part about content creation. Right. Is that if you're in the game of telling it like it is, then you show it how it works. Was. If you're in the game of clickbait, then you show it how you want it to be and so.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Or what was into how you want it to be. But how you want it to be is. Is, is, is, is doing way better than I. I dabble, man. I have so many stories about Hollywood and relationships I have with people and stuff that I could just go on any platform and just start airing out and go crazy. Right.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

You know, my morals and my integrity won't let me do that.

[Brian Green]

That ours either. Sometimes to our detriment, we just won't do the clickbait. We're not going to twist people's words. You know, it is what it is and we'll show it in full. And if it was boring, well, then, you know, move on to the next thing. That's. That is what it is. But no one can say that about Donnell Rawlings. And listen, also, when you have a show that is completely based on that roast factor, then your audience is going to be. They're going to be lions and tigers also. Right. They're proud for that. That's what they did.

[Donnell Rawlings]

But that's why I don't like everybody. I don't. I don't do them because, yeah, it's easy for you to say, oh, man, these are just jokes. Yeah. But they hurt.

[Brian Green]

They do. Yes.

[Donnell Rawlings]

And a punch in the face hurts, too. So let's just avoid.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I try to stay away from stuff that don't. Don't fit.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

I agree.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I like the initial. My initial reason for being on that show is what, you know me and I consider Tony Hinchcliffe a friend. So it is what it is.

[Brian Green]

It is what? It is. It is. All right, well, listen, Donnell has a brand new special. He's got the podcast, he's on the road, social medias, it's all in the links below. Donnell, do you ever come to Atlanta? Are you on Atlanta? Are you coming to Atlanta on this tour?

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah, no, I'm, I'm pretty sure it's in the fall. I love Atlanta. I used to love this club. It's a small club, but I used to. It has so much history with him. It's called the Laughing Skull.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah, Laughing Skull. Of course.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

I love that one.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Of course.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

That's where we are. We're in Atlanta.

[Brian Green]

We're in Atlanta. Yeah, yeah.

[Donnell Rawlings]

I'm always up through there, I think, I don't know if you go to my website, donairallis.com I think I'm coming to the Atlanta Comedy Theater in like the next two or three months. Always do well down there. And I, and I love the people of Atlanta and I got some good friends down there.

[Brian Green]

If you come down to Atlanta and we'll, I mean, we don't have to decide this now. I'm just throwing this off rather. If you come to Atlanta, we have a studio where we, where we would love to see you in person. So if you come, you live. Let us, you let us know when you're coming and then we'd love to invite you for 35 to promote the show.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yeah, for sure. I'll definitely. It'll be on my list of things I have to hit.

[Brian Green]

Okay. That's great. Donnell Rawlings, all this stuff in the show notes. Such a pleasure to see you. We hope to see you again, maybe in person in a couple months.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

You did it. We didn't even have to ask.

[Donnell Rawlings]

We didn't even have to ask.

[Brian Green]

All right, that's going on the promo. Rio.

[Donnell Rawlings]

Yes.

[Brian Green]

Donnell Rawlings, thanks so much.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Thank you.

[Donnell Rawlings]

You make this rather snappy, won't you? I have some very heavy thinking to do before 10 o'.

[Brian Green]

Clock.

[Rachel]

Hi, cats and kittens. Rachel here. Do you ever get the urge to speak endlessly into the void like Brian? Well, I've got just the place for you to do that. 212-4333. TCB. That's 212-433-3822. Feel free to call and yell all you want. Tell Brian I need a race compliment. Chrissy. Innate ability to put up with all his shenanigans or tell us a little story. The juicier the better. By the way, we love to hear your voice because Lord knows we're done listening to ourselves. Also, give us a follow on your favorite socials at the commercial break on Insta TCB podcast on TikTok. And for those of you who like to watch. Oh, that came out wrong. We put all the episodes out on video, YouTube.com thecommercial break and tcbpodcast.com for all the info on the show, your free sticker or just to see how pretty we look. Okay, I gotta go now. I've got a date with my dog. No, seriously, Axl needs food. Today is pork chop day.

[Brian Green]

Well, Mr. Donnell Rawlings, wow. What more could you ask for? He talked about it all. He didn't get in the Air Force to save the. Your ass. He got in the Air Force to save his ass. And you know what? Who could blame him? I know they've been doing that since Vietnam. You know, it's. I, I agree with him. And to some degree, it's like, you know, I'm here for the benefits. I'm here for the cruise package, kids. That's what I'm here for. So. But thank you for his service anyway. Even if he wasn't in it to save my life. Still got more balls than I do. That's all I got to say. So thank you to all the, the men and women who.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

I love how the woman ran behind him on the stage.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah. Did you see the video?

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

He's like, yeah, I'm not. I'm not here.

[Brian Green]

I'm not here to save you. Yeah, watch the video. It's crazy. It's online about the two guys who got into a fight at his show recently. I think it's from June 2nd or 3rd. He posted it. And then there's a follow up video that shows the aftermath where there's not a couple, not only a couple women on stage, a couple men ran behind him, too. But who could blame them in this day and age? I mean, you never know what's gonna happen. So Donnell, the hero we never know we needed, and he didn't want to be. There you go. How's that? Donnell Rawlings. All the pertinent links are in the show notes. Check out his new special. I might reach out to Donnell and explain to him how he needs to take that body of work that he has and start putting it out there for public consumption.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Yes.

[Brian Green]

You can't hide that away. Gotta get hip with the kids. And speaking of kids, he sounds like a good father.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

Oh, yeah.

[Brian Green]

So you always applaud a good father. Fathers need to be good. That's what we need to do. We need to be good, take care of our kids.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

That's right. You do a great job too.

[Brian Green]

Well, thank you. I try. I just goof around with them, that's all. I really do.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

You're the fun one.

[Brian Green]

I am the fun1. Anyway, TCB, how do you get a hold of of us? Tcpodcast.com. that's our website. All the comings and goings of Chrissy and I, as well as your free sticker. It's free to you for now. We may not do this forever because we learned our lesson by getting some coupon site out there, put our website and said free stickers here. And guess what? Thousands of people asked for stickers. So we had to do a little quiz to make sure they were TCB fans. Anyway. 2124333 TCB 212-433-3822 Text us questions, comments, concerns, content, ideas at the commercial break on YouTube. I mean at the commercial break on Instagram and YouTube.com the commercial break for all the episodes on video. Okay, Chrissy, that's all I can do for now.

[Kristen Joy Hoadley]

I think. So.

[Brian Green]

I'll tell you that I love you. I'll say best to you and best to you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time, Chrissy and I will say, would you say and we must say goodbye, Sam.