Harlem Bred Comedian, Neko White Takes On The Main Comedy Stage
Imagine standing in front of a room full of people. It’s quiet—they are all waiting to hear what you have to say. They are all waiting for you to make them laugh. To make them happy. It’s a tough job, but it’s the job Neko White chose.
Making people laugh is nothing new to Neko, who was born in 1993, and has been doing stand-up comedy since 2007 when he was just 14. Yes, 14 years old! “I have been doing standup since 2007 and it has been the way I pay my bills ever since,” Neko explains. “I started doing standup on a complete whim. I am a shy kid. I didn’t talk much, but when I did I was able to make people laugh. And when we had snapping contests, I would be the one who came up with the greatest snaps. Then when I got to high school I was always the funniest kid in conversations.” And it was a desire to impress girls that spurred him on. “There was this kid named Rodney who I noticed always made the girls laugh. I knew then if I was ever going to get laid, I needed to be funny.”
It was at a school talent show that Neko decided—by chance—to do a standup routine. And he never looked back. “People were sharing talents and I thought hey, why not tell jokes. So I went up and told jokes, I talked about my day, about school, about white people and everyone was laughing,” he recalls.
By 2014, Neko had taped his first one-hour stand-up special, Introducing Me, which you can view on YouTube for free until May. Neko White has also appeared on MTV2’s Hip Hop Hollywood Squares, and Elite Daily’s popular Gen Why show as well as on FOX’s Laughs, Popcornflix’s Live at New York Comedy Club, and a documentary on his life entitled One Mic. He regularly performs at New York comedy staples like Caroline’s on Broadway, Comic Strip Live, Broadway Comedy Club, and New York Comedy Club.
For Neko’s he’s living his dream, following in the footsteps of his favorite comedians Katt Williams, Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, and Dave Chappelle. When asked about Rock’s recent—and controversial—Oscar monologue, he says, “I am Chris Rock fan so Chris Rock can do no wrong to me. He was in an almost no win position, but look at how spectacular he did his job, and how he got people talking—he actually said Hollywood is racist!”
On Katt Williams recent string of arrests, “As far as Katt Williams, Katt isn’t going through anything Katt hasn’t gone through. People don’t understand how great Katt Williams is. They might not see him in movies, but he’s still working, he still has sold out tours. Still selling out arenas. And there are 365 days in the year and MOST of those days Katt Williams IS NOT being arrested! Katt Williams is doing just fine.”
Neko White recently stood in front of one of the world’s toughest audiences—the audience at Harlem’s landmark the Apollo Theater during their Apollo Comedy Club event.
“I auditioned one time for Amateur Night a long time ago, but this will be my first performance at the Apollo,” says Harlemite Neko. “It’s surreal. And I have gotten so much support, it’s incredible. I always get nervous before an event, but the people have been supportive so it makes it easier.”
Neko White is working hard to build his place in comedy. He’s following one piece of advice a fellow comedians passed on to him, “Go hard or go home!”
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