This past Sunday our team (headed by comedian April Body), was able to visit the latest Mixtape Comedy Show that was held at The Gotham Comedy Club; the show is created and hosted by comedian Royale Watkins.
As we told you in a previous post, Watkins has one of the hottest comedy shows in New York as it not only features comedy on the regular basis, but it’s also a music show ( with a DJ and a live band) and because of this blend it routinely sells out.
Each show is unique in its own way as it opens with a hilarious viral video and features four hilarious comics, The Mixtape All-Star Band, one of New York’s most dynamic DJ’s and closes with a music performance. But it doesn’t stop there; top name comics from across the country regularly stop by and grace the stage. The comedians who have done the show include Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Sherri Shepherd, Donnell Rawlings, Amy Schumer and most notably Jerry Seinfeld just to name a few!
Well, because of all of the recent hype we wanted to stop by the latest show as Watkins is also in the planning stages of launching The Mixtape Comedy Special! He recently launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise the funds for a special that will be shot in New York city or his hometown of Washington, DC!
We got a chance to sit down with Watkins to discuss the upcoming show, his family life, and comedy.
Check out the interview by clicking the picture below:
If you are interested in donating to the show, please click the picture below and you will be routed to the Indiegogo campaign page:
The Origin Of The Mixtape Comedy Show!
For those of you that are new and have not being following me or Mixtape Comedy, the history of this journey is one of determination. It is also a story of how much richer the process of building an entertainment platform can be when fans are given an opportunity to build a brand with the talent in which they engage on and offline.
I had an idea for this show six years ago and went to my friend Anthony Anderson to help get it off the ground. Anthony and I were alreadyinvolved in some pretty hilarious banter online and had a sizable audience following our antics. We decided that it only made sense to elevate the experience by offering fans a live show. We launched the Mixtape Comedy Show in January of 2009. Using Facebook and the strength of word of mouth, we completely sold out Gotham Comedy Club. The format of the show was simple, Anthony and I hosting and introducing the fans to some of our funniest friends. And we have plenty of funny friends.
Excited about the success of the first show, fans demanded that we continue. We decided that we would produce the show as a monthly event,with “every 3rd Sunday” becoming the call sign. In between the first and second show, Anthony and I continued to engage each other online, only now the fans became immersed as well. We performed a simple rap battle and fans demanded that we battle each other at the following show. Wedid. Having Kangol Kid from hip hop group UTFO in the house allowed us to add some level of legitimacy to this battle. When he joined us on stage and broke into an impromptu performance of his hit “Roxanne, Roxanne”, the crowd went crazy. It was that moment I realized we were onto something different. Our audience yearned for something more, a multi-dimensional entertainment experience, complete with comedy and music. A few months later we were fortunate enough to add one of NY City’s most dynamic Dj’s, DJ Diamond. His high energy pre-show routine and hip intro and exit music in between comics added a audio swag to the show that helped us definethis experience as something wonderfully different. Two funny friends, one incredible dj, freestyle battles and a closing music artist was the format. And it made for an incredible night of mind-blowingentertainment.
Five years later, Anthony has transitioned on to other projects, but the excitement that infused those first shows still lives in everything we continue to do. The rap battle has been replaced with a live band. And we continue to close each show with a wonderful mix of old school hip-hop acts as well as some incredible undiscovered music acts that will be the stars of tomorrow. And we’re still at Gotham Comedy Club every third Sunday!
After a successful five years, we’re now ready to elevate this platform and take it to another level… television!!! We hope that you will make a contribution and help spread the word. It has been and will continue to be… Your Mixtape Comedy Show!!!
All of the funds raised for this project will go towards covering the cost of production. I will NOT take any fees as host or producer. The cost of producing this show will be well over $100,000. Our goal is half of that. If we can raise $50,000 in 30 days there is an investor who is willing to match that with an additional $50,000 investment! This is why every dollar, every cent counts. We will produce this special, get it on tv with the intention of generating enough attention so that the Mixtape Comedy Show will become a regular show and we can bring you your favorite comics and old school hip hop acts every week.
Again, I will not take ANY fees whatsoever. The sole purpose of this campaign is to raise the initial $50,000.
