Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazmyn W.
Jazmyn, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Former HR Business Partner turned Stand Up Comedian.
When I look back on how I was raised, I see the path that got me to where I am right now. When I was younger, I was obsessed with Lucy. Yes, Lucille Ball. When I was around six my mom told me that she wasn’t alive and I balled my eyes out. I’m pretty sure that is where my love for comedy began. I knew I would go to college, not because my parents told me but because I watched it on A Different World, duh. I knew that I would never marry a man before living with him first because that’s what Gina and Martin did!
In August of last year, I quit my full time, six-figure job to do stand up comedy full time. After working in corporate America for six years, on the brink of another promotion, I was at a fork in the road. I had been doing comedy almost five years and it was the ONLY side hustle that I had ever started and continued for that long – with damn near no pay. I knew that if I stayed at my corporate job I would settle and I would never reach my goals (that I had not even created yet) in comedy.
Today, my comedy is showcased on Amazon Prime Video, I just filmed a set for Revolt TV, I open for Comedian Faizon Love, I have performed at festivals all across the country, I’m getting booked (and paid, yasss) across the country and I started my own YouTube channel so that people that connect with me can follow my journey.
Comedy is a long long long long journey and I am just getting started but I am enjoying the ride.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle thus far is being a black woman in a male-dominated industry. I am not into kissing babies or ass and when you’re stubborn in that way it makes things more difficult. I want my talent to speak for itself, but in order for that to work you need listeners. With that being said, there are plenty of women out there who love what I do and I am a voice for them, that is what I care about most.
I feel so awkward talking about my struggles because I feel like I don’t have many obstacles in front of me. I graduated college and moved to San Francisco with my husband. I started working and found myself in a great career after working in startups and decided to do comedy on the side because it was something I could do at night, after work. I recently quit a good job to pursue my dreams. These were all my decisions. I tend to forget the bad things that happen along the way and use it has fuel for my passions. I don’t have a sad story and I am grateful for that.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
In my stand up I talk about being black, being a woman, working in corporate America, being married and sometimes they all overlap. I think that I say what women are thinking. I grew up in the south where you must say and do all of the “polite” things. My comedy is not polite, its an outlet for me. Being ladylike is fucking tiring. I am most proud of this new journey I am on, focusing 100% of my time on my dreams.
I am different from other comedians because I have a way of saying dirty things and making them sound nice. It’s a talent!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Humor because you have to be funny to be successful in comedy. Not every famous comedian is funny to me but, they have to be funny to a lot of people to have a following which makes my opinion irrelevant. That is how I think about people who don’t think I am funny – bloop!
Resilience because it is so so so so easy to give up comedy or do it once a month and call yourself a comedian when it is really a hobby. You get paid little to nothing at first, you go to open mics and tell jokes in front of other comedians who barely laugh, you stand in line waiting to get noticed. You have to have grit to pursue this.
Love. Every famous comedian has asked me “Do you love it?” You have to love it. It’s my drug and I get high a lot and it always feels amazing. Yes, I am still talking about comedy.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @jazmynjw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JazmynjW/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/comedianjazmynw
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