Deon Cole disarms his audience with truth bombs, instead of the other way around. His brand of observational comedy takes topics that would be detrimental in the hands of a less skilled comic and peels back the layers, exposing nuanced revelations with effortless cool.
“Some of you got stuck in relationships,” he states during his 2019 special, Cole Hearted. “You married on a level you should have been passing in life. What you should have told him was ‘Boy, you are amazing, but I’ll be back.’ And keep going through those levels.”
When he isn’t pacing the stage in leather pants giving his TED Talks on sex toy etiquette and the virtues of Vintage Honeys, the Chicago native is making dramatic turns in series like Average Joe and films like The Harder They Fall.
“Man, it’s just doing something different than what you normally would do. And just stretching out, showing your range,” he tells HOT97.com about his dramatic acting, a departure from his years on Black-ish. “If you want to go down this acting path, try your hand at everything.”
But this September he returns to the stage for this third Netflix stand-up special, Ok, Mister, a master class on maneuvering through life as a man as old as Hip Hop itself.
While out on tour with Martin Lawrence, Deon Cole was gracious enough to talk about his special brand of comedy, forays into music, and who makes his Mt Rushmore of ‘Vintage Honeys.’
Congrats on the new special. Cole Hearted is my favorite standup of the last 10 years easily. How was your approach either the same or different for this new special compared to Charleen’s Boy and Cole Hearted?
Deon Cole: This is just funny. Cole Hearted was more like raw, young, fast, just going at it. Charleen’s Boy was more therapeutic and more dealing with the passing of my mother and having that weigh on me as I do this set and just showing that the show still goes on. Doing it a year later on the anniversary of her death was just really, really deep.
This one is more just back to fun, nice, fun observational humor that I like to get down and do.
Okay, Mr. Is is a pretty funny title, especially considering the context. I won’t give it away, but was that always going to be the title, or had you considered any other titles for this special?
Deon Cole: I had another title, but I might still use it for another special, so I’m not going to say it. But this one right here was just more like, I don’t know, it just felt like it was something that needed to be said…that just had a catchy kind of ring to it that people would check out. And also it ties into what the special is basically about. It’s about just getting older and dealing with life and the situations that come with it.
MESSAGE IN THE MUSIC
The closing credits feature your song with Terry Hunter “Post That.” Please talk to me about recording that song and that hilarious video.
Deon Cole: Man, it’s just a fun song, man. It’s a song that people can just… not taking ourselves seriously and for it to be in the realm of disco and house music. House music is so serious. Every song is about some goddamn butterflies and bettering yourself and it is just like, all right, already, I get it. So, we just wanted to have fun and do something that everybody did, which is really post stuff, you know what I mean?
Where did you film that video? Was that gym in your house?
Deon Cole: Nah, we shot it in this hotel in Chicago. Shout out to my man Terry. That’s where I was staying, just like, ain’t nobody in this gym right now. Let’s shoot this gym. She can come over. And that’s exactly what we did.
I saw you DJ at Soul In the Horn in Brooklyn last year. When did you start DJing?
Deon Cole: Man, to be honest with you, man, I started as just messing around. I wasn’t even serious about it. I actually was making fun of D Nice. That’s what I was really doing online and I was like just making fun of him and just having light fun. But I always had a catalog of music.
When the pandemic hit I started playing it, but I didn’t know how to blend and people was laughing at me and they was just basically like, ‘don’t quit your day job’ or whatever. And I was like, it would be really wild if I really learned how to DJ.
I already had the equipment, too, because I had equipment for if I had company, I would get one of my guys to DJ at my house. So I just had the equipment there for that and I just was like, you know what? I’m going to learn how to do this.
Did you get lessons? Did someone show you or did you just kind of practice?
Deon Cole: : My man Tone. He worked for Serato. He used to come over my house all the time and he used to always listen to my music. He was like, man, I’m going to show you how to do this. And he kept showing me and showing me. I just kept practicing and practicing. And then I started going live every Sunday doing this thing called Disco Sunday Fellowship.
All week long I would practice for that one hour Sunday to play and I would practice, practice, practice. And then Sunday come people would be like, man, he doing good.
There was an interview with the late great Frankie Knuckles and he was like, man, I’m not no great blender, never have been. But the music that I play, people love it. He was like, purists DJs, they look at the technique of it, the people don’t even know about that. He was like, the people just want to groove. So that’s just always what I’ve been doing.
DEON COLE IS HERE TO BRING THE DRAMA
Your Netflix series Average Joe is great. I’ve been yelling at everyone to watch it on threads. It’s like Ozark with black people. So what do you enjoy most about this dark, dramatic roles compared to doing the comedy?
Deon Cole: It always tripped me out when I would see a beautician and they only did Black hair or a barber that only do Black hair. To me, I just think you leaving so much money on the table doing that. If you’re going to be a barber, do hair, not Black hair, but hair, you got time to learn. You know what I mean? And so I look at it like that. I look at it if I’m going to act, why just do comedy? If I’m going to act, act. Just put the work in to try… and I’m still not super amazing. Every project I learn. I constantly keep learning.
And so at least I’m taking these chances and putting myself in situations I wouldn’t normally be in to see if it’s good.
What did you learn about Deon the actor doing Average Joe?
Perseverance, man. We went through a lot to shoot that. Crazy hours, climate, cold, super freezing man. Long dialogue. I couldn’t even do standup because we would shoot two-hour shows every two weeks. It’d be two shows we would shoot simultaneously. So, I would have the two scripts. Each show was an hour, so I would have those two scripts that I had to learn. And then I had two more scripts for the week that’s coming. So, I would walk around every day with four one-hour scripts studying them and just trying to get ’em down and get the lingo down, get the cadence, everything together.
So, coming from a standup who just from on Blackish, I used to just show up, do my part and go home. We had our one scene in the office and leave and other shows I was on. I just do my part and leave. But in the lead, it taught me nothing else matters. Focus on this and this only.
DOESN’t MATTER IF YOU’re BLACK OR WHITE
You mentioned something about just doing Black hair. You have some of the best observations on race that I’ve ever seen. And somehow it’s nuanced, but you don’t pull your punches. What is it about racial humor specifically that you do so well? Or why are you able to tap into that?
Deon Cole: I think it’s because I put myself in situations that I wouldn’t normally be in. And I was brought up around a lot of white people, too. I remember when I was young, crack epidemic was blazing through Chicago. Around the time you’ll see somebody, they’ll help you with your groceries, the next day they taking your groceries. It was like crazy that people was flipping overnight. It was like crazy. My mom was like, we got to get out of here. Gang violence was so crazy in Chicago, she moved me to the suburbs.
When I went to the suburbs, I ended up meeting a couple–because all of ’em, they was really racist–but it was a couple white cats that I ran into and they started turning me on to different music that I’d never heard of and different things. I remember this guy that used to be cool, he started turning me on to The Doors and Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith and Leonard Skinnerd
And he was just turning me on all of this. And I was like, yo, what’s this? And I just thought it was so dope. And in the midst of that, I would turn him on to Kool G Rap, LL, Public Enemy, everybody and he was mind blown. And we would have conversations about what they were talking about opposed to what they was talking about. And we just had this relationship that almost we were learning each other’s language in a sense, if that makes sense.
And so it was cool to learn that language and it was cool for him to learn that language. And when I started doing standup, I just always practiced that. Which is, again, back to what I was saying, if you are a barber, why just do Black hair? It’s the same thing with standup. If I’m going to write a joke, why would I write a joke for just Black people? I write a joke for everybody.
If I’m here to make people laugh, let’s make everyone laugh. And so I would do that with that in mind and try it out all over the city. White areas, Asian areas, black and Hispanic areas. I would always try my material out and write it where I can only write it one time and everybody will get it as opposed to having Black material and white material.
Speaking of material, you seem to have some themes that recur in some of yours. Parking and parking blessings, and basketball. Are these coincidences or is this by design?
Deon Cole: [laughs] This is life, man. This is just living life where you go, what? And then you write it down, you’ll be like, huh, you ain’t going to choose me, whatcha got me out for? It’s just like, yo, write it down. And it just a lot of stuff, man that I talk about, it really can’t be written. You got to put yourself in situations you wouldn’t normally be in order to see things differently and then talk about it.
I’ll go to NASCAR or dog race and sit in there and then come back and be like, dude, I just went to a dog race. Lemme tell you what these motherfuckers is doing. And just go through the whole thing with that. So, it’s very important that I live in order to write.
Relationships are where you seem to shine for me. What are some of the silliest relationship things you’ve seen on social media?
Deon Cole: I just posted something recently where this chick was at her husband’s funeral and the pastor did the funeral, proposed to her as she sat in front of the coffin and put a ring on her and they hugged it out while he was in the coffin. I was like, this is insane.
I saw that. But that seemed like a regular day on the internet. Do you have advice for someone who’s out there single trying to navigate these waters as a single man on social media?
Deon Cole: Oh no. I be chilling man. Nah, I don’t even understand this game now. This social media game, man. I have no idea how to play it. I’m lost in the sauce man. I am man. I really am man. It is no more chasing. So, I got to change my game up because a few older women love to be chased. Yes. But it’s just a different game right now, man.
You do give some sage advice in your routines. One other theme that comes up a lot is sex toys. And a lot of dudes get cringy when you bring them up. What can we say to our brethren to make them more comfortable with that topic?
Deon Cole: Man, it is real life. You better pay attention to it. It’s a lot of women that they have their toys and you got to stay abreast of what’s out there to see what you’re competing against and go from there. So yeah, you got to be aware of that.
How is your gay cousin from Cole Hearted?
Deon Cole: I just got through talking to Lance. I talked to him earlier. He always sends me stuff like “You highly favored today.” He always saying stuff like that. I was like, ‘likewise dude.’
Well, tell him in my house, we did steal his shit, despite your warning.
Deon Cole: The world stole his shit. I remember I saw that shit on ESPN. It was like bases loaded, will he hit a grand slam? SLAP! They said, “SLAP! sounds like a plan.” Oh yeah. They said ‘Slap! sounds like a plan,’ I was like yoooo.
You’re on the road now with Martin Lawrence. What has that been like?
Deon Cole: Man, we with the icon. The legend. Martin is Martin. Man. Martin getting down, tearing it up out there, man. Just getting it loose and people love to see him. You funny, killing it, man. It’s been great, man. Sold-out arenas. We’ve been killing it. It’s been great.
So, if I could dare to close with one list, if you could give me your top five vintage honeys of all time.
Deon Cole: Of all times? Pam Grier. Thelma from Good Times. Phylicia Rashad. Oh, she was so fine. Still fine. I know she going to hate me to say this but I’m going to say it anyway. Nia Long.
She’s been fine for both our lifetimes.
Deon Cole: So she’ll be like, ‘I ain’t vintage!’ I’m sorry Nia, to somebody you are. I ain’t saying to me, but you ain’t vintage to me. You definitely not…
J. Cole tried to say he was too young for Nia long on “No Role Modelz” but she told Larry King that he wasn’t.
Deon Cole: Yeah, I’m telling you. Nia a monster. All right, and Angela Bassett.
Courtney Vance is a lucky man.
Deon Cole: Courtney Vance is a VERY lucky man. You better not move, Courtney. It is a gang of us waiting. No, I’m just playing. No, shout out to Courtney. It’s all good.
Deon Cole’s ‘Hey, Mister’ streams on Netflix starting Sept 17.