S.E.L.L.O.U.T. thinks outside the box
The S.E.L.L.O.U.T. Comedy Tour uses humor to make light of stereotypes rather than perpetuate them.
Published Sept. 17, 2008
As comedian Vince Morris made his way to the stage for an appearance at a nightclub in front of a crowd of black men and women, he expected a typical show. While on the stage, he made the decision to tell jokes about ways that black people could rise above stereotypes and prejudices.
He was booed off of the stage.
After the show, he realized if black comedians aren't talking about being at the club, their sex lives or personal issues in a stereotypical manner, their chance at getting laughs is slim to none. People don't want to hear the positives, they want to laugh at the negatives, and that is what the S.E.L.L.O.U.T. Comedy Tour group wants to change.
"We don't cater to the traditional," troupe member Billy D. Washington says. "People define black comedy to Def Comedy Jam and BET. People end up with this twisted perception of what black is. When people say you weren't true to who you are, it's not fair because they don't know who you are."
Washington, who first came up with the idea for the S.E.L.L.O.U.T. tour, is a musician and poet who often plays the piano onstage during his routines.
"There's going to be variety, there's going to be crazy," Washington says. "It's going to be raucous."
The group is composed of four black men with four very different personalities and backgrounds.
"Every shade of black that you can think of is in our group," says B.T., the proclaimed "black redneck" of the group who loves country music.
"I like the old country," B.T. says. "The new country is washed up. It's the Backstreet Boys in cowboy boots."
Before breaking into comedy, Washington was a cop. But after a sad, yet ultimately funny, incident where an individual called the police on him, thinking a black man had stolen a police car, he turned his sights to comedy.
"It took me a while, too, especially since I was out there looking for him," Washington says.
Washington used his experiences as a cop and put them into his act when he started his career. He has developed a large fan base, just like his three partners.
If B.T. is the rock star of the group, Louis Johnson is "the family man with issues," Washington says, and Vince Morris is the realist.
"If Malcolm X did standup comedy, he would be Vince," Washington says.
With a diverse range of influences including Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield and even Baptist ministers, the men bring a strong sense of social consciousness, along with the sharp wit and wild stories of their favorite comics of the past. But the group refuses to be anything like many of its "one-trick pony" counterparts of today. The message they hope to bring is one of change.
"A lot of stereotypical comics are not as creative or willing to think outside the box," Washington says, referring to comics who make repetitive jokes that typecast their own black culture.
B.T. says that style of comedy often panders to the audience.
"If that's who you are, then that's fine, but a lot of black comics do that to get over on audiences," B.T. says.
This group focuses on bringing big laughs, but it also offers different ways to live up to its slogan "Remove the Hype From Stereotypes," referring to stereotypes that have also been perpetuated in music and by TV shows like "Flavor of Love," which B.T. openly detests.
"You have 'The Cosby Show,' and that raised black awareness," he says. "But then you have shows like Flavor Flav, and it's like, 'Oh, my God.' I cringe when I see it."
One way the comedians hope to challenge these stereotypes is with a segment they do called "Ask a Black Man...Anything!" where they allow audience members to anonymously pose questions that they may have been too scared to ask in public, in hopes that they can clear up misconceptions and have fun at the same time.
From common sexual questions to the wild and uncensored, the choice is up to the audience, but if someone poses a silly question, they can expect a silly answer. "Someone once asked, does 'FUBU' mean 'Farmers Used to Beat U'?" Washington says. "We said we were going to start our own clothing line: 'CUBU, Comics that Used to Beat U.'"