Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, comedian-turned-actor DeRay Davis is a multi-faceted comedic force who’s conquered everything from the stage to the big screen. Davis first made a name for himself in the stand-up world, winning Comedy Central’s “Laugh Riots Competition” and appearing in the “Cedric the Entertainer Festival.”
DeRay Davis made the leap to the big screen with roles in the “Barbershop” trilogy, “Semi-Pro,” and “21 Jump Street.” Most recently Davis was tapped to host the reboot of “Hip Hop Squares” on VH1.
DeRay, developed and honed a hip, sardonic, streetwise mentality at an early age and parlayed it smoothly and efficiently into the comedy-club circuit. Davis achieved his career breakthrough at the Laffapalooza Festival in Atlanta, GA, then scored a triple whammy by winning the Comedy Central Laugh Riots Competition and landing covetable spots in the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and the Cedric the Entertainer Festival.
Throughout, the comic wove vulgar and droll, yet also telling and deeply personal, routines around the subjects of race, poverty, and his challenging experiences growing up in the Windy City projects with a dysfunctional African-American family.
The transition from behind-the-mike spots to movie roles represented a relatively short jump, for most of Davis’ early film assignments emphasized the same subject matter as his routines; for example, he played the “Hustle Guy” in Barbershop (2002) and its sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), rapper Mario “Fa Real” Greene in the Martin Short comedy Jiminy Glick in La La Wood (2004), and a Jamaican stoner in Johnson Family Vacation (2004).
Davis expanded his genre focus with roles in Rupert Wainwright’s supernatural horror outing The Fog (2005), and Todd Phillips’ comedy remake School for Scoundrels (2006). Subsequent feature assignments include License to Wed (2007), Semi-Pro (2008, as basketball player Bee Bee Ellis), and Imagine That (2009). Life As We Know it and Old Dogs.
Davis also appeared on television series including Entourage and Reno 911!, and televised comedy revues such as Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and was a Stand out MVP on Shaq’s All Star Comedy Jam Tour and is now making the rounds on the tour circuit preparing for his next 1 hour comedy special.
Roland Powell, better known by his stage name Lil Duval aka Shortbread, is an American stand-up comedian.
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Celebrities aren’t exactly pouring out of Jacksonville, Florida but that’s only made Roland Powell’s grind more ferocious. Proclaiming himself “Lil Duval” after the county from which he hails, he has literally put his home turf on his back as he touches every nook and cranny available with his special brand of humor.
Some comedians work at making people laugh. Others just do. Born with the gift to make people laugh, Lil Duval explains that, for him, “comedy was a natural thing. People always found me funny. It wasn’t that I was trying to be funny; they just found me funny.”
Participating in pep rallies in high school and other activities where all eyes were on him really kicked Lil Duval into high gear. The limelight just suited him and he wanted more. “I heard them screaming for me and I was like ‘oh yeah, this is what I need to be doing,’” he smiles. “I knew I would be in entertainment because I felt like an entertainer.”
Ultimately, he envisioned himself on the big screen and particularly admired the work of Chris Tucker. That’s how he got into comedy actually. “I saw Chris Tucker on Friday and I was like ‘that’s what I want to do.’ Then I saw him on Def Comedy Jam so I was like ‘oh that’s the way you do it. You become a stand-up comedian and you’ll be in the movies.’ That’s how it started to build.”
Not one to waste time, Lil Duval went right at it, taking to the stage of Atlanta’s legendary Uptown Comedy Corner. Pretty soon, he was a regular there as well as any other spots with a microphone and people ready to laugh. A hilarious 2001 performance at a contest in Oakland caught the attention of Cedric the Entertainer’s camp and Lil Duval was invited to hit the road with Cedric and four other comedians. That successful run on the road led to a featured spot on Cedric the Entertainer: Starting Lineup, first televised and then released on DVD.
During the tour, Lil Duval developed his signature routine “Stalker’s Anthem (Bitch U Mine).” Set to Musiq Soulchild’s 2000 hit “Just Friends,” Lil Duval twists the original song, which preaches about taking it slow and making the girl comfortable, into a pressure-filled encounter at a club: “Girl I know this might sound strange/But let me know if I’m outta order, steppin to you this way/See I been buying you drinks for a while/And I’ll let you know . . . . Bitch U Mine!”
The anthem received even more notoriety when Lil Duval began appearing on BET’s ComicView in 2004. For three seasons, Jacksonville, Florida’s number one class clown kept the ComicView audiences in stitches with this and other routines. A forever hustler, Lil Duval stayed on the road, slanging his brand of humor. Along the way, he also released two underground comedy DVDs: Dat Boy Funny (2003) and Put Your Hands on Me (2005). Additionally, he appeared in Three 6 Mafia’s Choices II: The Setup as well as hot videos like T.I.’s “Rubberband Man,” “24s,” “Whatever You Like” and Yung Joc’s “It’s Goin Down” and “Coffee Shop.”
Most recently, he’s added Twitter to his campaign and regularly dispenses his thoughts via @lilduval as raw and witty as only he can. So much so that he now has over 260,000 followers. It’s Lil Duval’s ability to ride the current and know what people want that keeps him winning. “I was always on the internet. It’s just like in the streets,” he explains. “When new dope comes out, if you want to stay popping in the streets, you go with the new dope. When people were still on MySpace, I was popular on MySpace. I had like a 100,000 friends. The new thing is Twitter.”
Embracing the new is indeed a part of Lil Duval’s make-up but he prides himself most on staying true to himself. “I stay in my own lane. I don’t do what anybody else is doing. I try to do what I’m doing. I like to be the one that’s being followed instead of following someone else. There’s no blueprint to this shit so I mean, when you follow somebody else’s blueprint, just because it worked for them, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.”
That sense of originality is one of the reasons Lil Duval attracted the attention of hip-hop’s reigning king early on. A fan since 2001, when Duval first started wrecking stages, T.I. didn’t hesitate later on to add Lil Duval to his label Grand Hustle’s comedy roster. “He’s someone who says what everyone else is thinking and scared to say,” shares T.I. “He talks about life’s most difficult and embarrassing moments. To take these things and find ways to make people laugh, especially when folks see fit to cry, is comedy at its finest.”
But Duval’s not done yet. “Everything that you can do and even more that hasn’t been done yet” is a serious goal for him. “Whatever it is the people want me to do, I’m going to do it. And, I’m going to be the best at it,” he promises, refusing to rest until he reaches the pinnacle of “comedy at its finest.”
Lil Duval’s is seen on MTV’s Guy Code, Ain’t That America and Hip Hop Squares.
Ryan is a comedian out of Concord, NC whose versatile style of comedy has allowed him open for mainstream acts such as Jay Pharoah of SNL, urban acts like Michael Blackson of Next Friday, and eccentric acts like Tom Green of The Tom Green Show.
By winning many comedy competitions, starting a successful monthly comedy showcase, and gaining the respect of comedians that have been doing it 20+ years; Ryan proved that the amount of stand-up comedy success that he saw in such a short period of time was not a fluke.
Due to his success as a viral internet star, Ryan no longer is an opening act. Though he is known more for his online videos, Ryan isn’t like the other internet comedians. He is a duel threat that is the first of his kind.
Ryan Davis on Twitter: “I gotta get off of Tinder. I think that I left swiped my soul mate & its making me depressed.”
Kiana Dancie is the first female celebrity guest ringmaster for the Universoul Circus. She is also the only female house MC for the upscale Atlanta Comedy Theater, where she performs before sold out shows every Friday! Having always been the life of the party with a dynamic personality, and a glowing smile, Thee Kiana Dancie shares several dramatic and colorful life experiences on her sold out “Single In The City” tour across the country. She is a powerhouse of a comedian on and off stage. In 2008 she was featured on the hit TV ONE show “Who’s Got Jokes?” with Bill Bellamy, where she destroyed the stage. In 2014, she was featured on Bounce TV’s second season of “Off The Chain”, where the host Rodney Perry introduced her as a beast! Currently she is the co-host of TV One’s nationally syndicated talk show, “Sister Circle.” The popular talk show has been renewed for a second season. Declared by Comedy Hype as the “Next to Blow” & one of “Comedy Most Dangerous”, Kiana is a bound to be your next favorite comedienne!
Born in Cleveland, OH but raised in the beautiful city of Atlanta GA, she receives praises for her ability to entertain the masses with her clever comedy without sacrificing the art. As a HOPE scholar and proud graduate of Georgia Southern University (Marketing, 2001), Kiana speaks to young women about maintaining high self-esteem and the power of owning your flaws, to write the laws! She currently resides in the Atlanta area and is a real estate agent in both Georgia and Texas, where she encourages women to invest in real estate to build wealth and leave a financial legacy. In Atlanta, the go to girl for CHANGE is Kiana Dancie, a single woman who is not tied to a committed relationship and treats herself to personal date nights. She believes real estate is the fastest way to building wealth, and she must be on to something because single women are the second largest buying demographic behind married couples. Her amazing talent and unique perspective has labeled her as the voice for the empowered; and has afforded her priceless opportunities to share the big stage with the Academy Award-winning actress and comedienne Mo’Nique along with other comedians such as Nephew Tommy, Sheryl Underwood, George Wallace, Katt Williams, Cedric The Entertainer and Earthquake.
She has hosted the Sweet Auburn Music Festival, which is one of the largest musical festivals in the country for four consecutive years. Till this date, assertiveness, confidence, faith, sharp wit and never-ending ambition are a few of the characteristics that have led to her success as an entertainer and entrepreneur. In 2018, Kiana will release the first of many novels, “Bye Bye Bags! Laughing To Lighten The Load” where she discusses how she used laughter to heal herself whole!
James Davis is a writer and standup comedian based in Los Angeles. He has written on The Late Late Show with James Corden and appeared as a regular roundtable guest on Chelsea Lately.
Davis also created and starred in the Comedy Central series Hood Adjacent with James Davis, which garnered acclaim in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, GQ, The New Yorker and many others.
Davis has served as the host of the Facebook show Do or Dare, in which he led celebrities through wacky competitions for a chance to win cash prizes for a charity of their choice, and is hosting Netflix’s first game show, Awake. His Comedy Central one-hour special just aired to rave reviews and can be seen on the platform now.
Bo last name Dacious is a stand-up comedian with NO boundaries and is among the most diverse comics working today. He is the regular host of Apollo Night at the Virginia Beach Funnybone.
Bo has shared the stage with the likes of Dave Chappelle,Damon Wayans, Mitch Hedberg, Cedric the Entertainer, D.L. Hughley, Paul Mooney, Tommy Davidson, Charlie Murphy, Lewis Black, Sommore, Monique, Eddie Griffin, Mike Epps and the list goes on and on. Currently DL Hughley’s opening act over a span of the last 3yrs.
Bo is known for his extreme humbleness with a slight touch of arrogance, quick wit, all races humor and remarkable singing voice.
Stand-up Comedy in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.