Comedy tour lights up the stage
By Stephanie Snay | Staff Writer
S.E.LL.O.U.T. (serious, educated, laughing, learning, outrageous, unique, talented) Comedy Tour made a stop in the UIndy Banquet Hall on March 24.
The members of the comedic quartet have been featured on HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, NBC and more.
Comedians Vince Morris, B.T., Billy Washington and Louis Johnson started the night talking about what “sellout” means to them. The comedians explained a sellout as one who doesn’t fit their peers’ expectations.
The four went on to explain why they do what they do. Their comedy is aimed at removing ignorance regarding racial profiling.
B.T. was the first comedian to take the stage. He said he was a “sellout,” because he grew up listening to KISS. He started off with his own performance.
His energy captivated the crowd from the start. He also discussed racism in Indiana and how he didn’t need a reminder that he was black. A mirror, the Indianapolis Police Department and Martinsville, Ind, did that for him.
Louis Johnson performed next. Most of his jokes were based on his family. He kept the crowd laughing when he joked about how religious his mother is and how she would end up 40 miles from home, because that was “where God wanted her to be.”
Billy D. Washington was extremely entertaining. He is an accomplished writer and signer who showed his presence well on the stage. He said that he did not date older women simply because he never met his birth mother.
And who doesn’t want to hear a live ballad version of “Crank That (Soulja Boy)?”
Vince Morris, who played a guard on an episode of “Sex and the City” ended the show well. He has his own “Comedy Central Presents” special and his veteran experience shined through. He was hilarious. He questioned why girls find Lil’ Wayne sexy and said the man, for nicer terms, looked like Flava Flav [explitive] himself.
Though, each comic did their own thing, they all had a unified theme. Their mottos: “Removing the hype from stereotypes.” and “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
The audience responded positively, and some members became the jokes themselves. An audience member yelled at one point, “I heard that.” A comic quickly responded with, “I know that’s a sister out there!”
The last portion of their show was a question and answer session in which they answered questions the audience had submitted anonymously.
This was called, “Ask a black man anything you’ve wanted to know but were too afraid to ask.” The audience became interactive with the performers in this portion of the show.
The comedians answered questions that were asked such as, “Is it true that once you’re with a black man, you’ll need a wheel chair?” or “Why do you all like grape soda so much?”
It addressed stereotypes and tried to overcome them not only through laughter, but also logic and reason.
Overall, the comics did a great job entertaining while conveying a positive message to the crowd.
