TV Highlights: Premium Blend, Movies On
Tap, P. Diddy's Bad Boys Of Comedy, Tough Crowd, Comic View
Why He's On The Site: A fantastic
storyteller, Jay can kill by just telling long tales from his
fucked up life...A self-deprecator, Jay often pokes fun at his
weight, but doesn't overdo it like many large performers often
do...Oakerson can work over any type of crowd, from the Def Jam
scene, to the Cringe audiences...Jay has paid his dues in life
and is on the verge of hitting it big time
Official Bio: When "Big" Jay
Oakerson dropped out of college to pursue a career in standup
comedy, his mom's response couldn't have been harsher than if
he'd taken a job bouncing for strippers at bachelor parties; she
kicked him out of the house until he agreed to cut down on his
standup habit. In the meantime, Oakerson took a number of
dead-end jobs -- jobs like driving around strippers and escorts.
And that wasn't the worst of it. "I had a gun put in my
face in Atlantic City," Oakerson says, recalling his job
playing Winnie the Pooh at a kid's birthday party in the 'hood.
"Afterward, the father wouldn't let me in the bathroom to
change, so I took off the Pooh head, and the kid started crying,
and the father was furious. I ended up being chased down the
street with the head in my hands, still wearing the costume.
That was as scary as any stripper problem I ever had."
Fortunately, Oakerson's work-related problems
were about to end. In 2001, his story-based brand of standup won
him the Salem Orb-E Future Faces Competition (the comedy
portion, that is), and he was given the chance to perform at New
York City's noted comedy club Carolines on Broadway. "I did
one show with Kim Coles [of In Living Color fame], and they
ended up keeping me," Oakerson says. So the now-27-year-old
Queens resident left the world of shit work and made comedy his
full-time job, flooring audiences with anecdotal bits about
ultramacho frat boys or being too fat for karate. ("I was a
clear belt," he quips.) Aside from regular standup gigs,
Oakerson can be seen co-hosting Spike TV's Movies on Tap every
Sunday with fellow comic and good friend Patrice O'Neal. This
comes after a recent spot on Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour,
appearing on Comedy Central's Premium Blend, and working as a
writer for Chappelle's Show.
Websites:
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