When not winning races against strange monsters on popular children’s shows or violently attempting to decapitate James Harden, Metta World Peace is quite the entertainment industry entrepreneur. Once known as Ron Artest, the Los Angeles Lakers forward has long aspired to branch out into other genres as his NBA career has entered its twilight phase. World Peace has famously tried to make his music career happen through his Tru Warrior label, and he and has given us such “hits” as “Get Lo”.
But what a lot of people forget is that World Peace tried his hand at stand-up comedy last year, and the effort was… courageous. I guess that every comedian deserves a second chance, though, and that’s just what World Peace is going for, as he will soon hit the stage again on Sept. 20 for his own charity event, “Comedy Slam Dunk” at the Laugh Factory.
“I’m definitely going to roast President Obama,” he says, “and I’m gonna roast the new guys, too: I have a cool joke about the new Lakers rock stars, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, and about Kobe a little bit. And I have a couple of gay jokes that I’m going to say.”
“No, you can tell gay jokes — you just have to be funny,” he counters. “It’s like telling black or white jokes. And I do have a couple of racist jokes — you gotta throw out some racist jokes. There’s a difference between being racist and telling a racist joke. Every comedian does it. There’s no way around it. Gotta talk about your own race, obviously — I’m going to stereotype black people. You gotta stereotype everybody. Females, too.
“Hopefully people like it, and people laugh.” (Via ESPN)
I’ve only tried stand-up comedy a few times, but I’ve watched with fascination since I was a child, as the legends grew and the flash-in-the-pan hacks fizzled. I’ve also sat in comedy clubs and listened to deafening silence as guys with World Peace’s mentality bombed while they stood in a swimming pool of their own sweat.
That said, if he’s going for some sort of awkward, ironic, avant garde performance art, then it sounds like he’s ready to go.
Here are some clips of his act from last year, and… you can judge for yourself.
I enjoy his bipolar routine, but the Q&A gets old quickly.
(Videos via LAist.)
