Ian Lara On Comparisons To Chris Rock, His Afro-Latino Identity, And The State Of Stand-Up Comedy
Sweater NAHMIAS, Pants DKNY, Sneakers CONVERSE.
“FOR ME, IT'S STILL A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ARE STILL SUPER COOL TO DO, LIKE THE TONIGHT SHOW, A SPECIAL ON HBO, BEING ON COMEDY CENTRAL. SO I'M CROSSING ALL THOSE THINGS OFF MY LIST AND I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE HERE.”
Photographed by Ammar Thomas
Were you the class clown growing up in school?
Yeah, I was one of them. At my school, there were a few class clowns. I was one of the funny kids people would try to sit near because they knew it would be a fun time in class.
In a video for The Stand NYC, you share that your high school girlfriend had bought you tickets to see Chris Rock's Killed The Messenger at the Apollo, and going to see that turned a switch on for you. Do you remember what it was about that stand-up performance that inspired you?
Yes! It was the first time I saw a live comedy show, and I thought it was cool. He was taping a special, so you had all the red carpet fixings of a special taping where there are cameras, and it's exciting. The warm-up guy lets you know, hey, we're making a movie here tonight for HBO, so we need the crowd to be on. He had Doug E. Fresh open up DJing for him. That was dope! And Chris Rock in concert, especially at that point, he's a showstopper. All those things tied together, I was just like, man, this is a great job.
You go from being inspired by Chris Rock's work getting started with becoming a stand-up comedian to The New Yorker dubbed you a young Chris Rock. Does that feel like a full-circle moment for you?
Not really I wouldn't say it's a full-circle moment. I was honored that a very prestigious magazine like The New Yorker would say that. The writer who wrote it was a well-respected writer, so I felt like that was a cool thing for him to say. But to be honest, I didn't even think much of it. It was other people that were like, The New Yorker said you were a young Chris Rock, that's like a big deal. Then I started to be like, alright, well, yeah, I guess that's a big deal. In the article, he was referring to me having a young street smart style, and that reminded him of a young Chris Rock. So I didn't take it as a full-circle moment, but I was honored to be in the same conversation as Chris Rock.
Have you received any stamp of approval that felt like you've made it?
Being a working comedian in New York City, the mecca of stand-up comedy is where it's at. Being on the same shows as Chris Rock, Chappelle, or Kevin Hart, or even sitting at the comedy table at the comedy cellar with Chris Rock for hours, all of us joking. Those moments you feel like an equal because you're just comedians at the comedy table talking shit. That's like a damn like, I've come a long way.
Opposite Page: Polo BILLY REID Jeans DEVIL DOG DUNGAREES
What are your thoughts on the state of stand-up comedy in 2022?
I think stand-up comedy is in a good place. I think it's more big comedians than there ever were. There are more comedians doing arenas than ever, and more comedians selling out comedy clubs than there ever were. I know, canceled culture is a thing, but I think we're at a place that's a bit more removed. People see the effects of canceled culture, so they're being more cognizant of not canceling people. Aside from that, I think comedy is in a great place.
I hear comedians say they're the people that can go on stage and say whatever they want because it's humor, and their objective is to make people laugh. Do you believe that's still true today?
Yeah, I think it's true. I don't think it's like a free pass. The objective is to make people laugh, so if you say something that's crazy, and people don't laugh, then there are repercussions to that. I don't think it's a free pass where I could go up there and say whatever crazy idea I have and say I was trying to make people laugh. Alright, well, you tried and you failed, so this is the repercussions of saying a joke like that and failing.
Suit DKNY, Shirt KARL LAGERFELD.
There are two things that I loved about your work. I liked the way that you casually talk about your ethnicity. You identify as a Black man, you talk about your Dominican background and family, and it's not a lesson on being Latino and Black. You go with the flow, and people have to catch on. Growing up, did you feel like you saw yourself represented in media, and you're a representation of Afro-Latino men today, so what do you hope they're learning or picking up as they're watching you?
I definitely didn't feel represented growing up. In the 90s or early 2000s, the Hispanics or Latinos on TV were coming from LA, mostly Mexican comedians like George Lopez, and those guys who are super dope. Then for black, it was just African Americans represented. You thought Black was just African American, and that was it. I existed in this middle world where my family is Hispanic, they all speak Spanish, they're from the Dominican Republic, but then we're also all Black. It was a weird space that I existed in where I'm one of the others, depending on where I'm at. If I'm with my homeboys who are African American and I'm just a black kid. When I'm with my Dominican friends, then I'm Dominican, but to them, I was also a black kid because not all Dominicans look like me. I think one of the things that I wanted to do, and I feel like we're doing it, I want to give people like somebody they can look at and be like I'm Afro-Latino. It doesn't have to be Dominican, Columbia, Puerto Rico, or whatever; you could be whatever type of Hispanic or Latino and still be black. I want to give people a person they could look at and say, oh, yeah, I'm like that, because I felt like I didn't have that.
Another thing I enjoyed was how smooth you were. You're making people laugh, and as soon as the laughs quiet down, boom, next joke. The timing was perfect. Was that natural to you or a part of studying your craft?
I would say it's natural to who I am, but it wasn't natural to who I was on stage. When you first start, you're trying to find yourself, you're trying to find what works for you. I've tried doing the Chris Rock where I'm walking back and forth on the stage, and I'm hitting these points and repeating and I'm loud. I've tried to do like Kevin Hart where I'm being more physical and acting out on my set. I've tried to be like Chappelle where I'm just sitting on a stool and kind of pontificating a little bit. But I could never be those guys because they're just being them. So it took me a while to realize what my thing is. People have told me that I have a rapper style in comedy. I credit that to the New York me so I was like, this is who I am, let me double down on being me and make people adapt to that. Sometimes it'll take a couple of minutes for you to realize what I'm doing especially if you follow a comedian who's like high energy or really loud. I don't move like that I'm laid back but I can't just go on stage and be 100% who I am offstage, it's an exaggerated character of who I am.
You told People En Espanol that you won't release any new stand-up after your next special with HBO Max in September to come up with a new set. Can you share any details on what that creative process is like to, you know, just to develop a whole new set of jokes?
I filmed my Comedy Central special at the end of July. I already had signed to deal with the people at HBO max to tape another one in November. As soon as we taped the Comedy Central stuff, I started with a notepad, writing every day or every week. I would start on Monday and try to have a new joke per week. I would start on Monday and write the bones of the joke. Hopefully, by Friday, I'd have it as a bit that I could evolve. I kept doing that for the first month or two and at the end, I had probably like a new 15 minutes. It wasn't great, but it was serviceable, where I could expand on this. I did that up until like November. When we were supposed to film in November for the New York Comedy Festival, I lost my mom. She got sick, and she ended up passing away. When it came time to tape, HBO accommodated. They said we don't want to tape this right now while you're going through stuff, so we'll push it back. The date that we decided on was July so I'm filming it on July 16 in New York. The fact that filming got to push back helped me because I was able to go on tour and workshop the act and make this new special as tight as it could be for me. So in that way, it helped me.
You've done work with HBO, with Comedy Central, and you've been on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. When you release your new set, are there any stages or platforms you would love to present your comedy?
I've checked off a lot of those things. I did a short special for HBO max, I shared it with another comedian. It was a short thing where I did 15 minutes, he did 15 minutes. That was my first time on HBO. This next special is all by myself, so that's a big thing off my list that I got to check off, doing my own HBO Max special. If they'll have me, I'll try to do another set on The Tonight Show to promote it. I'm just grateful for like all the opportunities. I feel like the industry has changed where if you did these things, you would be a household name. It's not like that anymore. For me, it's still a couple of things that are still super cool to do, like The Tonight Show, a special on HBO, being on Comedy Central. So I'm crossing all those things off my list and I'm just happy to be here.
READ IT
〰️
READ IT 〰️
Photographer: Ammar Thomas @manmeetsstyle
Styling: Nigel Isaiah @nigel_isaiah
Grooming: Crystal R. Smith @locdinstyle
Location: 718 Studios
