Comics Michael Blackson, Bill Bellamy, & Rip Michaels Team Up
Blackson Talks Babies, Bellamy Dishes on Marriage. Rip Michaels brings All Star Laugh Crew
- Comedian Rip Michaels organizes the show while awaiting a heart transplant, driven by his passion for comedy.
- Comedians like Michael Blackson and Bill Bellamy mine their personal lives for hilarious material and camaraderie.
- The comedians recognize laughter's power to unite people and provide relief during challenging times.
If laughter really is medicine, Brooklyn is about to get a full prescription — and the rest of the world is next in line.
The show will head overseas to London April 6 before expanding to other cities across the U.S., bringing some of the world’s greatest laugh MCs to the stage.
Comedy heavyweights Michael Blackson, Bill Bellamy and Rip Michaels chopped it up with Radio/TV personality Jazmyn Summers for Radio One about the massive night of stand-up about to go down at the Barclays Center April 4th for the “April Fools Comedy Jam.”
“Its gonna be crazy,” shares Michaels. “You got Michael Blackson, Bill Bellamy, Bruce Bruce, Marlon Wayans, Tommy Davis, Eddie Griffin. And I got TI folks to come back and not get booed this time.” He laughs. “It’s comedy and music with Fat Joe, Jadakiss and Kodak Black.”
But behind the jokes is a story about resilience, brotherhood and a few wildly unpredictable comedians who refuse to take life too seriously.
Rip Michaels Is Producing Through a Life-Threatening Battle
While putting together one of the biggest comedy shows of the year, Michaels has been dealing with a serious health crisis.
The comedian is currently waiting for a heart transplant after suffering a life-threatening heart attack that left his heart functioning at only around 15 to 17 percent capacity.
Still, stepping away from comedy never crossed his mind.
“I’m still on the heart transplant list,” Michaels reveals. “I’m not out the woods yet.”
But during his time in the hospital, he made himself a promise.
“When I was in the hospital, I told myself if I get a chance to get out of here and even get back to doing comedy, that I was going to continue to bring laughs.”
That determination is part of why he’s so passionate about the lineup he’s assembled.
“It is an honor to work with legends,” he shares. “And even after years in the business, Michaels says he still watches the comics he grew up admiring with the same awe as any fan. “I watch these icons and I’m like, wow, it’s just an honor to be around them.”
Michael Blackson’s Family Life Is Pure Comedy
Of course, when Michael Blackson starts talking about his personal life, things quickly spiral into hilarious territory.
The comedian recently welcomed two babies — and according to him, fatherhood has been… complicated.
“I was looking good till I had two babies at the same time and messed my life up,” he jokes.
His relationship status?
Even he isn’t completely sure.
“I don’t even know what I am,” Blackson says, “I’m single and in a relationship.”
What he does know is that kids cost money — and somebody is always waiting for it.
“Either I’m spending money on babies, I’m going to gamble it, or I’m going to have to give it to the IRS,” he says. “Somebody got to get it. I’d rather give it to human beings.”
His Kids Are International — Literally
Blackson’s family stories sound less like parenting and more like a global comedy tour.
One of his children, he joked, is already blending cultures in the most unexpected way.
“I got a half Asian, half African baby… this baby eats FuFu with soy sauce.”
Another child may grow up navigating two religions.
“This baby gonna come out probably half Christian, half Muslim,” Blackson predicts. “He’s gonna work hard as hell, but he can’t bring home the bacon. I’m gonna have a half Indian, half Black baby. So it’s gonna have a turbine with a durag underneath. It’s gonna have waves, but it can’t eat pork.
And when it comes to family resemblance?
Blackson says it’s practically nonexistent.
“All my kids look like I kidnapped them,” he laughs. “None of them look like me. But I’m just trying to make America Black again. As Black as I am no matter who I sleep with, I’m guaranteed to have a Black baby. If I slept with a ghost, I’m going to still have a dark-skinned n***a, guaranteed. “
Bill Bellamy’s Joke Became Part of the Culture
While Blackson mines his personal life for comedy gold, Bill Bellamy already has a permanent place in pop culture history.
Back in the 1990s, Bellamy coined a phrase that still hits today.
Booty call.
“In the ’90s people was just out here randomly doing it but didn’t have names.” Bellamy shares. “When I came out with ‘booty call,’ people was like, ‘What?’” “It made it funny. It made it easy to say,” he explains. “Even to this day, 30 years later people still say it.”
Bellamy says the concept was simple: late-night romance had a schedule.
“Booty calls are officially between one and five in the morning,” he joked. “That’s really the best time because you got to go to work.”
Rip Michaels clowning Blackson says he still has a lot of booty calls “He takes a village. He makes a village. He’s trying to catch up with Nick (Cannon).”
Blackson claps back saying “Nick Cannon ran out of names for his kids. Okay? He named his kids by numbers now because no more names left. Number five. Go upstairs. Number 33. Get out of my face. Number 69. Stay away from me. I still got names for my kids.”
Bellamy is rocking a 25-year marriage. How he keeps it spicy?
“I dress up like a bank robber. I just come in the house with a ski mask on and she be all scared.. And I tie her up too. And then leave her and go to the gym.” he jokes.
Michaels says his now pregnant wife likes to dress up as a unicorn.
When These Comedians Get Together, Nobody Is Safe
The jokes don’t just aim at the audience — they hit each other first.
When Bellamy arrived a little late, Michaels wasted no time roasting him as the diva o the crew.
“Bill was over there modeling for the new barbershop quartet. He’s probably putting on Mac makeup. He’s probably doing some pretty stuff, putting a relaxer in his hair or some sh*t. “
The Warning Label for This Show
If this comedy show came with side effects, the comedians say fans should be prepared.
Bellamy puts it bluntly.
“You gonna laugh and you gonna fart,” he jokes. “It’s going to release gas out your ass.”
Michaels added another possible consequence.
“It may get you pregnant,” he laughed. “If you come to the meet and greet, Michael Blackson might get you pregnant.”
Comedy Is the Release People Need Right Now
The jokes might be wild, but the comedians also recognize the deeper role laughter plays — especially in these tough times.
“There’s a lot going on right now .,” Bellamy opines. “How we’re treating our own citizens right now is wrong. They’re (ICE) just doing random stuff, grabbing people, not even getting any information from them. So that’s why we doing a show like the April Fools Comedy Jam, because we feel like we really are the people to bring laughter and love to our people. We silly, but we make people feel good and we need that right now. “
Blackson who just became a US citizen four years ago agrees and says he also welcomes the thousands of Black Americans becoming citizens of his homeland, Ghana.
“Black America made me who I am today. And trust me when you come home to Ghana, you’re treated like kings and queens .”
Brotherhood, Respect and a Whole Lot of Laughs
Underneath all the jokes, what stands out most is the respect between comedians who’ve spent decades making audiences laugh.
Blackson is balancing fatherhood and international projects while filming a new comedy special in Ghana and getting ready to kick off his “I Deported Myself” tour.
Bellamy continues touring and performing decades after his breakout on Def Comedy Jam.
And Michaels — while waiting for a new heart — is still producing arena-sized comedy events, has a Showtime at the Apollo special on Netflix and is still bringing the laughs on Wild N Out.
Different stories.
Same mission.
Bring people together, crack jokes and make the world feel a little lighter — at least for one night.
You can check out the full hilarious convo in the video below.
Article by Jazmyn Summers. You can hear Jazmyn every morning on “Jazmyn in the Morning “on Sirius XM Channel 362 Grown Folk Jamz. Subscribe to Jazmyn Summers’ YouTube. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
