Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx returned to stand-up comedy after a 15-year break. He took the stage at the opening of the Roll Out Live with Speedy N Friends Comedy Series in North Hollywood. The news was announced in Hollywood on December 6, 2017. Foxx surprised the crowd with a preview of new material.
Before the third show, the actor, comedian and musician also shared plans to go back on tour, with radio host Speedy as the host. Foxx said he has known Speedy for years and called him the dopiest comedian, a friend and a homie. The two have been doing comedy for a long time, he noted. He told fans to get ready, since they are heading back on the road.
The series is the first live comedy production from the hit radio show Roll Out Show with Speedy N Friends. The shows were staged at the HaHa Comedy Club, while the radio program itself comes from the team’s own studio. Jovan Dawkins of Heritage Music Group, a three-time Grammy nominee, served as executive producer. Speedy, Pam Baker, Michelle Holden-Caldwell and Marie Lemelle produced it.
The line-up and the crowd
The second show had JT Turner, Gilbert Esquivel and Courtney McGriff. Then the third show brought Frantz Casseus, AJ Johnson, Hope Flood and Mike Bonner to the stage.
Speedy called it a great moment in his career. He wanted a show that put his funny friends in the spotlight. Having Foxx back that idea meant a lot to him.
Many famous faces also sat in the audience. They included comedy writer Johnny Mack, actor Darius McCrary of Fox’s Star and actress and singer Porscha Coleman of All Star Weekend. Actor Gabriel Casseus, comedian Joe Torry and Tyrin Turner also came. So did actor Keith Jefferson, actress Reatha Gray, actor Lionell Dalton and actor Bubba Ganter of Nickelodeon’s Game Shakers. McCrary, Coleman and Sky Holsey performed live music.
Speedy’s road to the stage
Speedy and Nikki Pam Baker host the Roll Out Show. They are also its executive producers. It airs as a live podcast from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays from their own studio in the San Fernando Valley. A rotating cast of guest co-hosts joins them to talk about hot topics, sports, politics and gossip. Over the years, Speedy has opened doors for younger comics in Los Angeles and beyond.
Speedy started in radio in 2007 with Speedy’s Comedy Corner on Foxxhole Radio on Sirius XM. In 2011 he moved to internet radio and launched Reach Around Radio on LA Talk Live. The show later moved to Roscoe’s Media, where it ran until 2013. In 2014 he returned to the Foxxhole on Sirius XM with Speedy’s Comedy Corner. Then, in 2017, he opened his own studio with help from Nikki Pam.
Beyond radio, Speedy also writes for film and TV. His script became the comedy feature All-Star Weekend, which Foxx directed and starred in alongside Robert Downey Jr., Gerard Butler and boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. The film was set for release during NBA All-Star weekend in 2018. Roll Out Live plans a comedy show that weekend to mark Foxx’s debut as a director, with Speedy as executive producer. In addition, he is a producer and writer on the TV game show Beat Shazam, hosted by Foxx and now in its second season.
Dawkins is one third of the songwriting and production team The Co-Captains, together with Jevon Duval Hills and Stanley Green Jr. The team has worked with Curtis Fields, Travis Barker, Mario, Ciara and Hunter O’Neal.
