Comedian Buttah was born in the Virgin Islands but is currently based in Los Angeles. He was present at the Making Smoke event, where he talked about what inspired him to become a comedian, what makes comedians hot, and why professionalism goes a long way in any career.
Tell us about yourself.
Buttah is my radio name. I started in radio. As a radio personality people always said “Hey, you’re funny. You should go on stage and try stand-up.”
I’ve always believed that when somebody tells you something more than once, that’s a sign. So I went on stage, and I sucked. But I told myself that I refuse to go down like this. So I went back again and again and again, and I just never stopped doing comedy from there.
What are some things that make comedians hot?
The thing that everybody needs to learn in the industry is you need to make yourself hot before anyone else will think that you’re hot. That means you have to go out, do the work, and get on your grind. Don’t look for people to put you on. Look for people to find you because you’re doing the work [and] making your own smoke. What I’m saying is, get your matches, get your lighter, and make your own fire so people can notice you.
Why is professionalism one of the keys to making smoke in any industry?
I have had a lot of my achievements in this town based on the fact that I wasn’t the first choice. I was the fourth choice. Let me play this out for you. Person number one wasn’t available. Person number two was too expensive. Person number three had a bad attitude. Person number four had baby mama drama. So then they say, “Hey, let’s get Buttah.” That’s how you achieve things. Showing [up] and honoring your commitments is professionalism. That’s how you make smoke because no one’s going to book you if they don’t know if you’re going to show up or not, or if you have a bad attitude, or you can’t get out of the house because you have other things to look after.
