Nightlife / Clubs

Comedian DeRay Davis takes a break from movies with stand-up

By David Burke | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 | () comments

Comedian DeRay Davis is on a campaign that’s taking him as many miles as Barack Obama and John McCain.

He hosted the Ozone magazine Awards, given by the Texas-based rap magazine, on Monday in Houston. He was called by Kanye West at the last minute to fill Rihanna’s spot for several stops on West’s concert tour. He’s a regular on BET’s “Comic View” and MTV’s “Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n’ Out.” And he’s notching numerous movie roles alongside the likes of Eddie Murphy, John Travolta, Will Ferrell and Robin Williams.

On top of that, he’s taking his own tour, “DeRay’s Comedy Campaign,” out on the road, including a stop Friday night at the Adler Theatre in downtown Davenport.

“I figured Obama’s going out and McCain’s going out, so I’d campaign for comedy president,” Davis said in a telephone interview from Houston.

He said about 10 minutes of his act is political.

“I don’t know much about politics, but I’m going to go ahead until someone comes along and shuts me down,” he added.

The Davenport stop is one of nine on the tour, with Davis headlining a five-comic, two-DJ show.

“I’m from the Midwest, so I believe in starting there and branching out,” the native of Chicago’s South Side said. “I’ve never put together my own tour, so I’ve been doing that in between the movies, especially since there’s an actors strike that’s possibly on the horizon.”

Davis said he considers himself more of a motivational speaker than a stand-up comic when he performs, trying to set himself apart from others.

He also said he’s more of an improvisational performer, something that Davis said stems from his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

“My strength is my weakness. My (ADHD) is terrible because I can’t remember anything, but it’s great because I’m striving to be a different comic,” he said. “I think of things right there.”

Davis has racked up 14 movie roles since 2001, including “Semi-Pro” with Ferrell, “License to Wed” with Williams and both “Barbershop” movies. He has roles in the upcoming Travolta-Williams movie “Old Dogs,” and he plays Murphy’s best friend in “NowhereLand,” both of which are scheduled to be released next year.

“The career’s moving pretty fast, so I can’t judge it. If you look at a timeline of other comics’ careers, I hope it doesn’t go down from that,” he said. “But I watched other careers and I saw what they did right and what they did wrong.”

Davis said the speed of his career has amazed even him.

“If anything slows down at all, basically I feel like it’s a speed bump — am I not doing well?” he said. “But I need someone to remind me that this just happens.”

He looks to performers such as Will Smith and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs as models of the career he’d like to have. But there’s another Sean he wants to emulate.

“Nobody listens when I say this, but I want the career of a Sean Connery, career-wise, when you’re constantly working. I wanna be 70 ... with that kind of consistency,” he said. “Money-wise, everybody wants to be Will Smith.”

Davis, 30, said he can take on any situation, pointing to a night when he was supposed to perform at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. Chris Tucker was onstage when he introduced Dave Chappelle as a surprise guest. Chappelle, in turn, introduced Murphy, who got on the stage to wave to the crowd. After the melee subsided, the manager asked Davis whether he still wanted to go on.

He did.

“Mediocre clapping, no response when I come up. I said, ‘Give it up for my openers,’ and the laughter just started,” he recalled.

IF YOU GO

What: “DeRay’s Comedy Campaign,” with DeRay Davis, Shawty Shawty, G-Thang, Vanessa Fraction, Maurice G, DJ Scratchmaster D and DJ Captain

When: 8:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15

Where: Adler Theatre, Davenport

How much: $32 and $22 in advance, $37 and $27 at the door

Information: (563) 326-8555 or AdlerTheatre.com on the Web

Also on the Web: DeRayDavis.com

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.