Ahead of his appearance at the Paddy Power Comedy Festival, we sat down with comedian Dane Baptiste to discuss his start in stand-up, the return of live shows and his endless curiosity.
Dane Baptiste has been making history as a Black creative in the UK since he first hit the comedy scene in 2006.
Thanks to American sketch shows like In Living Color and stand-up specials from Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, and Eddie Griffin, as well as attending live shows at the Catford Theatre in London, Baptiste was inspired to pursue comedy from an early age.
"One of my reasons for doing comedy in the first place was around 2008 when we had the credit crunch, and I thought there are no stable jobs that will keep you protected from what can happen. I think the same applied to the pandemic, it was a demonstration that nothing is perfect or set in stone. It's really more about adaptation."
"I would like to think my motivations for getting into comedy in the first place were not purely financial anyway. Your primary impetus or motivation has to be the enjoyment and for the love of the craft."
Failing to find the same level of diversity in the UK comedy scene as that in the US, the aspiring comic endeavored to forge his own path as a Black entertainer in Britain, using his voice to address topics of race, gender, economics, and identity politics.
A self-proclaimed 'Woke Joker', Baptiste - who has previously described himself as a 'knowledge socialist' - fundamentally believes that knowledge is a power that should be shared with the masses.
"For me, because comedy allows me to focus my mind on people and things that actually matter, I've been able to declutter my mind from a lot of preoccupations that didn't really have any meaning anyway," he explains.
"I think there's a lot of associations and a lot of inclinations that are forced upon people and a lot of aspects of conformity on society on what we should do - and my mind doesn't get bogged down by stuff like that. I think it's a very freeing state of being."
"I think that people would give a lot more time and thought to politics and the mechanics that govern their existence," he adds, "but those people have to get up and go to work or go to school - there are so many other forced obligations that prevent people from thinking about their existence and their reality. It's a privilege afforded to very few."
I be saying stuff on tv and in shows and then 5 years later social media be getting the jokes 😄😄👋🏾 https://t.co/jduBs1TBqA pic.twitter.com/MQM8y0ewvG
— Dane Baptiste/A$ap BAP/Joke Dza 🤡👊🏾♥️👨🏾🚀🌍 (@DaneBaptweets) July 6, 2022
In 2014, Baptiste became the first Black British solo comic to be nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer with his special Citizen Dane. Just two years later he created Sunny D, the first Black sitcom commissioned by the BBC in 20 years.
More recently, in 2021, he wrote, produced, and hosted Bamous, a provocative comedy show that plays with the idea of NASBLAQ - a mythical stock index for black and famous talent.
As well as questioning the ties between fame and respect within the Black community, the show acted as a platform for a diverse cast of comedians, something that the Londoner has been conscious of throughout his career.
"It's very easy to complain and lament about the state of things but one of the most effective things to do is lead by example. I decided to style myself in terms of trying to be the type of person that I would have liked to have seen when I started my career in comedy."
"By the same token, now that I'm in a more advantageous position, it's about following the affirmation of 'each one teach one'. Any skills or resources or experiences that I can impart to people who look like me or have similar experiences that I do despite not having the same appearance as I do."
"We are all equally dependent on each other for influence and inspiration," he adds. "Every individual contributes to the whole."
As well as an extensive list of TV credits on panel shows such as Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Baptiste hosts a hugely successful podcast called Dane Baptiste Questions Everything.
Despite the success he has found with both his podcast and TV projects, however, the 38-year-old insists that his home will always be on stage - great news for Irish comedy fans who will have the opportunity to see him live in the Iveagh Gardens for the Paddy Power Comedy Festival this July.
"I've always had a really good time in Ireland, and I'm looking forward to coming back," he says.
"There's been a real change for the appreciation of live performance, crowds are a lot more attentive" he continues.
"Even during the pandemic, when we found a lot more innovative ways to put on shows, for example, I played a lot of retail parks and industrial parks where we had a kind of drive through like in the 60s, which was quite a novel concept but it really worked."
"It proves that when it comes to the bond between audiences and artist, as long as you have a good product or a good piece of art, people will give you respect."
The Paddy Power Comedy Festival runs from July 21st - 24th - find out more here.
