Transcript of Mookie G: Behind the Laughter, Finding Purpose and Being Yourself New

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I am comfortable with silence on stage, which, that's a tough thing. When you first start telling stories and people are not laughing, you wanna just cut off the story just to get to the punchline.

Mm-hmm.

'Cause you need to hear the laughter to validate yourself.

Yeah.

Not anymore. It's like, no, no, you gonna sit there quietly. But when I make you laugh, my goal is to make you pee on yourself laughing.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of Mic Unplugged. In this one, we are bringing all the fun, all the laughter, maybe a couple of tears too. This guest, not only is he a good friend of mine, but we met at a comedy show he was performing, and the person to my right gave him the stank face all set long. I knew it was gonna be a long night for him. He just didn't know. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my good friend, Mr. Mookie G. Mookie, how you doing today, brother?

I'm doing fantastic. So we're gonna start off with that, huh?

We gotta go there. We gotta go there because I, you know, I love comedy. I'm a stand-up comedy guy. I can't tell jokes, so that's not me, but I love the art. And I always wonder, like, what is it like when, like, people pay money to go to a show And then they don't laugh. And then I'm sitting there and I was just like, oh, I'm embarrassed right now.

Who was the person next to you that you're talking about?

Oh, that would be my wife. That would be my wife sitting to my right.

So first of all, thank you. It is a pleasure to be here with you. Uh, but that night, first off, let— I'm gonna back it up even more. It's a comedy show inside of a yoga studio.

Hot yoga.

Hot— yes, a yoga studio. So it was fun. I'm closing out the show. It's a great show. Everyone's laughing. But as a comedian, I know for me and some other comedians, we get fixed on the individuals that are not laughing. And there was just one particular woman, beautiful woman, sitting there, and she did not laugh much. And I kept paying attention to that. Come to find out, I posted a picture and the—

The next day on Instagram.

The next day on Instagram, wrote about it. And you write back and said, hey, that was my wife, but she did have a good time. She didn't feel well. I say, dang, I feel bad now.

I love that we were part of the set. How about that?

That was so— that was a fun night.

Yeah.

That was a very fun night of comedy.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

We're gonna have a lot of fun today. I hope so. 'Cause I love everything about you, bro. Huge fan of you. Always in your merch.

Appreciate it.

We're gonna talk about this thing in a little bit. But I always start my show by asking my guests, what's their because? That thing that's deeper than your why. Like, if I were to say, Mookie, what's your why? You're gonna say, my daughter, or the kids that I teach, or whatever. But when I say, but why? That sentence usually starts with, well, because... And I care about that moment. Today, what's your because?

Bringing happiness and joy to others. That, that my because is I enjoy watching people have a good time in life. I guess that's why I'm focused on people not laughing. I'm trying to make them laugh. Right.

Right.

But my because is happiness and joy for everyone.

Has that always been you?

No. I did not know that was my because until later on in life. It was there, but I didn't recognize it.

How'd you find it?

My mother did. My mother saw something in me that I didn't see. That's how I got into comedy is because of her. So she was like, you always— you're always trying to make people laugh and have a good time. You're trying to bring joy to others. And she was like, you know what? She gave me her card and said, find a comedy class to sign up for. And I was like, I don't think that's how comedy works. You just get on stage and do it. Come to find out, she was right. And that's when I began to discover my because.

I love that so much. And I also love the fact that you respect the art. And I'm going to talk about stand-up comedy. That you respect the art of stand-up because these are going to be the words of Mick and Mick only. so we're not getting Mookie in trouble.

Please don't.

But the pandemic and social media allowed people to be situationally funny.

Yes.

Right? You can record, you can edit, right? Like, you can pop in all the cool transitions. But being on stage is much different. The energy's different than when it's my phone.

Yes.

And there's nothing on the other end, but I can be cookout funny.

Yes.

Right?

Barbecue funny.

Yeah.

Talk to us about that difference of just stand-up and, like, Like, again, I'm not bashing social media comedians 'cause some of them are very funny.

Yeah.

But there's a huge difference of rocking a mic on a stage.

Yes, it is. Standing in front of a group of people, you're going to experience this stage fright 'cause they're in front of you. On social media, you're talking to your phone. You don't get that sight. You don't get to see the faces of those looking back at you. You just see yourself as a reflection through that phone. But on stage, I don't see me. I see everyone in front of me. And that brings a fear. And you got something you have to fight through, not just to get comfortable, but then to also be funny.

Right.

'Cause you'll think people looking at you like, oh, I'll be fine. And once they start looking at you, you'll shut down and forget what you need to do. But you gotta find that funny once you get on stage. And it's easier the more— the longer you do it.

And so how long have you been on stage?

8 years.

8 years.

8 years.

What's been the toughest thing? The toughest part of the journey?

Performing at bars where— on a Monday Night Football night while poker is going on at the same time. That's the toughest part right there. It's having to be— I have to be funny while people are watching the game on screen. and then to my left, they're over here playing poker. They're not paying attention to me. And the lady in front of me is eating wings, so she doesn't care either. She's trying to enjoy these wings.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

That's crazy. So when we talk about the art of comedy, and, you know, like, again, I told you I'm a huge stand-up fan. Like, Rickey Smiley's been on the show, Earthquake, Arie Spears. All of them will tell me, they usually don't watch other comedians, just from the fear of you hear something that they say is funny, and you think you could take it another place, right? Or it might mess up a set that you have or alter a set that you have. Do you, when you're on stage, do you listen to other comedians?

When I'm on stage, yes. I like to pay attention to how the show is going.

The energy.

Yes. The energy. If it's someone's birthday or anniversary, I pay attention to those things. I don't watch stand-up comedy as a fan anymore. I stay away from watching specials.

Yeah.

It's very rare that I would go to a show just as a spectator now. I got outta that maybe 2 and a half to 3 years ago, 'cause I found listening to other people, it's like, oh, I have a joke similar to that. I have something close to that. And then you just drop it.

Yeah.

And it may be a joke that it's— the premise is the same, but the jokes are completely different. And everyone, 'cause we all have, as comedians, we're all gonna have jokes about the same topics.

Society's happening every day.

Every day.

So— There's breaking news, right?

Yeah. If you watch a comedian, for me, and I know some other comedians, as you were saying, you'll see those things and it'll shut you down and then you'll stop writing. You'll stop trying to create. You'll, then you'll try to be unique. No, you're just experiencing your life.

Yeah.

That's it.

So you just brought up something and I'm gonna give the world what I call an unplugged truth. Writing jokes could be the hardest thing you ever do, like writing a set, because you got to think about so many things, and you've got to adjust it over and over again. Did you fall in love with joke writing?

No.

No?

I hate it. I hate jokes. As a matter of fact, it's very rare that I sit down and I put paper to pen.

Really?

Yep. So how I get into the process, if I have a premise, I'll type it down. But when I'm driving in my car, I will turn everything off except my phone. I'll just hit video record and I'll just start talking it out as I'm driving. I don't even look at the camera.

Mm-hmm.

I'm just recording. And then at some point later that day, maybe a week later, I'll go back and listen to it and I'll start picking things out like, okay, that's funny. I can talk about that. That's a good joke. That could be a punch. But putting paper to pen, that's not me. I've never been a writer.

Really?

Never.

Well, what you're doing is the new age writing now.

It is.

Yeah. It's talking through it. So let me say it differently. Joke developing.

Yes.

Whether it's written, voice memo, whatever it is, I don't think people understand how hard that is.

Oh, it absolutely is.

Yeah.

It is. And then the process of trying to make it funny, or get it funnier. It's harder because you're on stage working it out in front of people. Let's say if you're at an open mic where there's poker and Monday Night Football going on at the same time, it's like you have— if one person laughs in a group like that, okay, that joke has potential. That punch has potential. So you just have to find what's funny through others. And that can be tough sometimes if you don't pay attention.

Have you ever had a Richard Pryor moment? Like, most people don't understand Richard Pryor Live at Sunset Strip. It was 2 takes.

Yes. He walked off the first one. Right.

It was 2 takes. Have you ever had a moment where set 1, this joke just didn't hit, but you deliver it the same way, and set 2 or night 2 is killing them? Because to me, that would crush me. It's like, wait, I just— I told it the same way. I didn't have time to adjust the joke.

Yeah.

And now y'all love it. Like, that would crush me as a comedian.

You know what? Both. So I have had a night like that. It was the same night. One show was at 7:30, then late show, 9:30 show. And the first show, my set didn't go well. There were certain parts of it that didn't go well. I didn't get a lot of laughter where I normally would. But then after the show, those people, They were like, your set was fantastic. We had such a good time. They just didn't laugh the way the second show did. So like people talk about Richard Pryor's too, you mentioned that, but people say that first set that he did, it was actually funny.

Funnier. Yeah.

But it was not to him.

Right.

He didn't feel it.

He didn't like the timing.

He didn't like the timing. But everyone was enjoying it. The people recording, it was like, oh, this is going to be fantastic. But he didn't feel it.

No.

So sometimes we get in our own heads as comedians like, oh, this didn't go well.

No.

You know, we're focusing on the per— the people that's not laughing. Your wife, my bad. But it's a great set anyway.

Yeah. Yeah. So going further with that and talking about the joke delivery, and, and you've done it all, right? Headliner, host, closing. Talk about the difference of that, of, hey, I've got a, a 3 to 5 minute set. Now I gotta build a 15, 20, maybe even a 30 minute set. But you still kind of keep the jokes the same. And one of the things I appreciate about Earthquake is he said this, you got to be able to tell the same joke in 60 seconds, in 3 minutes, and in 5 minutes. The same joke. I don't know if I could do that either.

That's tough. It is because you'll find yourself taking out some of the funniest bits, in your opinion, just to make it funnier quicker. So that's always a task. But hosting, featuring, headlining. Hosting, you gotta understand how to gauge the room, when to bring 'em back, how to set 'em up for the next comedian, and then acknowledge things that's happening in between everyone's set.

Right.

And things that's happening in the room. When you're hosting, you can't afford to not pay attention.

Right.

When you're featuring, You're shortening your time. If you normally used to doing 45 minutes, you gotta cut it down to 20 minutes, but you just focus on the funniest 20 minutes that you can. Headliner, it's fair game. You don't have to worry. I'm headlining, this is my show. I can do it how I want to. I can talk to the crowd, I can take my time. I can make these jokes last a long time or quick.

Yeah.

It's up to me. I love it.

Yeah.

I love it.

So this next segment I call the Hot Takes. Hmm.

I've seen this.

It's not even a bad take. Okay.

But—

Wait. There was a long dramatic pause.

Yeah.

You have a tendency to record on Saturday and Sunday mornings with no shirt on.

'Cause I'm sexy, Mick.

Right, so you have this tendency to record and go live with no shirt on.

Yeah.

Is that just your hook? That's the way to get people to stop scrolling?

Like, oh. You see a man with titties. You going through your stories and you just see a man with no shirt on and like, does he have titties? Yeah, you're gonna come back and watch. You're gonna stay, you're gonna stay at least for a few seconds and watch and hopefully while, that gains your attention. Hopefully my jokes will keep you around. If not, come on, come on back to a post later on and you'll see I'm still shirtless.

Except when someone of the opposite sex is walking behind you and is like, what are you looking at on your phone? I was like, oh Jesus.

Oh, you got caught, huh? Well, I wasn't doing anything strange. Wait a minute. I just don't have on a shirt. That's all. You made that sound weird, huh?

No, no, no, no, no. But talk about— Social media and how that helps from a branding marketing perspective, right? Because I think now if you're good, you don't even need PR. Um, and I look at you as an example of being consistent, um, taking risk, but always being yourself. Talk to us about that and social media a little bit.

Social media is a tool that just It gets you out there more. It puts you in the front of more eyes. I'm not someone— I don't have credits at all. So my credits are happening on social media. So I gotta get out there as much as possible. You know, where you see me in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, at night, multiple times. I need you to see a post from me multiple times per day. Shirt on, optional.

Yes.

But that's the way I get myself out there even more.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, it works. It works. And, you know, working in the school district, I remember some of my funniest segments and now they call them series on Instagram, but I think you kind of, you might've started what we call series.

Mm-hmm.

Um, 'cause you'd always have something every morning about why you didn't want to go into work as you're sitting in the parking lot doing your 5-minute countdown. Some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen. Is you just coaching yourself to go in and deal with those kids.

Those kids. And that's not how I would say it. I would— okay. But yeah, it was just, I don't know. It was at that time, I don't do it as much now, but I was like, I gotta find a way to get into this building 'cause I have a family that needs this check to come in. Knowing that I don't want to be here, I would prefer to be, I don't care if it's— I could be at somebody's breakfast spot doing comedy. That's where I want to be. But it's only going to pay me in a waffle and chicken, and I need more than that. That's not going to feed the family. That'll keep me fed, but that'll make my wife kick me out, and I don't need that. So it was just me having fun and acknowledging that sometimes going to work is hard because I know I'm not the only one going through that. None of us really want to go to our job unless we're hosting the BET Awards. Make Unplugged show, you know? But we have to talk ourselves into getting into work. And just having fun with it is the best way I know how to do it.

Nah, again, much appreciated, man. Like, all that stuff helps me because— I'll go to a different place. Like, I also think comedy is healing.

Yes.

Because we've all heard the saying, the same thing that make you laugh will make you cry, right? And I appreciate you being authentic. Again, the shirt says it all. Always be yourself. Because for me, that was healing. That's why I wear this shirt, not the same shirt, y'all. I have like 10 of them, I think. But I wear this shirt at least once a week because it keeps me grounded. And Mick, you are you.

Mm-hmm.

Be you. The only person you're guaranteed to live your entire life with It's you. Is yourself.

That's it.

You're not gonna see your kids every day, your spouse every day, your parents. Like, you're not gonna see anyone every day but you. Talk to us about the importance of understanding you and being you.

I think loving you is all of that. It's wrapped up just right that you have to love you. You can't find anyone that's gonna love you the way you love you. Like, most, a lot of us, we wake up, We look in the mirror and the first thing we say to ourselves is something negative like, oh, look at me, I need to get myself together. No, I'm looking at myself in the mirror like, all right, here we go. It's another day to make some people happy and give 'em joy.

Yeah.

That's for me. That, and that makes me happy.

Mm-hmm.

Because I'm not only doing it for them, I'm doing it for my own selfishness as well.

Yeah.

Because making people laugh, have a good time, giving 'em joy, that makes me happy.

Yeah.

So I gotta love me, and that's what creates the being me. And if they don't like it, too bad.

That's it. That's it, bro. I love that so much. So speaking of being you, we gotta talk about your football team.

Wait, do you know my football team?

Yeah, 'cause my team went to the Super Bowl and beat your team to get there.

Okay, you might be right.

Yeah, I am a New England Patriot fan.

Yeah, yeah.

And we did beat the Houston Texans.

Okay, okay.

As a matter of fact, we own the Houston Texans. Like, like we might just move the—

You're just saying own?

We might just move the city of Houston to Massachusetts. It's just, yeah, yeah. We're going back, we're going back to days where you own land and property. We, we might just say— Yeah, I know. We might just take the Texans.

Mm.

So, so talk about your love for the state of Texas and more importantly, the Houston area.

First of all, Mick, let me just tell you before I get into the kiss my grits and on behalf of every Houston Texans fan out there, okay?

Okay, win something. Win something and we'll talk.

You're right, but I don't wanna hear it though. That's the whole thing. I mean, you just came out here and said, you know, we own the Texans. I'm like, God dog. And when you think about it, I was like, yeah, that's kind of right. But leave me alone about that.

But—

I apologize.

No, it's too late. Don't— it's too— do you think I'm gonna forgive you? No. Don't worry, we're gonna beat you all this year. We're going to the Super Bowl. But my love for Houston stems from just growing up in Beaumont, Texas. And, you know, growing up in the 1900s, the only thing I could watch in Beaumont, Texas was either the Houston Oilers, the Rockets. And then if we got, you know, you turn to Fox, or before it was Fox, I forgot what it was back in the 1900s, but you would get the Saints if you didn't have cable. We didn't have cable. So we didn't even get the Cowboys where I was from.

Right.

So I grew up a Houston everything fan. And to see the Oilers go to Tennessee, that broke my heart. But I was still in Texas. It was right before I moved to Atlanta to see the Houston Texans franchise get off the ground, to go to a game. I fell in love with it then. I was like, this is still my city. They still got a football team. I'mma always rock with 'em no matter what. No matter how many times we lose to the Patriots, I will always rock with the Houston Texans.

I appreciate that too.

Yeah.

I really do.

Yeah. That's my love for Texas as a whole, except for the Cowboys.

We agree on that.

Okay.

I hate all things Dallas.

Yes.

All things Dallas. So Beaumont, Texas, man. Talk about growing up in Beaumont, which is such a hotbed for not just athletes, but intellectuals too, right? Like, there's a lot of really amazing people from Beaumont.

Yes.

Like, talk about growing up there.

Growing up in Beaumont, like, if you— to be a boy growing up in Beaumont, you wanted to go to the NFL because of all of the legends. that came from Beaumont, Texas. It was, we called it, I don't know about everyone else, but we called it the football capital of the world. 'Cause from Bubba Smith, his brother, I mean, the list goes on. There were years from, I can't think, I think Earl Dotson was playing with the Packers.

Mm-hmm.

And he went to the Super Bowl and won. And from every year thereon, For, I wanna say, 10 to 12 years, someone from Beaumont, Texas was on a Super Bowl team.

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Wow.

So my, uh, Frank Middleton, I remember he went to the Raiders and they went to the Super Bowl. They ended up losing to the Bucs, but the reason that Al Davis signed him He told Frank that, the only reason I'm signing you is every time I've gone to the Super Bowl, I've had someone on the team from Beaumont, Texas. And Frank Middleton was a starting guard for the Los Angeles Raiders at the time. And it was just being in Texas, in Beaumont, Texas was amazing. It's a big sports town. You played football, you fought mosquitoes, and you smelled refinery oil all the time.

All the time.

So, I love that old country town.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Shout out to Kendrick Perkins too.

Big, big Perk.

Big Perk out there in Beaumont, man. So let's talk about, you said you left Texas and came to Atlanta. What brought you to Atlanta?

To be honest, I came out to Atlanta on a college road trip and being in downtown Atlanta, I had never seen so many Black professionals in my life. Now from Beaumont, Texas, you don't see a lot of Black people there. A lot of us lived in one part of the neighborhood and the rest of Beaumont was pretty white. And then I went to an HBCU and I was like, oh wow, it's a lot of Black people. And then at Prairie View A&M University, shout out, love y'all. But then seeing Black professionals was different 'cause everyone in Beaumont worked at the refinery or in something.

Whatever your grandparents did, that's what you were going to do too.

That's what you did too. doctors and lawyers. But to come in downtown Atlanta, just in one day, you will see people doing any and everything in the professions that you didn't think you had access to. And I was like, oh, one day I want to live here. And after I graduated, I lived in Austin. I moved back to Beaumont for a year. And I was like— I moved back to Beaumont just to save up money to move to Atlanta. And I've been here—

Ever since?

Ever since. I'm not going back.

So you were smothered, covered, and country.

That's it.

All day, right?

All day.

All day.

All day.

Man, so I call this segment The Room. When you decided to take that stab at comedy, was there a room, a dinner, a moment that you had that, like, changed your life and said, I can do it?

It was actually the class that my mom put me in. Jeff Justice Comedy Workshop, which he's getting ready to retire. I think he has 2 more classes left this year.

Mm-hmm.

But I took this class, it was 2018, and just getting on stage for the first time, learning how to take the mic out of the mic stand, put it behind you, and stand there and talk. And the only thing I did was introduce myself to the class. I was like, oh, this is going to be fun. 'Cause I saw people looking at me and I did not feel super nervous. I felt comfortable.

Okay.

And I, it was at that moment I was, I knew I was like, oh, this is, this is it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What was that first paying gig like?

The first paying gig, which, okay, it took me less than 30 days to get that after my graduation show.

Okay.

So, and I, and don't get me, people, I was not funny. Okay. This is not—

He was funny. He was funny.

But the first paying gig was a wake-up call because through class they kept saying, once you get out in open mics, it's going to be different. So this was a feature spot at an open mic. And to stand on stage in front of a semi-crowded room, and most of the room is just there to drink on a Tuesday night after work.

Been there.

And I was like, yeah. And you have to make these people laugh. A few people laughed. I was— that was— but it was tough. That was— I was more nervous there than I was the graduation show.

Really?

Yeah, because that was the first taste of comedy for real.

Okay.

Yep.

How have you matured as a comedian?

Ooh, wow. Comfortable with myself on stage, comfortable with the audience. I am comfortable with silence on stage, which— that's a tough thing. Like, if, if people are 9 times out of 10, they're listening to you. If they've been laughing throughout all of your set— 'cause I'm a storyteller. And if at some part in my story, I get a little long-winded and I'm not funny, they're paying attention, and that punch pays off even more. But when you first start telling stories and people are not laughing, you want to just cut off the story just to get to the punchline. 'Cause you need to hear the laughter to validate yourself.

Yeah.

Not anymore. It's like, no, no, you're gonna sit there quietly.

Yeah.

But when I make you laugh, my goal is to make you pee on yourself laughing.

Yeah.

Yes, sir. So, here's something most people didn't know about me. So, I love the art of stand-up. And again, I'm not a comedian, never will be, but I do public speaking. I study comedians to understand pace and transitions. Because to me, when I speak publicly, It's all about points and stories.

Mm-hmm.

Right? Like, Les Brown taught me, never make a point without telling a story, and never tell a story that doesn't have a point. Right.

Right?

And I think that's what comedians do really, really well. Like, that's what you have to do. And so, I focus so much on the pace of the story I'm telling, and then how to transition from one story or point to the next one so that you keep people captivated.

Yes.

And they feel like it's a nice, smooth journey. And I feel that when I watch you, because again, these are the words of Mick and Mick only. Some people just are going to give you all their jokes and it doesn't flow well. And I think it's received that way. How important is pace and patience for you on stage?

Oh, very important. Very, because if you try to rush your jokes, you rush your set and it's, it feels clunky.

Mm-hmm.

And this, you'll look down at your watch to see how much time you've performed. You'll find that, oh, I still have 15 more minutes and I just threw everything out there in these first 15 minutes.

Yeah.

I messed up.

Yeah.

So I think it's important to take your time and pace and have a point with everything.

Dude, that is so funny because I coach speakers and I tell them 5 minutes is much longer than you think it is.

Yeah.

much longer than you think it is. And conversely, 5 minutes can also go by like that.

Yes.

You've gotta be able to control it because to your point, if someone pays you to speak for an hour and 30 minutes you're done and you just try to go straight to QA or on the comedy side, you go straight to the roast, people are gonna start to pick up on that.

Absolutely. It, it can, you'll see it and feel it as well.

Right, right, right. So what all do you have going on next? I know you've got, you know, school is coming back. You're traveling all over the country now. Like, what do you have going on next?

I am trying to get booked more. That's it. I'm focusing on getting booked. I am focusing on doing some social media stuff where— with a couple other comedians where we want to help people sell homes. We trying to help realtors out there, realtors out there.

Okay.

By just coming in and roasting the home. That's what we're calling it. And we, we had our first video. Um, fellow comedian is selling a home, so he is like, we're gonna try on your home. And we had a good time with it.

That's cool, man. That's cool. So selling homes with comedy, roasting the home. Ah, I'm nervous about that one.

Well, it's happening. There's a woman that's in Florida that is very successful doing this.

Okay. No, I, I love it. I, I was just thinking of my home. I was like, oh, I don't know.

Well, let me do it. Come on.

No, it's a lot of Patriots stuff in there. That's why I was worried about it. It's a lot of Patriots stuff in my home, brother.

Okay. I'll just rip it down. It's okay.

No, no, no, no. That helps the value. I can tell you, if I had Texans, $10 for the house.

But—

nah, so you talk about getting booked more. You've got this new collab going on. What does it take to get booked more? Like, what is the exposure like? Uh, for convenience.

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Honestly, it's being undeniable. Uh, and, and look, it takes being seen by the right people at the right time. Um, and then also just keep putting yourself out there. Mm-hmm. So it's no matter what, you have to perform your best at all times. Yeah. 'Cause you never know who's watching you. You never know when that opportunity is gonna be there. So one day, I'm pretty sure someone is gonna see me and be like, hey, after the show, we need to talk, once everybody walks out. And then they're gonna say, I wanna sign you. That happens to a lot of people that way. And I, I have a feeling that's gonna happen to me. Someone's just gonna be in the audience, and I'm not gonna know who they are until after the show.

Have you done any or applied for, like, any of the reality TV stuff?

I did. I signed up for, I always sign up for festivals.

Okay.

I get in a few. It's, you get in some, you don't get in others. But then I did sign up for season 2 of Kevin Hart's Netflix Funny AF.

Let's go.

I submitted that just 2 days ago.

Let's go.

Yeah.

That's what I'm talking about. We are putting that in the atmosphere. Here's how you all can help right now.

Yes.

On Instagram, Uh, Funny AF? Netflix Funny AF?

Netflix Funny AF.

We'll have the handles down here. Click on that, give Mookie a shout out. Uh, forward, share, repost a lot of his footage because I'm telling you, I'm not gonna say everyone that was on season 1, but I know 3 or 4 that it was social media that got them there. It was the social media push that got them accepted. So I need everyone's help. If you Love me like you say you do. Love my brother.

That's right. Patriots fans, please help me out.

He will become a Pa— let's, let's do this right here.

No, no, no, no, no.

If you get on season 2.

No.

Can I get one set in a Tom Brady Randy Moss or Gronk jersey? Thank you. That's, that's all I wanted to hear.

Yeah, I'll do that. Yeah, I could do that. I could— okay. I thought you was gonna say be a fan. No, but—

No, I can't change your heart. I'm like, I, I would never change your heart. 'Cause like, I will always be a Patriot fan like that. I don't care what happens in life. That will be me.

Okay.

But I can get you on stage on a set in a Brady, Gronker, Randy Moss jersey.

All right. I like that.

Yeah? I like that. And if you win?

You're gonna wear a J.J. Watt jersey. I appreciate you.

I'll do that.

Okay.

I'll do that. I'm gonna put my name on the back. I can't wear another man's name on my back though. Like, that's just weird. Every jersey I have has my name on the back unless someone signed it.

Okay.

I can't disrespect. We talked about drinking straws earlier. Grown man rule number 1 for me is I don't drink outta straws. Number 2 is, is there's never gonna be some other man's name on my back, ever.

Understandable.

That's why you don't wear shirts though.

You right about that. 'Cause there's no one's name on my back.

No tattoos of another man's name on your back either?

Absolutely not. I have my name on my arm. That's it.

There you go. There you go. Nah, man, I'm honored to have you here. Before I do this Unplugged 5 segment, the rapid-fire 5 questions, Where can people follow and find you?

Follow me, uh, Instagram, mookie_g_comedy. Facebook is just Mookie G Comedy. Um, you can follow my, uh, Venmo and Cash App, send me a little something. I'm just kidding.

I'm just saying.

I don't have any more of those. I need more.

Yeah, I think I bought them all because, because, uh, I had a family barbecue What, last year, year before? And I hit you up and I was like, yeah, so I think I need like 20 shirts because I have a big family. So I need 20. And you were like, uh-oh.

Yeah, I was like, okay, I'm about to send these to you in sections, but I'm gonna get them to you.

And I paid for them too, because that's how I do with friends.

And I appreciate that.

I don't do anything for free. Um, all right, so we're gonna have all the ways to follow Mookie, um, in the show notes in the description. I promise, follow him on Instagram now. Great human being. Lots of positivity, lots of joy on the site. Like, you never see him berating people. He's not that type of comic. Um, just really good laughter. Every once in a while, he's with some friends. He never invites me to go on these lives, but, you know, whatever. I still show up.

I'll wait.

But I never get in. No, no, it's too late now. Too late. I'm talking to— I'm talking to these people. These people— I love him a lot. I don't get nothing. I don't get an invite to an Instagram Live. But I'm there.

I appreciate you being there.

I'm there every time. Every time. All right, so your rapid fire.

Okay.

Quick 5. Who is your comedic idol?

Sinbad.

You know, I— you get it all the time.

I get it all the time.

Could be your uncle.

Yeah, some people say he could be my dad.

I didn't want to throw people's age out there.

Do it.

You are 67, but it's okay.

I'm not that old.

My knees are. These are, but I'm not.

All right.

Did Mookie play football? And if so, what position?

I did in high school. I played outside linebacker and tackle.

Ooh.

Yep.

Nasty.

Yep. Okay.

Okay. What's your favorite meal in Atlanta?

Lemon pepper wings.

So overrated.

To you.

I don't even eat wings.

What?

I don't eat wings.

Say that again.

I do not eat wings.

What is— okay. Do you eat chicken, a whole chicken leg?

I do not eat dark meat chicken either. I do not eat chicken that touches a bone.

What?

Mm-mm.

Okay. I thought this, this is supposed to be rapid, but I feel like we need to dive into this. Are you okay?

This is a therapy session all of a sudden.

For real.

Mookie talking dookie therapy with Nick. All right. And Nick Unplugged. Yeah, I'm okay.

Wow. When did— was this— does this stem from your childhood? Like—

It was one day in kindergarten, man.

Like— I knew—

I said it. Somebody— I was eating chicken and somebody was like, ooh, there's blood. And I was like, I'll never eat chicken again.

Oh, they messed it up for you.

Never. Anything on a bone, I don't do it.

So you, you gotta have your breast sliced up into tenders?

All day.

Big baby.

13. I eat like a 13-year-old. It's all good. What is your favorite Beaumont, Texas meal?

Ooh!

'Cause, you know, we don't get it. We're all, like, South, but we're cousins in the South.

Yeah.

Beaumont does it different.

So Beaumont is that mixture of Texas and Louisiana.

Mm-hmm.

So, oh, this is— meal. Okay, here's the meal. I got— it's a whole meal too. So I gotta have gumbo, potato salad on the side, and boudin balls. I'm good with that.

Rice and potato salad.

Yep.

That's like people from Detroit that eat catfish and spaghetti.

And I think that's weird.

I think rice and potato salad is weird.

I know, I know, but that's how we eat. We have potato salad in Beaumont with damn near everything.

Okay.

You gonna see some potato salad. Spaghetti, salad, or potato salad.

Yeah, I have been there. So I will say this, not to knock New Orleans, But Beaumont gumbo, it's a little bit different.

Man.

A little thicker.

You, you, you're gonna make some people mad saying that, but I, I kind of agree with you.

A little thick. I like—

Yeah.

I don't, I don't like water.

Me neither. Same.

I don't like water.

I like that, that thickness.

Right.

I like it thick.

You heard what he said.

Yep.

281-330-8004. Hit Nookie G up on the low.

Mike Jones?

Last question. So I gotta ask it differently 'cause I know who your answer would be, so I'm gonna do it different.

Okay.

Different question. As the story of Mookie G is being told, is being developed, what are a couple of words that you want to define your legacy?

Hmm.

Funny and friendly.

Okay.

Keep it there. Funny and friendly.

Funny and friendly.

I like it.

Yep. I like it.

The older I get, the grumpier I get, but I'm still friendly. Grumpiness comes with age.

Does it?

Yeah.

For me it is. So when I'm in my 60s, I gotta, I'm gonna be grumpy too?

Yeah.

Damn.

Yeah.

Damn. He looks good for 67 though, doesn't he?

Don't I? You should see me.

He was over there catching Cologne the other day. Hey.

Mick! The gimmicks that's happening out here. I tried it. It didn't work. I think you gotta have a beard. It didn't stick to my skin on my face.

So my thing again, going back to be yourself, like it's okay to appreciate other people's art form and expression. It doesn't mean everybody got it. 'Cause now it's just like, it's done.

It's out here.

Yeah. Already. Like, I wanna appreciate my guy. Right? Like now it's just ruined 'cause you got everybody and their uncle. making it weird.

You gotta admit though, it was catchy though. Oh, it was. I was like, did this man just do what I think he did?

Right.

This man caught cologne out of midair?

The miss. He says the 45-degree angle.

He started adding science to it and that made me— okay, I was like, that's enough.

Right.

Take the science out of it.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Mookie, bro, I appreciate you so much, man.

Nah, I appreciate you, Mick. I really do.

Yes, sir. And to all the viewers and listeners, remember, you're cause is your superpower. Go unleash it.