Back for LAUGHS
After a break, Hari Kondabolu returns to the road with comedy show
Hari Kondabolu is getting back into the swing of things.
After a short break, the New York-based comedian is writing a new hour of comedy material.
And there is no shortage. “There’s a never-ending supply to pull from in today’s climate,” he says. “I feel like I know my voice pretty well at this point. I know what I care about and what jokes make sense for me. The job as a comic is to see if you have something to say. Everything I talk about has a purpose and means something to me.”
In addition to being a comedian, Kondabolu is a writer and a podcaster.
His most recent Netflix special, “Warn Your Relatives,” was released this year, and he was recently named one of Variety’s top 10 comics to watch.
He’s also released two comedy albums and worked on the 2017 documentary “The Problem With Apu.”
Kondabolu cleverly blends personal and political humor, magically turning discomfort into laughter as he compares terrorism and mass shootings, explains why firefighters are better than cops and recalls the time he was heckled by Tracy Morgan.
He was a writer and correspondent on the Chris Rock-produced “Totally Biased” with W. Kamau Bell on the FX network.
Kondabolu co-hosted the popular podcast “Politically Re-Active,” which was named in iTunes’ Best of 2016. Currently, he and his brother, Ashok (Dapwell from Das Racist), co-host “The Kondabolu Brothers” podcast.
Kondabolu says everything in his life starts with an idea.
“I write them down daily,” he says. “The hard part isn’t coming up with the ideas; it’s developing them. It’s the actual going to the club and repeating things night after night. I feel good about what I’m writing and trying to write.”
Kondabolu’s writing process changed about five years ago.
He says that instead of being focused on writing big chunks of things, he takes bullet points out with him on stage.
“I then naturally try to get to it,” he says. “If I want to sound like myself, then I have to have a conversation with people. I talk it all through on stage. When it comes out of me naturally, the audience can feel it. Having a conversation is the best way to take it on. Being a comedian is the backbone to everything I do.”