LAUGHTER IN LOCKUP
Stand-up comedy star Ali Siddiq learned his skills by cracking up fellow inmates
As one of the premier storytelling comedians on the planet, Ali Siddiq knows how to captivate audiences. That’s a skill he learned while being captive himself for six years, doing time for his past as a drug dealer on the streets of Houston.
Siddiq discovered his talent to entertain and enlighten others during that prison stint, regaling fellow inmates amid his shifts in various prison jobs.
Twenty-five years after his release, he’s had nine stand-up albums, drawn millions of viewers for his comedy specials and toured the world.
On Friday, he’ll mark what he calls “a career milestone for me that will not be forgotten” — bringing his “I Got a Story to Tell” tour to the 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre.
“My audience is a melting pot of all types of people,” Siddiq says. “When I address something, it is an overall blanket statement about humanity and how we are more stitched together in a commonality.
“I want to give everybody an opportunity to understand that I’m a part of all these worlds because I’m on this earth and more welltraveled than the average convicted felon.”
Siddiq spent most of his formative years living in Houston public housing and started selling drugs when he was 14.
He was busted at 19, and his years in prison turned him on to the fact that he could be really funny. As he did his rounds as a janitor or delivering meal trays, Siddiq drew laughs telling stories about what was going on in other wings of the prison and acting out episodes of the Martin Lawrence sitcom “Martin,” playing all of the characters.
When he started working in the prison laundry room, his comedic voice really started to shine. He says the key to his natural talents lay in the fact that he listened intently to everyone and everything around him, picking up others’ tone, accents and mannerisms.
He got so much acclaim from his peers that it inspired him to try winning over the outside world when he got out of prison.
“I went to an ‘Apollo Night’ at a [Houston] club called Just Joking, where the audience really lets you know what they think of you by going crazy with their cheering and booing,” Siddiq says. “The first time I went up, I dressed up because that’s what I saw comics do on ‘Def Comedy Jam,’ and people booed me off the stage because I wasn’t dressed right for the room.
“Two weeks later, I came back in a T-shirt and jeans, and I did so well that I was asked to co-host the whole night starting just two months later, And I learned so much from that club because every step of your success there is based upon proving yourself consistently.”
Siddiq’s reputation spread quickly, leading to years of touring with stars D.L. Hughley and Bill Bellamy.
Siddiq signed with United Talent Agency, but he figures he spent 19 of his 25 years as a professional comic handling his career by himself. He calls the shots on booking tour dates, handles much of his own publicity and has opted for YouTube stardom over streaming platforms like Netflix — a decision that paid off massively, as he drew over 13 million viewers for the first two of his series of “Domino Theory” specials.
He’s also won acclaim for appearances on Comedy Central, Showtime, HBO and BET.
He hones the anecdotes for his specials across many performances, taking pride in even being able to craft tales based on events that happened to him the day of an event.
Above all, Siddiq remains fiercely loyal to Houston.
“I was determined to make it from my hometown because I didn’t understand having to move somewhere and get seen when I can just travel the country and eventually make it happen,” he says. “If people want to go and move away to L.A. or New York, that’s cool, but I find the foundation of what I am is in my city.”