Shang

“Shangry” Black Male – A Preview of the Heavy Hitter’s Tour Comedian, Shang.

By Andrea Michele 

What do you get when you mix a little bit of sex, a whole lot of philosophy, a touch of Hip-Hop, passion, anger, poetry and laughs—Shang, one of the hardest hitting stand-up comedians that goes for the jugular when discussing his frank views on socio-political topics and the “isms” of the world. The Powercat of comedy was no less than this when we were talking on the phone earlier this week about any and everything you can think of from where he’s been, his thoughts about the media, current events, blacks in the entertainment industry, Hip-Hop and the R & B neo-soul resurgence and his upcoming projects.

 After an anxiety-inducing game of phone tag, I finally got to speak with one of the most forthright, socially conscious and funniest people I’ve talked to in a long time. True to his noted comedic and natural nature, he threw me off balance with a hilarious intro. I asked him how his day has been so far. His response, “not good, I’m drunk…I’m a raging alcoholic.” Not being sure whether to suggest counseling or laugh, I snapped out of my serious persona to loosen up, laugh and listen.

 Shang’s vast and self-described underrated career, spans a long time of in-your-face commentary that challenges us to think about racism, chauvinism, capitalism, sexism, by asking such questions as “what if the Oklahoma City bombing was done by a black man” during his 9-week run of his one-man show ISM , which had a large following at the Hudson Avenue Theatre in California. He also asked how men would feel if every time   they disrespected a woman they would feel menstrual cramps. I asked Shang where he gets such insight on the topics of feminism and chauvinism and he tells me, “I like vagina, and if I had one I wouldn’t want to be treated that way.” It’s this type of hypothetical and somewhat crazy explorations that signatures Shang’s comedic style. The Bronx native puts you in the uncomfortable position of thinking about issues from other perspectives than your own or points out the hypocrisy in many people’s logic.

 With ISM he jokingly told me that he felt at times like he “was going to have to sell some azz” just to get posters created to promote the show. He spent all of his money and tapped into his credit cards to fund his efforts. The payoff was a slammin’ review in the L.A. Weekly and increased exposure. He has appeared on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam”—the credential some say is a must for a comedian. He has a score of other TV credits under his belt from such shows as A & E’s “Caroline’s Comedy Hour,” BET’s “Comic View”, the racy “Politically Incorrect” on ABC, the funny family show “The Parent ‘Hood” on the WB, two movies, tons of other comedy hours, appearances on sitcoms, and a lead theatre role.

 After tapping a little bit into his past, we branched into his ideas surrounding racism in the media, current events, interracial dating, the entertainment industry and music. Like he approaches any subject, he gives nothing less than honest, sometimes vulgar, but always profound and funny as hell dialogue. Shang was going from talking about being a porno star to delivering deep messages about such issues as the misconception that most killers are black men.

  “If I were to tell you more white males are murderers than black males, most people would say, ‘that’s not true.’ He offers to anyone who doesn’t agree with his information to research the subjects on his or her own. As another example of how the media manipulate images of African Americans (and other people of color), he shares a story about a leading publication that had a cover story about teen pregnancy with the picture of an African American teenage girl on the cover. When he read the article, he said the article focused on the rise in teenage pregnancy in white girls, providing that despite facts, whoever chose the picture for the cover only saw from their perspective that teenage mothers equals African American girls. When asked if he thinks racism today is intentional or not, he offers, “it’s (racism) subliminal, it’s ingrained.” He illustrated his point about the ingrained covert level of racism you can find in the Bush administration regarding attitudes about the war with Iraq.

 

The war with Iraq and other current topics brought out some of Shang’s most passionate convictions. The volume of his voice was increasing which he’s known for when he becomes “shangry”. “The president ain’t sh*t…he lies, (evades) questions.” The conversation just shifted—big time, no more porn jokes.  He expressed disgust over the war he thinks we are in over oil and power. He pointed out that the soldiers who tortured the Iraqi prisoners illustrate the hypocrisy of the U.S. image of being “clean and innocent like a lamb.” He later mentions, “When people say ‘Americans would never hurt Americans,’ I say, ‘that’s not true.’ He reminds us of the mayor ordered bombing of   MOVE, an organization of revolutionaries in Philadelphia where 11 people were killed in ’85, and the Columbine High shooting in ’99, both of which were done by U.S. citizens to U.S. citizens.

 He even say’s “f**k Condoleezza” for lending her career to be the fall-woman for not following up on the previous Congressional knowledge of the plans of an attack on the US. 9-11, he says is, “to keep the president in power, start a war which would be huge money, and to misdirect the funds being taken out of ENRON. ENRON is a huge, huge hit. You (have to) make something big happen. They thought that war was good for the economy until they realized they were spending 87 million dollars.” He called out Bush for his comment that he didn’t realize that the war was going to take as long as it has—another subliminal superiority complex that a lot of people miss. “They (the Iraqis) were glad when we went from the air to the ground…what (do) you expect…” If you’re getting the impression that Shang only goes off about politics, he answers with the same intensity when I asked him about why haven’t a group of African American celebrities gotten together to invest in more films that provide a more diverse imagery of African Americans.

 Not holding his tongue when it comes to discussing African American people, he said part of the problem with movies such as “Soul Plane” or the 90’s ‘hood movies is that we choose to create these movies because it seems to be what people want. Remaining consistent with his dual view of the world, he said there’s a place for these types of movies, but we need a balance and choices.

 It’s seems that balance and choices are what Shang values most when it comes to entertainment. I asked him if he could compare his comedic style to a rapper, living or dead and he said Angelo from the reggae/ska band Fishbone because of his social awareness. When were talking about who he’s feelin’ right now in Hip-Hop and R & B, he listed Talib Kweli, Dialated Peoples, Mos Def, and Jay-Z. He’s also excited about the neo-soul movement with Dwele, Prince, Goapele and Usher as some of his current favorites. When asked if he thinks it’s better to blow-up or gradually climb, he said he thinks it’s good to blow-up if you can as long as you’re prepared. He welcomes all successes and says, “If I hit big, I’ll have a strong base. I know what I’m doing.”

 Shang definitely knows what he’s doing. His CD “Shangry” on Uproar Records is out in stores and he’s working with Bokeem Woodbine on the upcoming movie “Resurrection: The J.R. Richard Story.” His new DVD is due out this August demonstrating his comedic prowess, and he’s preparing for a 2-week tour with a stop in Seattle for the Heavy Hitter’s of Comedy tour with Bruce Bruce on May 29^th at the Moore Theatre..