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TheGrio’s Toure talks to actress and comedian Cocoa Brown about how comedy gave her the freedom to let loose and be herself.
At theGrio, we’re celebrating your favorite funny people all month long. TheGrio’s Toure spoke with the actress and comedy vet Cocoa Brown about how comedy saved her life, how she makes people laugh and how her love life is going.
The following is a transcript of their conversation.
Toure [00:00:14]: Hey, I’m Toure, in for Eboni, who has the day off. July is Comedy Month, so we’re going to be featuring a new comic each week. Let me introduce you to Cocoa Brown, a.k.a. The Truth, who’s been at it for a very long time. She was on Tyler Perry’s show, “For Better or For Worse.” Cocoa, welcome to theGrio!
Cocoa Brown [00:00:32]: Hey, thank you for having me. How you guys doing?
Toure [00:00:37]: Wait a minute. We’re doing good. But are you okay? Why are you at a park?
Brown [00:00:42]: Well, honey, you know what, I caught myself working out but all I’m doing is looking out right now because it’s too hot.
Toure [00:00:50]: Okay.
Brown [00:00:51]: I’ma sweat some pounds off, but I’ma do it while standing still suga. I’m going to do it standing still.
Toure [00:00:58]: Alright, we caught you in the middle of a workout. We’ll try to keep it fresh. Let’s go. You said that comedy saved your life. How did comedy save your life?
Brown [00:01:11]: Yes. You know, growing up in such a regimented Southern household, where I was taught to be a lady at all times, you couldn’t say this, you couldn’t wear this, you couldn’t do that.
Comedy gave me the freedom to let loose and pretty much expose all the aunties they tried to hide in my life. So it’s always saved my life. And let me be all the dynamics of where I come from.
Toure [00:01:39]: That’s interesting because I could see how you could get on stage, we’ve had two drinks, what have you, and you’re like, “I can be me.” I can say whatever I want. We want you to be you and do whatever you want. So it gives you the freedom to be the real you rather than be constrained.
Brown [00:01:58]: Exactly. Exactly. And the real me is so multi-dimensional. It’s like I tell people all the time. It’s like, you know, I got the best of both worlds. I spent my summers in the country barefoot. I spent my summers in the projects going to see the candy lady.
And I also spent my summers, you know, going to high teas because I had aunts and uncles that stuck me in Jack and Jill. So, you know, I’m like, I’m very multi-dimensional, honey, you can put me anywhere. I’ll blend in just fine.
Toure [00:02:30]: I was in Jack and Jill. I know what that’s about. So, look, you’ve been at this for a long time. You’re a comedy vet. How do you make people laugh? What do you need to do to make us laugh?
Brown [00:02:43]: Honestly, I’d just be myself. I mean, when I try to be funny, it never works. But when I’m just myself, if you ask my friends who grew up with me when I first told them I was going to be a comic after I went to four years of college and was out working in corporate America, and I said, “I’m going to try comedy.”
A lot of my friends was like, “Okay,” like it wasn’t a shock to them because apparently when I’m just being me, I’m funny. And that’s how I kind of got discovered.
I was at a barbecue and I didn’t know the guy that was throwing the barbecue owned a comedy club. And he said, “you ever thought about doing standup? “And I said, “no.” He said, “you’re naturally funny, you should come back open mic,” and the rest is history.
Toure [00:03:23]: You talk a lot in your work about men. How’s your love life going right now?
Brown [00:03:28]: What love life, honey? It’s nonexistent, honey. I’m done. I’m just going to be that jet-setting aunty that’s going to be on solo trips and her little white dog and her Birkin. I’ve already accepted that. Okay.
Toure [00:03:42]: That’s it? You’ve given up on men?
Brown [00:03:46] I can’t. I just can’t, honey. I gave it one last college try recently, and, you know, I don’t know, maybe men are taking acting classes that I don’t know about, but I can’t do the Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde no more. You know, I’m saying I just got over my bipolar.
I can’t be dealing with people with bipolar. I’m just trying to stay in. What? No, I can’t. No, I’m good. I’m good, no. I’m so good. I’ma be that philanthropist rich aunty.
Toure [00:04:15]: I love that. You’ve done bits on keeping a man in line, so maybe you can’t keep him in your life, but you understand how to keep him in line if you want to. So what is the advice for the other women who are still out here trying to do that?
Brown [00:04:30]: I mean, keep hope alive, but just know you gonna kiss a lot of frogs, baby. You’re gonna get some warts. It’s crazy now, you know — men have in their minds made up about women who have any type of success. They think we walking around with a billboard saying, “I don’t need a man.”
I don’t know who told you that lie because I don’t want to do this by myself no more. I would love to sit back and just be a lady and cook and stuff. But, you know, they assume if you’re any kind of woman with some kind of success, you’re walking around with some kind of billboard, saying “I don’t need a man.” I don’t know who these women are. I do not know any of these women. But that’s what they claim.
Toure [00:05:13]: That’s funny. I mean, like, my wife is professionally successful. I support that. I love that. That makes me love her even more. I don’t understand a man who’s like, “I don’t want her to be more successful than me.”
Brown [00:05:25]: You’re a unicorn. But coming from Jack and Jill, we were trained that way.
Toure [00:05:31]: Really?
Brown [00:05:32]: Yeah. Coming from that whole background, we were trained that way. You married on your level. Right. You consorted on your level.
But for some reason, men on my level have gotten it in their minds that a woman at my level is walking around with a t-shirt that says, “I don’t need a man.” That has never been a hashtag in my life.
Toure [00:05:54] Yeah, well, we’re going to work on this comedian Cocoa Brown. Stay with us. We want to talk to you some more. After the break, we’re going to tackle some hot topics, including this: is Andre 3000 working on new music? God let it be “yes.” You’re watching theGrio.
Check out the full clip above and tune into “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” at 6 p.m. ET every weeknight on theGrio cable channel.
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