Meet Jamake | Comedian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamake and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamake, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I started my career in comedy because my entire life family and friends told me I should be on TV making people laugh. I didn’t take it seriously until I got older and got married and told my wife I really think I should try and start my comedy career and start doing stand-up comedy. She was 100 percent on board and told me she supports it and I should do. So I went from there found some open mics and jumped right in. I knew this was the career for me and something I love doing and that I’m great at. My family and friends who believed in me and always kept telling me I should pursue this comedy thing definitely played a role in me actually believing in myself and pursuing this!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I feel what sets me a part is that I’m honest when I’m on stage I’m just me and sharing my life and stories with people. I love engaging with the audience and keeping my shows clean for the most part so that everyone can come and enjoy themselves and laugh! I do this because I love it and enjoy it and genuinely want others to enjoy themselves with me. I’m most proud that I have a family that supports me, allows me to go out here and be myself and that is proud of me. I got where I’m at today just by hard work, dedication and knowing that not everyone’s journey to success is the same. In this business a lot of people just look out for themselves but I always try to support other comics and artists. I believe we can all be successful without trying to tear each other down. I’m genuine and honest with the folks I work with and I don’t try to be more and something I’m not. It was not easy getting to this level because a lot of aspiring comics find out it’s not what they think it is. It’s a grind and a lot of late nights, open mics, bombing on stage and learning until you find our voice and get better. You are not going to make money for the first few years, so a lot of people quit. To overcome these challenges I just had to believe in myself and keep pushing myself and getting on stage every chance I could. I have to make sure I write every single day. I also worked 9-5’s jobs to pay my bills and really have to find a good work life balance. I have a wife and 2 kids so it’s not always easy. Support is another big thing I have to help overcome my challenges, my wife stays home with the kids by herself most evenings while I’m out performing and then I’m also working during the day so I have to make time for my family as well! Biggest lesson I learned along the way is to trust in myself and my work. I believe I have what it takes and others will see that and it has helped me book a lot of shows and success. Also for this kind of work I really can’t look at other comedians success as to why this comic is booking more shows than me or why they seem to be further in their career than myself. I have to keep grinding and know that this is something I want and it’s not easy but I have to push through. I want to world to know about my brand and JamakeComedy is that life is hard and we all have struggles and I’m just here trying to make it better with some laughter. I want to provide some family fun and shows that everyone can enjoy together and that’s why I work clean for the most park.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve still new to Denver myself and only being here for 2 years. Also Covid did cut back on a lot of places we have wanted to visit and try. For myself I love Red Rocks and always a great place and area to visit that I would recommend. Gardens of the Gods in Colorado Springs is fun also and a must visit. Downtown Denver is always a nice place to walk around and enjoy the city and people. Tons of great places to eat downtown and D-Bar is one of favorite places to eat in Denver. Boulder is a great place to visit as well. Fire On The Mountain has some of the best wings I’ve had in Denver and that’s been hard to find for me being from Atl where I can get great wings at almost any spot there lol. Denver Art Museum is great and of course it’s Denver so i would recommend trying to some of the local IPAs. I’ve been enjoying going to restaurants and breweries trying some of the local beers and drinks! Last but not least their are so many great parks to visit and hang out here. Me and my family just look up parks and go out to visit them take pics and find new places to eat and explore the city. We love living here and I would suggest for them to try a few of the places I mentioned and look up some other places and I’ll be sure to join them as I’m still learning a lot bout Denver myself!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The first person I like to shout out is my wife Ellie, she supported me since day one when I told her I wanted to do this and she’s my biggest supported still. She is always pushing me to make sure I’m writing and going to to try my new jokes to network and continue to make sure I’m booking shows and doing what I need to do! She’s been amazing since the beginning and I definitely couldn’t do what I do without her love and support. Not to sound cliché at all but it’s so true. I also like to give a shout out Lance Burson a comedian friend of mine in Atlanta. I reached out to him on how to get started and to do this and he just provided me with all he resources and information needed to get on stage. He really just told me who to reach out too what mics to work and where to find mics in Atlanta and just did more than was needed when asked it for help! I’m always thankful for the people who took a chance on me and booking me for shows and believing in me and showing me support!

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