ON AN OVERCAST Thursday evening in April, Sam Jay settles into a booth at New York’s storied Comedy Cellar. She’s wearing a sweatshirt featuring a photo of Kobe Bryant clutching the 2001 NBA Finals trophy, and her short hair is hidden under a fitted Lakers cap. It’s dim and the bar hasn’t opened yet, but Jay asks a worker for a reposado on the rocks anyway, and he obliges. In December 2017, shortly after moving to New York to write for Saturday Night Live, Jay “passed” here — meaning she successfully auditioned for the owners and started getting regular gigs at the venue where comics like Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock have performed. “Only passed comics could sit at the table,” Jay says, as she twists to motion to a table behind her. “If you were a comic who was just hanging out and you weren’t passed, it’s like unspoken code — you don’t sit at the table.”
The whole cool-kids-table thing doesn’t really seem like Jay’s style. In her act, she pokes fun at herself — frequently employing her perspective as a black, masculine-of-center lesbian who dated men until she was an adult — as often as she does others. And her Netflix special, 3 in the Morning, released last August, showed a willingness to provoke without being cruel.
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Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av RollingStone India.
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Akshath Plots India Tour on the Back of Hit Song 'Nadaaniyan'
Mumbai artist's breezy love song took over streaming charts and short-video platforms
Aksh Baghla and 10CM Swap Languages in 'Spring Snow' Hindi Version
The Indian pop artist got the South Korean indie-pop artist to sing in Hindi on his hit song from the 'Lovely Runner, Part 8' soundtrack
Sukha Talks New EP '2003' and the Success of '8 Asle'
The Toronto-based Punjabi artist also looks back at hits like 'Sangdi' and the EP 'Undisputed'
Masrat Un Nisa on Channeling Raj Begum in Upcoming Film 'Songs of Paradise'
Inspired by the legendary Kashmiri voice Raj Begum, the singer talks about working with filmmaker Danish Renzu, who has also called on her for songs with his label Renzu Music
How Daira's 'Jaadoo Bastar' Tapped Into Chhattisgarh Tribal Stories
Mumbai rock band teamed up with artists including Lakheshwar Khudaram and Hindi lyricist Alok Ranjan Srivastava for five songs and a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the project
Peekay Embraces Djent on 'Merciless' and Plots an L.A. Move
The Hyderabad artist worked with guitarist Jonathan Edward and prog band Skyharbor's Keshav Dhar on the track
The Derelicts Take a 'Highway Drive' on Euphoric New Song
The Kochi disco-pop/electronica band introduce a science fiction-informed storyline for their first release since 2018
Sudan on How 'Happy Accidents' Led To His Genre-Defying Debut Album
Mumbai-based producer and multiinstrumentalist launched 'Sudan?' in August with a collab-heavy list of guests including Tejas, Frizzell D'Souza and more
Zubin Mehta Talks Symphony Orchestra of India Concerts
The Mumbai-born conductor leads a slightly offbeat selection for the SOI Autumn 2024 Season, taking place on Aug. 17 and 18, followed by Aug. 24 and 25
Ameya Saraf: 'I Wanted to Do Music for Life the First Time I Picked Up a Guitar'
Los Angeles-based Indian composer and producer worked his way from the rock scene to assisting pop artist Arjun Kanungo at the latter's Promethean Studio in Mumbai