From fashion to politics, Katt Williams is an open book, although he admits that he doesn’t like to do random interviews with people he doesn’t know. The Cincinnati, Ohio native made an appearance on a special taping of Arsenio! Live, based on the late-night 1990s television series The Arsenio Hall Show. The special is a four-night-only series airing exclusively on the YouTube channel for the Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival.
The comedian has contributed such stand-up hits as The Pimp Chronicles Pt. 1, American Hustle, It’s Pimpin’ Pimpin’, Katthouse Comedy, Pimpadelic, 9 Lives, Kattpacalypse, and Great America, to name a few, making him arguably among the top 10, if not top 5, of comedians dead or alive. However, his disposition took a more serious tone as he discussed the current state of the genre.
“Free speech is under attack and it’s really the dark ages coming back,” Williams said. “It’s just a privilege to have a job where you can talk for a living and share your thought process.”
A clear-headed and evolved Williams shared his thoughts on keeping his content fresh and original. Williams structures his comedy around what he says is a long-running conversation he’s been having with his fans through his stand-up since his first special. Not only does it keeps his commentary fresh, but it also helps him avoid comedian copycats who borrow jokes from their peers in the club circuits.
“For the first 10, 15 years, I had to do what every stand-up has to do and go to the club and work out your material,” Williams said. “It got to the point where I’m asking other comedians not to do things that maybe they would want to do. So, it’s not really fair if I show you something and say don’t look at it. So, I don’t do any practicing in clubs.”
When asked about his confidence in his skillsets, including within the music spectrum, Williams attributes Prince for giving him high self-esteem.
“[Prince] was a high thinker and a guy that was always 30 steps ahead whatever the curve was,” Williams said. “When you play 26, 28 instruments, it means that you are able to be multifaceted while also focusing on each thing like it’s the only thing, which is a hard skill. But, he let me know that you could be short and light-skinned with long hair and people could make fun of you, but as long as women loved you, you had nothing to fear.”
Filmed in Las Vegas, Williams’ 12th comedy special, Katt Williams: World War III, explores the latest in current affairs, chicken wing shortages, and the war on drugs in an electrifying, one-hour stand-up session.
Katt Williams: World War III releases May 17, 2022 on Netflix.
