Southern states stand-up spotlight:
Akil "A.K." Bjorn
Akil "A.K." Bjorn
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Published by Sareth Ney on April 5, 2017 at 3:59 p.m.
Updated on April 5, 2017 at 7:20 p.m. |
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Photo credit: Michelle Arevalo
UNION CITY, Ga. – Akil “A.K.” Bjorn was in New York, when he was inspired to perform stand-up comedy. He had always been a fan of stand-up comedy and his friends took him to Caroline’s Comedy Club on Broadway. They saw Paul Mooney perform on stage. A.K. noticed how Mooney had commanded the room and how his delivery was effortless. He thought to himself how he wanted to give it a try and took classes, six months later.
A.K. compared his first time performing stand-up comedy to Eminem’s character, “B-Rabbit”, from “8 Mile”. He was excited and afraid of forgetting his set. He spent the hours leading up to his first time rehearsing his set in his head. When the time arrived, he stood on stage, calmed his nerves to get through his performance and forgot only two punchlines.
All of Dave Chappelle’s comedy specials, Aries Spears’ “Comedy Blueprint” and Patrice O’Neal’s “Elephant in the Room” were listed as the first of A.K.’s favorite comedy specials. He credited John Mulaney’s “The Top Part”, for shaping his style and teaching him to pace. Chris Rock’s “Roll with the New” was the first comedy record he purchased. Ryan Stout’s “Touché” taught him to his use words wisely.
“Chappelle’s Show” and “Key & Peele” were stated as A.K.’s favorite sketch comedy shows. His favorite sitcom was “Black-ish”. Favorite films included anything by Wes Anderson, “Half Baked”, “Coming to America”, “Friday” and “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”.
Baron Vaughn was the comic A.K. chose to go on tour with and a close second was Ryan Stout. A.K. chose Vaughn because he could learn from an established comic, while on the road. If A.K. could get roasted by a set of comedians from the past and present, he chose the following: Richard Pryor, Cedric the Entertainer, George Wallace, Paul Mooney and Rudy Ray Moore.
After one of A.K.’s comedy sets comes to an end—he encourages his audience to “challenge their private thoughts”, whether they are right or wrong. Another form of comedy he plans to try is performing in a play. Over the next five years, he hopes to spend part of his time as a stand-up comedian. For the rest of the time—his goal is to write and produce motion pictures, either a show or film.
Online and on social media, A.K. can be found at akcomedy.com. He is on Twitter and Instagram.
A.K. compared his first time performing stand-up comedy to Eminem’s character, “B-Rabbit”, from “8 Mile”. He was excited and afraid of forgetting his set. He spent the hours leading up to his first time rehearsing his set in his head. When the time arrived, he stood on stage, calmed his nerves to get through his performance and forgot only two punchlines.
All of Dave Chappelle’s comedy specials, Aries Spears’ “Comedy Blueprint” and Patrice O’Neal’s “Elephant in the Room” were listed as the first of A.K.’s favorite comedy specials. He credited John Mulaney’s “The Top Part”, for shaping his style and teaching him to pace. Chris Rock’s “Roll with the New” was the first comedy record he purchased. Ryan Stout’s “Touché” taught him to his use words wisely.
“Chappelle’s Show” and “Key & Peele” were stated as A.K.’s favorite sketch comedy shows. His favorite sitcom was “Black-ish”. Favorite films included anything by Wes Anderson, “Half Baked”, “Coming to America”, “Friday” and “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”.
Baron Vaughn was the comic A.K. chose to go on tour with and a close second was Ryan Stout. A.K. chose Vaughn because he could learn from an established comic, while on the road. If A.K. could get roasted by a set of comedians from the past and present, he chose the following: Richard Pryor, Cedric the Entertainer, George Wallace, Paul Mooney and Rudy Ray Moore.
After one of A.K.’s comedy sets comes to an end—he encourages his audience to “challenge their private thoughts”, whether they are right or wrong. Another form of comedy he plans to try is performing in a play. Over the next five years, he hopes to spend part of his time as a stand-up comedian. For the rest of the time—his goal is to write and produce motion pictures, either a show or film.
Online and on social media, A.K. can be found at akcomedy.com. He is on Twitter and Instagram.
A.K. Bjorn's upcoming performance:
Photo credit: A.K. Bjorn
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sareth Ney is the journalist for A Quarter and Dream Pictures. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications and Center for New Media from Colorado State University-Pueblo. He is a former apprentice to master of horror, Clive Barker. He is a Wu-Tang Clan inspired superhero, Wu-Man Chu. He is an award-winning short filmmaker; his goal is to write 150 articles in select time zones, inducts every article into his hall of fame, is a stand-up comedian, motivational speaker, founder and co-host of Pueblo's Independent Multimedia Podcast and is the festival director at Sareth-Fest Music and Comedy Festival.
