We sat down with highly-acclaimed stand-up comedian and Houston native ahead of the release of his brand new special 'Domino Effect 4: Pins and Needles' this Father's Day.
Colby Smith•
Ali Siddiq is one of, if not the greatest, comedian to ever come out of Houston. The highly-acclaimed stand-up – born, raised, and current Houston resident – has done something that no comedian has ever done before: created a series of specials connected by one story: his life story.
Through his Domino Effect series – that which has garnered over 18 millions of views – Siddiq masterfully narrates his upbringing in Houston, teenage years, family life, and incarceration. The series is profound, hilarious, and at times, utterly devastating.
Ahead of the release of the final installment of the series, Domino Effect 4: Pins and Needles, debuting on Youtube June 16, Father’s Day, we sat down with Ali Siddiq to discuss the City of Houston, the places that crafted him, comedy, culture, and the California conquistadors taking over Austin.
On the Houston places that crafted him
Comedy Clubs
Just Joking (Comedy Cafe) started me. Made me tough. Gave me my bones. The Houston Improv catapulted me to another level. This is coming off of the other places that grew me: The Horn and The Red Cat.
Red Cat was in the middle of Downtown. It was a jazz club. Then I kind of turned the city up with stand-up. What taught me a lot at Red Cat was how to navigate people.
Secret Group Comedy Club in Houston did me a solid. They put my face on the side of the building for maybe 2 or 3 months. And that was big for me.
On the Houston places outside that supported him
The first time I ever did HBO. I came and I brought them to The Breakfast Klub. because it was a significant place I knew that, one, they would love to get something to eat there. But it played a major part in how I looked at business.
This city has taught me an abundance of things. And there’s been so many places that’s been significant that’s either gave me an opportunity or a meal when I was hungry.
Sunshine’s is a staple in the city. I could go there and get something to eat even if I didn’t have any money. There’s these places that I spent an abundance of time in because I never moved. I honed my skills here with desire.
I had to get support from a lot of places.
Cardi’s was a rock club but I went there and asked the man if I could open-mic there on Apollo night. You could smell the acid and the cocaine and the Jack Daniels on the floor. It was just a rock club. It’s probably why I have all these tattoos on my arm because of my rock background.
Sharpstown Mall where I first got a job. A clothing store then the Sunglass Hut. For two years, this is where I learned to talk to people. I’m the middle of the kiosk I got to talk to people by the escalator and the cookie stand I’m trying to sell glasses and suits.
On honing his comedy in Houston locales
Chiseler barbershop’s on the southwest side. Midtown Barbershop where I currently go and that’s where I go to talk about where I talk about on stage mostly.
Barbershops for me are significant because those are the places where I hone my skills the most.
This is when I’m writing what they consider “jokes” – by “jokes” I’m writing satire. I’ll go to the barbershop and I started running it in there first.
But any stories, I’m just going to run that in other places around friends. I may do a story in a barbershop, but I write a lot of satire in barbershops. That’s the last country club for men.
You had mentioned the Reggae Bodega.
The bodega is a different place. My boys own the [Reggae] Bodega. It’s more of hangout for me to see my friends. The Bodega, it’s more personal stories. We’re more close-knit. I go there for different perspective on different things that I may thinking. It’s more personal.
On losing Last Comic Standing in 2011
Fat Boys was a painful experience. I wanted to say about the painful experiences. I should have won Last Comic Standing in 2011. I got into a fist fight at Fat Boys, a place that I was doing an open-mic at right off of 610. I get into this fight and I’m really offended that I’m fighting because it didn’t make any sense.
Then the fight happens – an altercation between some guys. I do what I do. Then I get a call a couple weeks later from my attorney that some guys had filed assault on me because of the fight.
Then the same week Carol from NBC calls and says that they’re about to run a background check on everybody.
I’m kind of like, “Can y’all hold up on mine a little bit because I have a situation that I need to handle.”
I kept telling her, “I’m going to win because I’m not in the wrong in this. Trust me, I’m going to win”.
But she couldn’t hold it and they run the background check and, because I have four open assault cases, it makes me look like a psychopath.
And I lose. They couldn’t put me on TV like that. Ray Rice had just knocked out his girlfriend out and there were some other altercations.
It seemed people who were on the verge of blowing up were getting into all types of trouble and I didn’t seem any different.
I ended up winning. But no Last Comic Standing. And I’m crushed. I’m thinking “this is the end-all be-all to my career”. Last Comic Standing could have catapulted me to another level but then this happened.
I was in a state of depression. And I went to the [Reggae] Bodega. I was like “Yo they stripped me, son.” You know, but I also got some guidance.
“What’s for you is for you. They didn’t really take nothing from you. It just wasn’t your time.”
On comedy as a dismissed art form
I ride down my city and I see murals of people that’s not even from here.
When you walk down the street and you see people that’s been recognized in your city that’s not from your city sometimes you have an understanding and sometimes you don’t have an understanding.
This city has been amazing to me. And it’s also been trying because I still believe that their support of [Houston] artists outside of music has not been cultivated enough.
With comedy sometimes we get looked over because of the genre of entertainment that we do. I used to have a problem when people would mention Bill Hicks but not me. And I rep [Bill Hicks]. Sam Kinison. Thea Vidale. These people are significant. Billy D. Washington. But I’m not to be looked over *laughs* when it comes to accomplishments.
I miss the things in Houston. The restaurant, the places, and the people. I wonder all the time with any of these places that are significant to me, am I significant to them?
If you have other people on this wall, why am I not on here? *laughs* Maybe I need to movie or a sit-com for them. But that’s not my lane. My lane is stand-up and I want to be considered one of the greatest stand-ups of all time.
Houston as the powerhouse of comedy in the South
Now that comedy is a cultural force in a city like Austin. Will Houston begin to see comedy in the same light?
Houston is the powerhouse of stand-up in the South. Period.
No place in the south has more successful comics than us. No place down this way has more significant people than us. I don’t care if you move all of LA to Austin. Texas is Texas.
You can move a Hollywood entity to Texas that doesn’t make it a Texas thing now.
We have our own culture. Austin is a different thing. Austin has been there. But when you mention stand-up in Austin you mention everyone that’s from somewhere else. But that would never happen here.
I don’t give a damn who moves here. The Houston guys are still going to be the top dogs. We still going to be the top guy.
Joe Rogan and Shane Gillis and everybody else couldn’t move to Houston and take over comedy in Houston. They would only become a part of what’s already going on in our city.
Austin was some prostitute. They could probably do the same thing to Dallas or San Antonio but they couldn’t do that to Houston because we already powerhouses here.
We already have significant people that’s doing major things that’s from Houston in the comedy world. From Billy D. Washington to Nephew Tommy, to Ashton Womack to Chase DuRousseau, [Andrew] Youngblood, Slade Ham: We powerhouses in our culture.
We have huge Spanish artists, huge Asian stand-ups, huge black stand-ups – Austin has lost its identity. Austin is Joe Rogan’s city now.
On the California Conquistadors taking Over Austin
Austin is Joe Rogan’s city now.
And Elon Musk.
Yeah! Elon Musk. They should be considered conquistadors. Because they came and they conquered. We’ve never been taken over before. Texas has always been its own territory. I’ve never known a city to get taken.. We take things we don’t get taken.
Now Austin has allowed California to come and commandeer.
And I need to talk to somebody, man. We need to get Austin back. “Hey man, when are we going to get Austin back.”
Ali Siddiq’s newest special, Domino Effect 4: Pins and Needles, will be released on Youtube on June 16.
See also: 40 Fantastic Things To Do This Summer In Houston
Tags:comedy, stand-up
