“I don’t talk about the Bible, but I do talk about how you can make it every day despite your circumstances,” comedian Darius Bradford said about his upcoming comedy special at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church next Friday, Nov. 23. “If the economy doesn’t change, you can change your faith and hope and good will, and that will sustain you.”
A fixture in the STL comedy scene, Bradford has made a name for himself by working with the likes of Cedric The Entertainer, Rickey Smiley and Jamie Foxx.
Now he’s lending that name to a worthy cause.
“I was talking about how bad things had gotten and I was like, ‘You don’t see lightning bugs or bunny rabbits. It’s so bad that the animals and insects have moved,’” Bradford said.
“Then one day, I walked from my mother’s house to my high school just before it was getting dark like I used to – just to reflect – and I saw a rabbit run under a bush and I saw two lighting bugs. And I was like, ‘Oh, I see what it is. The lightning bugs and the bunnies don’t be at the Loft. They didn’t move – I moved.’”
After getting a taste of national success, Bradford admitted he had somewhat lost sight of what’s truly important. But the New Darius Bradford – as he calls himself – is getting back to what matters most and using Faithfully Funny as a catalyst.
“I’m still edgy, but I talk about everyday stuff,” Bradford said. “Stuff like kicking a ball over the fence, jumping on a car because a dog almost bit you. That’s what life is, metaphorically. Plus, I’ve just been motivated to reach the masses. I look at Will Smith and Tyler Perry. They are still edgy, but they are respectful with it.”
Bradford learned his knack for reaching people in the pews at the most unlikely of times.
“My father passed years ago, and I had to speak at his funeral,” Bradford remembered. “I thought, ‘My father was so much greater than a sad day.’ He lent everybody money. I spoke at his service, and I reminded people, ‘If you’re feeling bad about my dad, we’re here you can still give us the money.’”
He also helped family and friends put his father’s passing in a joyful perspective.
“I told them, ‘Death is like moving out of town. You have the right to move whenever you want to,’” Bradford said he told them. “It’s the same thing, they are moving to a better neighborhood – and you’ll see them again, if you go to the nice community.”
It was a defining moment.
“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is so much better than to just be regular,’” Bradford said.
After doing comic relief at homegoing services of family and friends, Bradford found his niche – and two years ago he joined Friendly Temple as a member.
“I said, ‘I’m going to the 7:30 service because in this economy if God run out of blessings I don’t want to be on that second shift,’” Bradford said.
The biggest joy in his new path is seeing the variety of people who come out.
“The best thing is seeing an 8 year old laugh that hard and her 80 year old grandmother laughing right along with her,” Bradford said. “Right now you have your Lil’ Wayne audience and your Fred Hammond audience. But this covers everybody.”
He also wants to use his faith-based funny business for a worthy cause.
“There are 500 African-American churches from here to East St. Louis,” Bradford said. “You remember the show ‘Flip This House’” I want to do ‘Flip this Church’ because these smaller churches are the stable to these communities and I want them to be lit up.”
Faithfully Funny starring Darius Bradford will take place Friday, Nov. 23 At Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church (5515 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive). For more information, call (314) 827-5653. Or visit Facebook.com/DariusBradford.
