By James Lindorf
Most of us got our first real exposure to comedian Josh Johnson when he made his first appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” in 2016. In the last five years he has been a busy man. He started writing for “The Daily Show” in 2017 and has been a part of nearly 600 episodes. He started a podcast that will be celebrating its one year anniversary next month. There have been a number of comedy albums that have led to his newest creation, a mixtape titled “Elusive” that was released on June 11th. Johnson describes the 33-track comedy and music hybrid as “Part millennium escapism, part modern Negro spiritual.” Comedy routines are 1 to 1, it is a story or joke told by a comedian on a topic with little room for personal interpretation. Music is a more wide open experience where the listener can take bits and pieces of the artist’s presentation and spin it into their own experience. Johnson’s goal is to let the audience discuss the relationship between his jokes and the music which share similar subject matter and how one or the other may have changed your perspective.
If Elusive is not enough of a to be excited about Johnson this month June 18th saw the release of his first hour long comedy special on Comedy Central. “Trevor Noah Presents Josh Johnson: # (Hashtag)” is currently available on the Comedy Central website and will be available on Paramount+ in August. In “Hashtag” Josh discusses the pandemic’s effects on interpersonal relationships, the three things women can expect from their partners, and whether or not his friend’s bird is a racist. If you enjoy the special you can go to JoshJohnsonComedy.com to see where you can see him live as he is currently touring on his own and as part of the Trevor Noah: Loud & Clear Tour.
