*This project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division for the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Louis Tee is a versatile comedian, host, and event coordinator based in Wilmington, NC. Making an impactful debut, he tied for 3rd place at the 2023 Port City’s Top Comic event. LouisTee has shared stages with touring comedians such as James Davis, Ariel Elias, Langston Kerman, and Wally Baram. Headlining shows in his hometown and beyond, including Youngsville, NC, he has become a prominent figure in North Carolina's comedy scene.
You can find Tee online at LouisTeeComedy.com and on Facebook as Louis Tee & Friends Comedy.
Demia Avery: Hello, hello, hell everyone. This is Demia Avery with WHQR, keeping you in the know with some of Cape Fear’s, most undiscovered, untapped, but definitely not unappreciated, artists and talented entertainers in the area. Please welcome the hilarious Comedian Louis Tee — how are you doing?
Louis Tee: I'm doing great. Glad to be here.
DA: Awesome, awesome. So we're just gonna jump right on in here. Tell us, what inspired you to pursue a career in comedy, and how long you've been performing?
LT: I have been performing — I am actually coming up on my two-year anniversary. And performing, I guess it's one of those things where you, your friends find you funny, so you always want to see if other people find you funny. Like I was producing variety shows that included comedy, And I was working with a comedian, so I was going to open mics, you know, looking for talent and things of that nature. So like I said, two years, almost two years ago, to the date, I decided to sign up for open mic with no intentions of ever doing it again, just kind of like crossing it off my bucket list. And I just kind of kept going back, and that went from producing, like hosting my shows, and then from that offering to be on other people's shows, and it just kind of been, just been a whirlwind since then.
DA: So you're pretty new to it.
LT: Yeah, yeah. I'm fairly, fairly new to the comedy, especially performing side.
DA: You're a pop culture nerd, a hip hop enthusiast, and you're a sneakerhead as well. So tell me about that mixture, because that's, that's, that's a deep mixture you got going on.
LT: I mean, all those things, things are me, like, low level pop culture nerd, like, I mean, I'm into all the like, you know, the Game of Thrones, the Marvel movies, those kind of things. But, I mean, I also enjoy a nice pair of kicks. I mean, I've been a hip hop writer, a hip hop show promoter. I mean, everything except for actually writing the lyrics, you know, pinning the lyrics itself. So I'm definitely Hip Hop enthusiast for some reason, when I break down being a “blerd,” that gets a laugh. Like just learning I'm a Black nerd. So I mean all those things are pieces of me.
DA: Now, what's the dream? Is the dream for you to be a comedian? Or is the dream for you to to do more producing shows?
LT: Comedian.
DA: If you had any advice for someone that's starting out, especially from a somewhat of a new comedian, what would you, what type of advice would you give someone that wanted to be a comedian?
LT: Yeah, I mean, I would say, start with open mics. Write down your stuff and then work on getting, you know, just keep working on your first five minutes, like before you worry about anything else. Worry about being funny for like, five minutes – or start worrying about being funny for three minutes, and then from three minutes go to five minutes, and then kind of just go from there.
DA: Awesome, awesome. All right. Well, that is it for our interview today with Lewis Tee. I want to thank him for coming out today. We're going to make sure that we have all this information located at the bottom of our interview today. This is Damia Avery with WHQR, talk to you soon.
