Donnell Rawlings Started His Comedy Career As a Heckler | Joe Rogan

I was a military for four years We really yeah, we in air force. I was I was a word. I was a cop in the military really Nobody believes I was the worst cop ever I've made one arrest in four years and I was cuz a girl came through the gate She had some big titties and I decided that I needed to pull her over but I was the worst fucking cop and I had to get out of the military cuz I Used to hear this phrase all the time Airman Rollins your blatant disregard for established military policy shows a lack of military brain and integrity I was here that I was like these motherfucker was gonna gun to kick me out. If was four years. I was a cop stationed in Kunsan Korea Station in bowling and you SEO tongue saying and SEO Nuna. I go dig a talk to care so Wow Four years military three years To two years in Korea two years of bowling and first base and I got out and just randomly went to a comedy club became a heckler I Was an asshole ice go to this comedy club everywhere. Is he the fuck with the comedians? Where was it comedy connection the green belt? It was like the black comedy club in DC This was a time of when Martin Lawrence was on fire death jam thing was popping in and they had on black comedy clubs It would be it would be a pizza shop They'll just turn okay now and it's a comedy club Monique had a club that she made Turn from a restaurant to a comedy club just because she got more business on the weekend as a comedy club in restaurant He took it over and I used to go heckle the comedians and I I was such a good heckler That people used to come to the show to hear me echo They'd be at the door like yo, is that asshole dude gonna be here tonight? And that was me the club owner Dare me to go on stage because he wanted to shut me up. Yeah, I was so cocky After four weeks of heckling. I tried to make a deal with the club owner. Come on. I do I swear I know I'm telling you I said I know I've increased business by 30% No We need to start working on the door there He looked at me like what the fuck are you talking about? Anybody DC to tell you this story and they wanted me shut up They asked me to go on stage and I went on stage and the first time I went on I Murdered the shit and I knew that I wasn't gonna be doing anything else with my life for doing it I just knew it. It was just like all like How did it feel it felt great do you remember it I remember it matches in your mind I remember it because I had talked so much shit to this point and the thing about it was but The the room of the energy the energy of the room was there because there was a lot of people that came they saw me They were like like when you gonna go it you should you know, they were like you should try you should try So the first time I went on people were excited about it I didn't know what to expect and I wrote all these jokes. I'm like I got I got 30 minutes I was like, I was so cocky We have a open mic, you know over my list is like 30 people and I would be like 10 on the list And they would keep bumping me and I thought they were just trying to save me the headline I didn't think they were just trying to give me the shittiest spot But half the club came to see me so they would stay there and that first time I went on I had all these jokes I planned I was gonna do and when I went on stage, I drew a complete blank I don't remember shit and then I went without knew best. I started fucking with somebody audience I got a laugh and then I did my material and I I didn't know what the light was They gave me the light and I was like, oh I gotta go like, you know the light means just make that your last joke right and I got off abruptly that I said I gotta go and People started booing the host went up and it was I know Daniel. He doesn't know he's new is his first time He don't know what the light me he'll be David's like he'll be back And I was there almost every Wednesday For eight months and then I moved to first I moved to New York at six months. Wow said I'm out of here Where'd you go first? Club wise. Yeah, I live either one Brooklyn Brooklyn. You live was a bad barrel. That's what to this But Brooke it was interesting because I didn't go from From DC to like mainstream white clothes I was doing still to get over rooms and shit and a lot of times I couldn't get spots So I would go to I would go to the poetry open mics because that she's be so dull The water was shifting the wave wave and I'd like does anybody want break for the shit, right? And then I would go do jokes when I couldn't do comic-con because I would do that So I started making a name for myself and never look back. It was dope. New York is a great place to get your chops up What year do you enter New York? It had to be probably like 95 Probably like 95. Yeah, I had already moved I'd gone. I left in 94 to come to LA. Oh, yeah When did you get out here? I got out here like 70 years ago maybe eight years ago and it was because My my situation is different because I wasn't getting a lot of road work And I was like well fuck if I'm not getting a lot of road work I might as well try to get more film and television stuff to move out to LA and they were to move out here. I um Started getting more personal appearances. So basically I moved to LA it became a road comic And I wasn't mad at it because after you doing it for a while You just wanted where the fuck can I can make money doing this shit? You know saying if it's the road is the road You know I mean if it's Hollywood is Hollywood But who was gonna pay me some money and it was the road and it took now like I do 40 weekends a year but with me having a young kid now I'm trying to focus more and film and television and get some more stable shit cuz I'm getting look, you know, it's getting burnt