Sharief Johnson

Sharief Johnson was born in Bayonne NJ April, 20, 1993. Sharief split his youth between Georgia and New Jersey. Growing up in unfortunate circumstances he found happiness in creating laughter! No matter when or where he was, he was always was looking to make people laugh! This mindset eventually brought him to a popular club in NYC shortly after high school, where he started his comedy career!

Sharief Johnson has performed at major clubs all over such as Stress factory(NJ), Orlando Improv (FL), Comedy Store (LA)and headlined Carolines on Broadway(NY) to name a few. This is where he developed style of clever, theatrical, and storytelling comedy.

Johnson won a comedy competition that was produced by Sirius Xm Radio and the Sway in the morning show on SHADE 45. This show brought comedians from all over the nation to compete and Johnson won the whole competition! During the competition the management at Carolines on Broadway took notice and offered Johnson a break out artist headlining show at Caroline’s where he has become a house comedian for the Club.

Vocal readers please enjoy our interview!

Tammy Reese:

What inspired you to get into comedy?

Sharief Johnson:

A lot of family and friends around me were constantly telling me that I should be a comedian! I remember a time really being inspired when I was around 9 years old . I was sitting on the couch with my mom watching B.E.T comic view and not understanding ANYTHING they were talking about. I just remember my mom laughing so hard to the point she was crying! I remember thinking to myself I want to do that! I want to make my mom cry...well not cry in a sad way, but with laughter. So I would say and do ridiculous things to my mom to try and hit that funny button that made her cry! When I found out I could do it, it became a gift and a curse . Gift at home but a curse in school! The more I made students cry of laughter, the more I’d get home and my mom would make me cry from “acting a fool “as she would say.

Tammy Reese:

What does comedy mean for you?

Sharief Johnson:

It means the world to me personally. Comedy is the Ying to my Yang! Comedy has literally guided me through my life before I ever made it a career! I believe when you go through things there are two ways you can deal with it . One you can Laugh or two you can Cry! I would prefer to laugh and always have. I remember when I was younger one of my uncles said to me “ I see you hide behind your laugh like a shield.“ Personally I always felt it was my sword not my shield .

Tammy Reese:

What are some memorable moments in your career so far?

Sharief Johnson:

Sharing the stage with Jerry Seinfeld, Opening for Deray Davis, and winning Sway Star Comedy Search. Sharing the stage with people in the business I’ve looked up to and grew up watching on T.V is still surreal!

I remember following Jerry Seinfeld and getting an article written up on how good of a performance it was! That was definitely a great moment for myself being such a fan.

Tammy Reese:

How has the pandemic shaped your day to day life?

Sharief Johnson:

The pandemic has forced me to write more material and take my health more serious. I'm a comedian that has always been a better performer than writer I’d say. Not that I’m a bad writer I’ve just been horrible at sitting down and making time to write. I am good at improving which is good because I’m really quick on my feet and creating a funny moment on the spot, however the stage wasn’t available for me to do that so I had to sit down and write more !

I’ve also gotten into better shape than I did before the whole Pandemic. I guess I’m saying the pandemic has forced me to have better habits than I had before it started. With all the time sitting around and quarantining I had to do something from keeping myself from going crazy! Working out and creating jokes definitely helped me get through my caved in anxiety filled days.

Tammy Reese:

What was winning Real Sway Comedy search like?

Sharief Johnson:

It was one of the greatest feelings in the world! The way it happened was surreal! I really didn’t believe in competitions at the time, due to participating and watching rigged competitions. I congratulated a friend of mine (Reggie Edwards who is hilarious) after being a selected contestant. I saw he was selected on the radio and I remember being super happy for him thinking that’s Dope! He said to me “Rief you should join the competition! “ I remember just saying to him “nah man I don’t really rock with competitions like that personally but you do your thing”! He was like I’m telling you man do it! I'd go home late night thinking about it and I said you know what just do it Rief! I submitted a video of one of my performances and Sway’s team contacted me the next day.

They told me I received the last slot! I went to the competition with no intentions on winning, but just having fun. It's like I previously mentioned, I did not really believe in competitions at all! I was shocked to show up to an early morning competition and 200 people were there. I had performed for a crowd of that size before it was just shocking to see that many people at 9 am in the morning. I went up competed and performed with so many talented comedians from all over this country!

So to win the competition definitely was a great feeling! The best part of winning the competition was the crowd was able to choose the winner. To have 200 strangers scream for you to win is definitely a great feeling. For a short moment I felt like the people's champ lol. I think I may have Ali shuffled!

Tammy Reese:

What are you currently working on?

Sharief Johnson:

I am currently working on building my YouTube platform (Sharief Johnson). I plan on building a lot more through my YouTube. I have a lot of exciting projects I am currently working on and cannot wait to put out! I am also getting into my acting bag! You can definitely look forward to seeing me on the screen soon too with Television and Movies.

Tammy Reese:

What do you think is the future of the entertainment industry?

Sharief Johnson:

The future of the Entertainment industry is bright! All of the stars my generation grew up watching are aging out and, I’m sorry there isn’t a nice way to say this but also passing away. So with that being said a lot of careers I believe will be launched within the next 5-10 years. I think you are going to start seeing the next wave of stars really shine and start to carry the torch.

Tammy Reese:

What advice would you have for anyone wanting to follow your footsteps and career path?

Sharief Johnson:

I would tell any one who wants to get into comedy! This life is definitely not all fun and games lol! There’s a lot of time you have to put into stages and learning the craft. Understand anything great takes time to make. So with that being said, If you want to be a great comedian it takes time and won’t happen over night ! I am still a work in progress and I’m still learning and perfecting my craft myself. I also would say to fall in love with the work/grind and your art will start to work! That’s what I’ve learned from personal experience so far!

What amazing advice! Be sure to follow Sharief Johnson on Instagram

Subscribe to his YouTube Channel

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