Comedian Calise Hawkins celebrated her 40th birthday by recording her debut comedy album at the Brooklyn House of Comedy. The resulting release, Calise Hawkins is 40 AF, will drop on Aug. 14, 2020 via Blonde Medicine.
On the album, Hawkins finds the funny in everything from raising her daughter in Jersey City – as a single mom with roommates – being a black woman in the entertainment industry and dating younger men.
Throughout her 15-year comedy career, Hawkins has contended with being told that more women, let alone black women, weren’t performing on the same bill because the audience didn’t want to hear the same jokes, as if female comedians all share a singular voice. She found an inspiring oasis at the Black Women in Comedy Festival at the Brooklyn House of Comedy, which she performed in 2019, and that experience – seeing so many diverse and hilarious sets – led to the recording of Calise Hawkins is 40 AF.
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Russell Simmons Presents Live at the El Rey and Gotham Live are just a few of the shows on which Hawkins has performed stand-up. She has also written for Disney’s Walk the Prank, Adult Swim’s Soft Focus and MTV’s Totally Clueless along with working on Phoebe Robinson’s Comedy Central Talk Show.
Calise Hawkins is 40 AF will be available for pre-order on July 24 in advance of its Aug. 14 release. More information about Calise Hawkins can be found at Calisehawkins.com.