Robert Powell

Robert Powell operates at an easy, Louisiana-rooted cadence, taking whatever room he is in hostage through sheer casual assurance. He treats dating and the 2016 presidential election cycle not as existential crises, but as obvious scams, pausing along the way to pick apart the premise of Life of Pi as though he had spent months stewing over it.

The 24-minute set was produced by Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital, directed by Royale Watkins, and filmed in front of a live crowd in Los Angeles. It premiered in November 2016 on NBCUniversal’s short-lived comedy streaming platform Seeso as part of its ADD Presents showcase.

At the time, Powell was transitioning from regional club regular to national television fixture. A former political aide who had served as deputy chief of staff for the mayor of Monroe, Louisiana, and worked under Governor Bobby Jindal, he left government after being handed an ultimatum to pick between politics and stand-up. The same year this streamed, he appeared in Montreal’s Just For Laughs New Faces and taped a set for HBO’s All Def Comedy, setting the stage for Donald Glover to cast him as the chaotic barber Bibby on Atlanta.