Household Name
YouTube · 2024 · 56 min
A relaxed Chicago club set preceded by an animated short.
Released , on YouTube.
The special skips the usual club walk-on and opens instead with an eleven-minute animated short before moving into the showroom. Once Niles Abston sits on a stool with a tumbler in hand, his set focuses on breaking down small cultural moments that usually slide by unquestioned, like Bobby Shmurda casually incriminating his friend Monte on a hit radio track.
He treats the stage like a late-night argument between friends. Bits cover the quiet absurdity of reading Mark Twain in a predominantly white high school, helping an incapacitated stranger piece together her lost belongings during Pride, and friends trying to pass as white. Rather than rushing toward a punchline every two beats, he lets premises linger and stretch into extended narrative detours.
Taped at the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago in 2022 and released online through 800 Pound Gorilla Media in 2024, the hour caught Abston while building out a television writing career that includes credits on FX’s Dave and Fox’s Krapopolis. Noah Cutwright directed the animated prologue, titled The Opener, while John Becker directed the stand-up performance.
Paste gave the project an 8.6 rating, singling out the contrast between the surreal animation and the unhurried club performance.
Notable bits & set list
-
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and the British Royal Family
Critiques colonialism, royalty, and the superficial nature of representation by skewering both sides of the discourse rather than holding back on two wealthy people living in Tyler Perry's mansion.
-
Bobby Schmurda's friend Monte listening to his lyrics
Acts out the comedic vignette of a friend discovering in real time that he was openly incriminated in a rap song.
-
Macklemore winning the Best Rap Album Grammy over Kendrick Lamar's 'Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'
Rallies room goodwill to examine unearned mainstream success and award show absurdities.
-
Southern family tolerance double standards
Contrasts southern families accepting a pedophile uncle over a queer or trans relative.
-
Helping an intoxicated woman during Pride
Dryly catalogs her losing her phone, keys, and dignity in a single evening.
How it plays
- Tone
- Wry, biting, incisive, and unapologetic.
- On stage
- Laid back, casual, and confident; sits on a stool holding a tumbler of amber liquid, delivering incisive social criticism and sly jabs with a cheeky grin.
- Pace
- Slow-burning, relaxed conversational tempo with an easy stage presence and controlled manipulation of audience tension.
- About
- rap lyrics and hip-hop culture, race and societal relations, family dynamics and southern culture, the British Royal Family and colonialism, awards and cultural gatekeeping, online law school
What the critics said
Critically praised as a strikingly funny, biting, and thoughtful sophomore hour that highlights Abston's distinct point of view, room mastery, and sharp sociopolitical commentary.
In the room: Warm and highly responsive, with crowd reactions actively fueling the comic's incisive humor and room work.
Backstory
Originally self-released DIY on YouTube accompanied by an animated short prologue ('The Opener'), before being picked up and rereleased by 800 Pound Gorilla Media.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- 2022, Lincoln Lodge, Chicago
- Runtime
- 56 min
- Where
- YouTube
- Director
- John Becker
- Honors
- Vulture's Comedians to Watch (2022)
- Topics
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