#LADYCRUSH! BO$$ LADY

Name: BO$$ Lady aka Allie Harris
City: Los Angeles, CA
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
How many years? 3 years
Bio: Imagine that BeyoncĂ© and Weird Al got together and had a baby. Then Eminem came and raised that baby. That child would grow to become the magnificent entity that is BO$$ Lady, the Raptress Supreme. BO$$ Lady specializes in performing stand-up and comedy rap, including witty feminist parodies and original songs. Her material is sex and body positive, bold, fun, fearless, feminist, and hilarious. She is based in Los Angeles and has headlined at The Comedy Store, Viper Room, and The HaHa Cafe, and was recently seen at the Lady Laughs Comedy Festival in Madison, WI. Her debut album, “Champagne Pussy”, is available on Spotify and iTunes. @bossladylives

 

 

 

 

 

1) Tell us about your first time doing comedy: I was asked to try it out as part of “Harvey’s Happy Hour,” a music & comedy show that one of my mentors produced in San Pedro, CA. Juan Baez put this show together along with another mutual friend, Harvey Contreras, who the show is named for. Was I any good? I didn’t really know what I was doing and instead of writing jokes, I wrote a couple parodies because I was better at singing and rapping than telling jokes. My set was decent, but it wasn’t until they got me drunk and made me freestyle for the final numbers of the show with another musician friend, Matt Drouillard, that I really got the audience going. These guys were all like older brothers to me, and I had met them through the San Pedro & Peninsula YMCA summer camp I had attended from childhood until the age of 26. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have considered doing it for fear of failing, but another dear friend of ours (and esteemed performer) Amy K. Murray had recently passed away. It was completely unexpected and a shock to all of us in the camp community. She was (and still is) one of the most talented performers I’ve ever had the privilege of watching, and her passing made me realize that if I truly wanted to be a performer, I had to start living like one, and living like her, specifically. So, my first time doing stand-up overall was wonderful, and bittersweet, and sent me on a journey that I’m so happy to be on today.

2)  What do you LOVE/HATE about comedy? I love the moment of pause when you hit a great line and the audience is laughing too loudly for you to keep talking, so you gotta wait for it to die down a little before you move on. I also love surprising people- they don’t expect songs at a comedy show and not only do I do songs, I spit rap songs, and they love it! I hate when comedians go WAAAAAY over their light, and even more so if they’re only doing it to hear themselves talk. Other comedians, and the audience, can tell the difference between a comedian wrapping up a good joke and a comedian using up too much time. It’s rude to the booker and the other performers.

3) Where’s your favorite place to perform? Gay bars! They have such great audiences!

4) What’s your BEST/WORST comedy memory? I won $300 for a comedy contest at The HaHa Cafe in North Hollywood when I first started and I did a great joke about having sex with my fiancĂ© and him comparing it to McDonalds. I say the word “pussy” A LOT & I was very clear about how much I love & respect my dude and how much I love when he goes down on me & whatnot, and after I get off stage, this comedian comes up to me with his number written on a scrap of paper, and creepily says to me, “If you ever need help with what you talked about, give me a call.” I replied, “Well, if my dude ever starts to suck at it, which is unlikely, I’ll remember that,” and then proceeded to walk away. That event ended up becoming a line in one of my songs!

5) How do you deal with creepy male comics/bookers/audience members? I don’t shy away from putting them on their place. Some men think because you talk or joke about sex, that you must want it all the time and that they have a right to details about it. I’m not afraid to say when something is inappropriate or, like the memory I described before, make a joke at their expense. Another way to combat it is surrounding myself with more feminist & female-centric shows. I like collaborating with other funny women and with drag queens! I’ve been a part of a weekly show that is a mix of drag and comedy at this great club called Faultline, and the audience is always so welcoming and fun!

6) What’s the worst advice you’ve received? “Be angry and yell a lot.” NOPE. Does not work for me.

7) Who would play you in a movie? Why? Drew Barrymore. She’s the perfect blend of funny and sexy, and isn’t afraid to be herself.

8) What’s your best childhood memory? My childhood was…interesting, to put it lightly. Without going into too much detail, when I was around 5 years old, my parents and I were homeless and living in hotels. During Christmastime, I was overly concerned about how the heck Santa was gonna get into our room without a fireplace. We had no tree, no decorations, and just enough food for the night. On Christmas Eve, my mom put a can of Coke and some cookies out for Santa (I can’t even tell you how jealous I was that Santa got a WHOLE CAN OF COCA-COLA and I was stuck with a measly juice box) and told me to go to sleep so that he could bring the presents. When I woke up Christmas morning, the whole room had been transformed. There was a paper fireplace on the wall with real stockings hanging with our names on them, a huge tree covered in ornaments and little doves and lights, fuzzy snow underneath, and a bunch of shiny wrapped presents. It was magical. I know now that it was my mom who did it all, and I think of how hard she worked to make the holiday special for me even when we had nothing. I still put a dove on my tree every year to remind myself of that special Christmas.

9) What do you do for fun? I like to drink wine and take baths. Oh, and arts and crafts are cool too. And I watch a lot of cartoons.

10) Marry/Fuck/Kill? John C. Reilly/Will Ferrell/the comedy rap game