Meet KB2FUNNY: The Bearded LADY of comedy

We had the good fortune of connecting with KB2FUNNY, The Bearded Lady. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi KB2FUNNY, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I help the community through my comedy by speaking on mental health issues and sharing my experiences growing up as a masculine presenting lesbian with a conservative Christian mother. I like to share my story in hopes other people will embrace themselves in ways we were not taught to as children. I use my comedy to share my story of how I became the bearded lady and often times people are able to see themselves in me. I also speak a lot about my experiences in therapy in my comedy and like to spread awareness of mental Heath issues in both the LGBT and African American communities. When people leave my shows they often think to themselves…if she can live her life free as a bearded lady I can live my life and be happy as well. I also recently started a clothing line called “Aggressively Beautiful” that is all about combining feminine and masculine energy. I came up with this concept to empower people to be a beautiful balance of these energies and be unapologetic in expressing themselves.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is making uncomfortable conversations funny while also sharing my personal experiences to let people know they are not alone. I focus on the conversations that need to be had in my communities. I talk about my own experiences in my comedy. I often talk about things my parents taught me should be secrets which connects me to my audience because most of the time they were taught to live their life in silence or secret as well. I have learned to live my life out loud and use the experiences that got me to this point to show other people they can live their life unapologetically as well. When it comes to my challenges I embrace my nervousness. I use to try to fight the nerves and it showed on stage and would effect my set. Now I have a whole routine and sing a song before I get on stage to help me embrace my feelings. My song goes “I’m nervous I’m nervous it’s cool because I’m human.” This helps me acknowledge the nervousness and give myself a moment to feel the feelings and move on with my set. Another challenge I have is self doubt. I often put a lot of pressure on myself to practice my sets and often feel like I won’t be funny if I don’t practice. Then I hear Whitley in my head saying “just try it bae” and the crowd still laughs. So anytime I am doubting myself i focus on my wins and I am learning not to doubt The Bearded Lady. Nothing is easy, life is all about learning lessons. I didn’t really feel like I was a professional until I was walking down the street and someone driving by yelled “Hey that’s KB2FUNNY!” I was blown away. That’s when I realized people do pay attention to my craft and remember my name. I also have to mention Kia again. She really shines a light on me and pushes me to shine bright. She teaches me so much. Even the way she introduces me on the stage or to other people within her world, makes me feel like a professional entertainer. I have learned that I may not be for everyone and everyone may not be for me and not all opportunities are good opportunities. I have also learned to value myself and to work smarter not harder. Finally, I want people to know everything will be okay. We have all been hurt by people who were suppose to love and protect us. I made it out of those situations and you can too. I want my story to push people to heal. I am on earth to save a life, and sharing my story through comedy is how I will do that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend came into town I would have to make sure they got the full Bearded Lady experience. The first stop would be Friday night at My Sister’s room lesbian bar. This evening would start with some kind of show hosted by Kiacomedy. This could be anything from an open mic, comedy show, or more recently a viewing party of Rupaul’s drag race with drag Queen Q&A during commercials. The second part would consist of heading downstairs Kia and I host Fem Fridays. Fem Fridays is an all night party curated by Kia that is filled with great music, drinks, drag shows, and me hyping everyone up on the mic. Saturday’s are for Soulful Saturdays where Kia hosts an open mic and soulful showcase. This is one of my favorite events because of the live band. Plus I get to vend my clothing line and specialty cupcakes. This is a grown and sexy event with some very dope artists who can sang sang. It’s the perfect vibe. If my BFF is still able to hang by Sunday we would likely head to Piedmont park where Kia and I host a free event. This is a real chill vibe where we can grab a blanket and some snacks and just hang out and network. Just bring your personality and vibe!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely have a few people to shoutout for helping me get where I am today. First i would like to shoutout my goddess, my beautiful wife Whitley. She was the first to love me unconditionally and sparked a fire in me to see the positive in life. She really pushed me to take the first step with my entertainment career and has supported me every step of the way. She was also the person who introduced me to therapy and getting help with my mental health. She has helped me grow my look, my career, and my clothing line. She is low key my manager/agent. When she looks at me I know I am winning. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be “The Bearded Lady of Comedy” without her. Thank you bae. I definitely have a few people to shoutout for helping me get where I am today. First i would like to shoutout my goddess, my beautiful wife Whitley. She was the first to love me unconditionally and sparked a fire in me to see the positive in life. She really pushed me to take the first step with my entertainment career and has supported me every step of the way. She was also the person who introduced me to therapy and getting help with my mental health. She has helped me grow my look, my career, and my clothing line. She is low key my manager/agent. When she looks at me I know I am winning. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be “The Bearded Lady of Comedy” without her. Thank you bae.

My second shoutout is for my mentor, or as I like to call her my big daddy, KiaComedy (Kia Barnes). She has literally given me life. At one point I became unsure of my comedy and was on the verge of giving up. I was doing open mics in front of primarily heterosexual audiences who would miss my jokes because they were so caught up on my looks and my beard. It’s really shot my confidence down and made me feel as though I wasn’t funny. This is when I saw Kia’s flyer for a comedy show with an all lesbian line up. This recharged me and helped me gain my confidence back. It was like Peter Pan came to my window and took me to a Magical place called My Sister’s Room (the only lesbian bar in the southeast). It has only been up from there. Thank you Kia.

Instagram: @KB2FUNNY

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCwd_n7bLIngYFBhJbZ1khEA

Image Credits
(Melanie Campbell) owner of MKC dream productions