WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

“Crazy” Carla Simpson is a clean comedian. “Not a Christian comedian. I’m a comedian that happens to be a Christian.” Her past standup comedy  material and lifestyle use to be the total opposite. “I’m so glad they didn’t have social media back when I was at Freak Nic and the black bike rally in South Carolina. I was wild. I tell my kids I use to be wild, they look at me like, sure mom.” 

I asked her if she liked the mental and spiritual place she’s in now, and she gave me a soft and sweet said, “Yes.” Carla had my ribs hurting with laughter as she shared stories about club days. “When I did comedy back then, most of the crowds were drunk; and I was drunk with them. I would cuss up a storm. I could cuss right now.” She had me laughing for 10 straight minutes; I was barely able to do the interview; she is hilarious. 

I asked why did she make the switch to clean comedy, and she immediately got serious. “When you start growing in your relationship with God, it’s just any relationship. There’s certain things you can and can’t do within the perimeters of your relationship with another person. So I know God expects certain things of me.”

She shared one of those moments that God is wherever she goes. “I did a show a little over a year ago. My friend begged me to do the comedy I used to do, and I was thinking OK, I can do that. Busta … How about I got up there and it felt like someone was putting dirty clothes on me. So … It’s not the same anymore. I take my relationship with God serious now, and He doesn’t like it.”

I asked Crazy Carla which style of comedy is more her. “Busta I have to be honest; it’s somewhere in the middle.” Carla is very raw with her honesty. “I may be a Christian, but don’t push me, cuz you might get a good cussing out.” She shared which crowd is the toughest to please. “The church crowd. I walk out onto the stage and they’re sitting there with their arms folded, and mad. I’m thinking why are you even here.”

I’ve interviewed several comedians that no longer use profanity, and they don’t get as many gigs anymore. I asked Crazy Carla if that’s happening to her. “No, I get even more now. God is so good to me.” Carla said romance is her soft spot. “I love black love. I’m a cry baby. I could watch a romantic commercial and cry.”

Crazy Carla Simpson is also a Sunday school teacher and actress. She landed her first leading roles in both stage and on screen. She plays a first lady in the upcoming play “Her Story, His Truth,” and Mama Grace in the YouTube movie “A Cure for Kyle.” Contact Carla Simpson at aahfro10@gmail.com, or on Facebook, or on Twitter @aahfro10.