Amanda Seales entertains and educates in new HBO special, ‘I Be Knowin’’
Amanda Seales has been entertaining audiences for nearly 30 years as an actor, singer, rapper, poet, comedian, radio personality and DJ, in and on a multitude of mediums and platforms.
Her first film role was in 1993’s action/adventure caper “Cop and a Half,” followed a year later on the Nickelodeon sitcom “My Brother and Me.” For several years, the former MTV VJ went by the moniker Amanda Diva, and also appeared on Russell Simmons’ “Def Poetry Jam,” and was a member of the R&B group Floetry.
For Seales, who has a master’s degree in African American studies with a concentration in Hip Hop from Columbia University, it’s not simply about entertaining her audiences, but also educating them. “That’s the goal of all my work. If it does not serve me creatively and serve the people in some sort of educational or enlightening ways, then it’s not worth doing,” Seales told the Banner by phone earlier this week.
The multi-talented entertainer and producer created the live comedy game show “Smart Funny & Black” that fuses comedy with black history and culture. In 2015, she created the web series “Get Your Life,” and since 2016 has appeared as Tiffany DuBois on the hit HBO series “Insecure.”
She hosts a weekly podcast called “Small Doses” and later this year, Abrams Books will publish a literary component to the podcast.
Seales’ first stand-up comedy special, “I Be Knowin,’” premiered last month on HBO. In an honest, loving and very funny tribute to black women, she openly discusses and demonstrates the daily challenges that black women have to face, from micro-aggressions and office politics, to a “How black am I going to have to get?” scale ranging from Stacey Dash to Michelle Obama, to owning our sexuality and our “vagenda.”
Seales has been tapped to host the new NBC comedy competition series “Bring the Funny” featuring judges Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”), Chrissy Teigen (“Lip Sync Battle”) and comedian Jeff Foxworthy. She plans to release some new music featuring a song that she sings with the audience in her special.
“It’s another type of Negro national anthem,” explained the performer. “People have been asking me forever, ‘Like, please, make a full song,’ and I listen. I’m the ‘best idea wins’ type of gal.” I went ahead and made a full song. If it all goes well, I’ll continue to make and release more songs. I have a whole EP based on the single from my Instagram.”
Not one to rest on her laurels, the Inglewood, California native is currently on tour performing stand-up comedy throughout the country. She headlined The Wilbur Theatre in Boston last week.
“The audiences that are part of those shows are like Igor helping you build Frankenstein,” said Seales. “They’re helping to determine what parts you’re going to keep and what parts you let go. It’s a very intimate exchange. Something that I like to do is leave space at the end of my show to just have the audience throw out a topic and I wax comedic on that topic. It’s a fun exchange for both me and the audience. It’s also a great way for me to explore material, since I don’t write material. I come up with it all on stage.”
