Kevin ‘KevOnStage’ Fredericks Shares His Keys To Being A Successful, Clean Comedian

Kevin Fredericks, popularly known as “KevOnStage,” has erupted in fan support over the past couple of years. Capitalizing on the impact of social media, which has gained a quarter of a million subscriptions on YouTube and over three-quarters of a million Facebook followers, Fredericks has experienced a meteoric rise in his fanbase.

His simple technique of addressing church and pop culture in a clean but critical way has propelled opportunities to travel around the nation giving his point of view on current events. Lovers of comedy across the nation are eagerly clicking on the newest video he has of the latest news and updates. His ability to discuss these topics in a very jovial way, usually driving in his car or standing near a wall in his home, merits an insurmountable level of laughs and affirmative head-nods.

Fredericks also spends a significant amount of his time performing stand-up comedy in front of a diversity of crowds. Maintaining his godly foundation in his routines, KevOnStage brings levity to practical topics such as marriage, finances, and parenting.

At the annual Kingdom Night of Laughs in Columbus, Ohio, I was able to spend a few minutes chatting with KevOnStage about his mission as a comedian, stand-up flops, and more.

Although having a number of family members in Ohio, Kevin stated that it was his first time in the state as an adult, and his only memories stem from when he was a baby. However, he does not remember those times, so we agreed it was his “first time” in Ohio. Thankfully, his memories of Ohio as an adult were fond, stating that “the airport is cool,” and he was able to see the popular Eddie George’s Grill.

Born in El Paso, Texas, he was a military baby, moving to a number of states throughout the country such as Virginia and North Carolina. He then moved to Washington, where he lived for 13 years before camping at his current residence in California for the past four years.

Being sure to express Christian undertones in his comedic routines, Kevin spent many years honing his craft at secular venues.

“A basketball player can be a Christian, but he’ll cross you up! In the name of Jesus, bow down! I’ll dunk on the devil! So, when I do my comedy, I don’t want people to think that I’m only gonna do jokes about church, because then they want to put you in a box of what you can talk about and who you can talk about, and I won’t do that. So, I cut my teeth in regular stand-up comedy clubs, with drunks and hecklers. And I did that because I wanted to make sure that if I was gonna do this, I need to be regular good. Not only good in the church. I need to be good where people don’t know your funny. I can never assume that anybody who sees me is already fans. I wanna approach it as if it’s my first time, and I wanna earn a new fan.

“Being a Christian is how you live your life totally, not just what you say on stage or social media. What you do every morning, night, afternoon, all that type of stuff. So, I’m a Christian all day long. I’m a Christian when I do stand-up, I’m a Christian at work, I’m a Christian in the way I live my life. So, I just choose to talk about my whole life on stage, not just the Christian part of my life. Now, church is a humongous part of my life, so obviously there’s gonna be a lot of jokes in that and stuff I can put online. But I also think it’s funny that Rob Kardashian was trying to blow up Blac Chyna and look like a crybaby. I’m also gonna talk about that. Or Jay-Z’s album, or whatever I think is funny and worth talking about.”

With every successful comedy, there always comes a time in their career where a comedy routine absolutely tanked. Kevin recalled two particular times when this happened.

“One time, I was doing a coffee club, maybe 10-15 people. I mean, no joke worked. Nothing. People were like, ‘Nah.’ So I’m like, okay, I’m gonna go to this joke that never not worked, but it required me sitting in the chair. So I’m in the joke, setting it up, starting to get a laugh. I sit in the chair, the chair breaks, and I fall on the ground. And I got up, I hung the microphone up, and I walked out. I didn’t say thank you or nothing, just walked out, and I didn’t do stand-up for months after that.

“The other time, it was my first time hosting a Greek step show, and I didn’t have much Greek background ever. So, I’m like memorizing the fraternities and sororities on a notecard, but I’m nervous. Biggest show ever, two or three thousand people, black people doing their strolls, sounds loud. So, I do my jokes, no laughs. I’m like, okay, fine. I introduce the first group, and I say, ‘let’s give it up for the brothers of Alpha Kappa Alpha!’ And that’s a sorority, so like everyone was immediately mad… So that was the first thing I said. It was like a three-hour step show.”

Thankfully, his career is much better now, even getting an opportunity to participate in a commercial for Nissan. With his Christian inspiration and a slew of pop culture topics, the comedy legacy of KevOnStage will continue to grow.

[Featured Image by KevOnStage/Facebook]