Over the last several years, social media has become a massive platform for discovering talent, and rising comedian Haha Davis is taking the influencer era by storm. Whether you heard his voice saying "You don't want zero problems, big fella!" on Chance The Rapper's 2016 album Coloring Book, or caught on to rappers like Snoop Dogg using one of his famous catchphrases like "Dis finna be a breeze," Haha Davis is proving how social media helps comics attract large audiences and form solid business partnerships. The 24-year-old comedian spoke with The Sports Fan Journal about his rise to stardom, working with legendary comedians, venturing into the sports world, and more.
TSFJ: You started off as a football player, when did you realize you wanted to get into comedy?
Davis: I was playing football my whole life, that’s all I ever wanted to do. I wanted to go to the NFL for a long time until I was about 19 or 20. I went to school in Virginia, but it didn’t work out. I got homesick and came back home to a community college. That was really when I thought, ‘I’m going to start doing comedy.’ I started doing things on YouTube, and people started noticing and telling me, ‘Oh you’re funny, you have something going on.’ So I just kept on doing it and more people picked up on it.
However, you still managed to stay in the sports world and recently had a feature with 2KSports on NBA 2K18, what can gamers expect to see in the game?
People can go online and vote t-shirts into the store, so my fans voted for my “Dis Finna Be a Breeze” shirt and it made it into the video game. But I’m also looking to collaborate on a couple more things for 2K19.
WOW THE "DIS FINNA BE A BREEZE" T- shirt is on 2K18 thanks to all my fans who voted the shirt on @NBA2K pic.twitter.com/d7ugyozaxJ
— Mr. BIG FELLA (@HaHaDavis) September 17, 2017
Fans recently saw you attending the Detroit Lions training camp, how does it feel knowing you have an impact on athletes and their mentality?
A couple of the players invited me to the camp. It was my first time going, and I definitely enjoyed my time there. It’s crazy because while I was there, a few players came up to me saying, ‘Hey bro, you think I could get a picture?’ These guys are professional athletes, so for them to ask me for pictures, it means a lot to me. These are the best athletes in the world playing in the NFL, so for them to recognize what I’m doing, that really made me feel like I accomplished something.
Is there a particular athlete that you were surprised to find out is a fan of yours?
There is a number of them who tell me they support me, but Deion Sanders was probably one of the biggest ones that surprised me. His son reached out to me recently, and I spoke with Deion, and he told me how much he enjoyed watching my videos. So having a legend like him reach out definitely shows how far I’m trying to go.
With social media now, we see a lot more people getting discovered and moving into other ventures. How important is building a brand rooted in who you are?
I think it’s very important especially for how I came up. It gave a lot of us a voice who would have never had it. Without social media, nobody would have probably ever known who Carlos was before I was Haha Davis. I was able to get on social media and have the ability to show my talent. So I definitely appreciate social media for helping me to get my name out there.
Who are some of the comedians you look up to?
It’s so many of them, and I don’t want to leave anybody out, but Martin Lawrence, Katt Williams, Kevin Hart and Mike Epps are at the top of my list for sure. I just worked on my first major movie with Katt Williams and Mike Epps. It was an epic moment to be on set with those guys.
You worked with Mike Epps and Katt Williams on Meet The Blacks 2. What did you take away from working alongside veterans in the comedic game?
Just being myself. When I first got there I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off like ‘How are they going to accept me?’ I’m in the dressing room with my manager going over the lines, but when I got to the set, I calmed down a little bit. They simply told me, ‘Don’t feel the pressure. You’re a natural. Just do you.’ So when we started filming, that’s exactly what I did, and they loved me.
Some fans got to know you after being featured on Chance The Rapper’s Coloring Book album. How did that collaboration come about?
About a year and a half ago, Chance reached out to me and sent me a message about how much of a fan he is and we should work soon. A couple days later, he flew me out to Atlanta for a weekend, and we met so many people like Boosie and 2 Chainz. After that, we stayed in contact and about two months later, he flew me to Chicago for a week to work on his tour. I did voice-overs in the studio with him for a week straight, and with the amount of time we spent in the studio, I noticed Chance’s work ethic is crazy, it helped me in my everyday life. We just became good friends after he flew me out to Atlanta, and ever since then, we’ve been working together.
What advice would you give to an up-and-coming comedian?
Don’t doubt yourself, that’s why I started my company No Self Doubt. When it gets hard, you have to keep on going. There’s going to be roadblocks that will try to slow you down, but you got to be able to get up and keep at it. You got to have tunnel vision in the game that we’re in because there’s always going to be something to knock you down, so I tell people to never give up, no matter what people say. Whatever field of work you’re in, you have to believe in yourself before anybody else will believe in you. That wasn’t always the case for me. Snoop Dogg believed in me before I really believed in myself. Snoop found me when I had 30K followers, and now I have over two million. I’ll never forget the day he reached out to me back in 2015. Ever since then, he’s been my mentor and whenever I need advice I go to him.
2018 is gearing up to be a big year for Haha Davis. Fans can expect to catch him on the Detroiters premiering in January on Comedy Central along with college appearances for The Big Fellas of Comedy tour.
