Comedian Derrick Stroup knows he’s a fish out of water in New York City. He can tell by how his accent “stops traffic in a bodega.” But the Alabama native isn’t changing who he is for the Big Apple. Instead, he’s bringing the “playing in the dirt” toughness of his 1990s upbringing to the comedy world.
His latest Netflix special, “Nostalgic,” serves as a high-energy wake-up call for a generation of kids he says aren’t built for the playground games of his youth. “Some of the games we played, you could not bring back,” Stroup told Fox News Digital.
“I mean, you couldn’t bring back the purple nurple. These kids aren’t built for it,” he said. “‘Safe space, safe space!’ They’d be in a panic.”
The comic said his stand-up style has been described as “Bill Burr raised in the woods,” and noted his special is a tribute to something that most people can relate to: growing up. It’s a perspective that’s resonated with audiences across the country, landing his special in the Netflix Top 10.
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While he’s living in New York now, Stroup said he remains a Southerner at heart who continues to experience the culture shock of living in the North. He noted that something as simple as communication is different. Whereas in New York a horn is a way to say hello, in Alabama it could quickly “turn into an altercation.”
He also admits he hasn’t found a local diner that can match the grit and charm of a Waffle House. “I miss a sweet woman with red lipstick on that smells like cigarettes that’s refilling my sweet tea,” Stroup said. “That’s hard to find up North.”
But Stroup’s rise to the Netflix stage wasn’t an overnight success. He spent a decade in retail management, working overnights and selling furniture to keep the pressure on himself. He said he purposefully didn’t want a “Plan B” that ever felt too comfortable.
“I can promise you, as a manager in Big Lots, I was not like, ‘This is my end game,’” he said jokingly, adding that there were times when he went without healthcare. “I always made sure that I kind of positioned myself in the room to where comedy was my only way out.”
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Stroup practices clean comedy, meaning he keeps the language toned down and topics lighthearted. But his delivery is anything but quiet. He described himself as an “observational, ranty type of comedian” who gets worked up over the smallest inconveniences.
“I’m naturally an emotional man. I run hot,” Stroup said. “I can get just as fired up about a plate of tater tots as I can my shirt getting caught on a doorknob in a hallway.”
Staying clean while making people laugh is a skill Stroup said he picked up while working as the opener for Christian comic John Crist for several years. He explained he learned how to “walk that line” between getting a laugh, and not “punching down.”
That aspect of his comedy led him to also work with one of comedy’s biggest names, Nate Bargatze, another clean comic who also happens to hail from the South.
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“Me and Nate are naturally kind of similar people. We grew up 90 miles from each other,” Stroup explained.
It’s a connection he’s fostered, having gone on tour with Bargatze, being part of his Christmas special produced by “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, and now starring in Bargatze’s upcoming film “The Breadwinner.” Stroup said Bargatze’s “right down the middle” style means everyone can enjoy a laugh.
Stroup’s special taps into the rage of Americans today, but over everyday occurrences — not bigger existential or divisive topics. Rather, he answers the burning question of whether the middle-seat person on planes deserves armrests, and recalls having to call the girl he liked on a landline and the panic surrounding what to do if her dad picked up.
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“If somebody was really mad about something, like I was on a soap box all the time, or I was really trying to change your mind, that’s not a fun conversation,” Stroup said.
“When somebody’s unraveling over something that truly doesn’t matter, it’s pure entertainment,” he added.
Stroup’s special “Nostalgic” is now airing on Netflix. You can also catch him on the road this year on his “Running Hot Tour.”
