Y’ALL KNOW WHAT IT IS!

Special Guest DEON COLE
with BENJI BROWN

ABOUT MARTIN LAWRENCE: Comedy legend Martin Lawrence will headline his first national arena tour since 2016, kicking off Saturday, July 20. The “Y’all Know What It Is!” tour will head to nearly 40 cities across the U.S. through April 2025. The tour is set to launch soon after the June 7 release of the highly anticipated Bad Boys: Ride or Die feature film, co-starring Will Smith. 

“Y’all Know What It Is!” is an all-new stand-up show and fresh one hour set where Martin brings the real talk and finds the funny in everything from family to culture as only he can. Special guests have been personally hand-picked by Martin and are some of the hottest comedians on the mic including Adele Givens, B. Simone, Chico Bean, D.C. Youngfly, Deon Cole, Desi Banks, Jess Hilarious, Mojo Brookzz, Ms. Pat, Rickey Smiley and more. Guest comedians vary by city. 

 “Comedy gives me that instant gratification,” Lawrence says. “Seeing the fans up close and in person, making people laugh, doing what I love most, this is what it’s all about for me. But hey…y’all know what it is!”

Lawrence, hailed by fans around the world as one of the greatest comics of all time, launched his comedy career in New York City at the Improv Comedy Club. His breakthrough film role came courtesy of Spike Lee in the classic Do The Right Thing! Other film roles followed including House Party and Boomerang. He soon captured the attention of mega producer Russell Simmons who tapped Lawrence to host the groundbreaking HBO series Def Comedy Jam. In 1992, Lawrence landed his own hit series Martin. The ratings juggernaut single-handedly elevated FOX to a major contender against network television stations. Following the finale of his self-titled comedy series, Lawrence went on to star in a string of top grossing films including Life, Big Momma’s House and the Bad Boys franchise. 

ABOUT DEON COLE: Deon Cole is a comedian, actor, writer, and producer who currently stars in the critically acclaimed BET+ series, AVERAGE JOE. Deon can be seen in his latest, NAACP nominated, one-hour special for Netflix, CHARLEEN'S BOY.

In film, Deon can be seen in Jeymes Samuel’s THE HARDER THEY FALL for Netflix opposite Idris Elba, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, and Lakeith Stanfield, for which he won a Gotham Award for Best Ensemble. Deon can also be seen in Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill’s YOU PEOPLE for Netflix, acting opposite Jonah Hill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Eddie Murphy.

Deon stars as ‘Alfonso’ in Amblin/Warner Bros.’ THE COLOR PURPLE, directed by Blitz Bazawule, opposite Taraji P. Henson, Corey Hawkins, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks, Aunjanue Ellis, Halle Bailey, and H.E.R.

Deon’s previous film credits include the Ice Cube led BARBERSHOP series, I'M FINE THANKS FOR ASKING, which he also exec produces, the Whitney Cummings directed feature THE FEMALE BRAIN, opposite Sofia Vergara, and FRIENDSGIVING, produced by Red Hour Films.

Deon starred as Charlie on ABC’s BLACK-ISH and Freeform’s GROWNISH. For his work on BLACK-ISH, Deon won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series three times in a row at the 2020,2021 & 2022 NAACP Image Awards. Deon can be heard as the voice of Dave, for Dreamworks Animation’s Netflix series, KIPO AND THE AGE OF WONDERBEASTS. Previously, he starred as Detective Daniel “DJ” Tanner on the TBS comedy ANGIE TRIBECA opposite Rashida Jones.

In standup, Deon’s previous one-hour special for Netflix, COLE HEARTED was released in 2019 after the success of his appearance in THE STANDUPS, also for Netflix. His previous one-hour special, DEON COLE’S: COLE BLOODED SEMINAR was shot for Comedy Central. His stand-up documentary, WORKIN' IT OUT, debuted exclusively on Netflix is a Joke's Youtube channel, and has garnered 6 million views on social media, and over 2 million views on Youtube alone.

His standup comedy has also been featured on Def Comedy Jam (HBO), Martin Lawrence Presents: 1st Amendment Stand Up (Starz), Shaq's All-Star Comedy Jam (Showtime), John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show (Comedy Central), and Laffapalooza (Comedy Central).

For his work on Blackish, Deon is a 10 time NAACP Award winner and a two time SAG Award nominee. For his work as a writer on Conan, Deon is a three time WGA Award Nominee and one time Emmy nominee. He was also nominated for two Emmy’s for his work as a writer on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Deon also wrote for Conan O'Brien when he hosted the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2013.

In 2022, Deon hosted the BET Soul Train Awards.

In 2019, Deon partnered with Old Spice as a Global Ambassador.

ABOUT BENJI BROWN: 

Benji Brown began his career in both comedy and radio as he starred on the number one radio station in

Miami (99JAMZ and Hot 105) from 2004 to 2018 while honing his skills as a stand-up comedian with a unique voice and hilarious characters.

Because of his incredible timing and knack for radio, Benji has now become a key fixture on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, serving up the laughs on the airwaves while headlining major clubs around the country on most of his weekends.

Benji began to build more momentum In 2018 when he joined Martin Lawrence’s wildly popular LIT AF arena tour, which went to every major city around the country three times before its conclusion. After the completion of the tour in 2021, Martin proclaimed Benji as one of the most talented stand-ups he’s ever seen. Benji is now lighting comedy club stages with his national 2022/23 “Benji Brown Live” club tour.

Benji’s most popular character, the outspoken ‘Kiki ‘, has become an online sensation and driven his adoring fan following to over 500,000 people on his social media pages. Benji’s upward momentum has gained steam at the most opportune time as he is gearing up to produce his own self-titled television series and an animated series based on his KIKI character.

When it comes to Benji Brown, the standard is the standard! And this is only the beginning of his brilliant ascent in this industry.