Bigger Than The Stage

We have our good friend IAmKeysh back in the booth with us. What a great way to end National Poetry Month. We talk poetry, Shante's birthday, and the power of friendship.

April is National Poetry Month and we got our favorite poet in the booth! This episode was so good. We give a name to our fans (Ensemble), talk about our future selves, and read our favorite poems.

Beloved friend of the pod Paul Cereghino is in the booth with us today! Comedian, stage and film actor, musician, what don't he do? We talk about being friendly with exes, ask birthday questions, and Trader Joe's.

Unc Smoooth (with 3 Os, mind you) is in the booth with us. Or rather, we in the booth with him! We talk about how he met his wife and their relationship, blind dates, and Taji and Shante have a couple's therapy session.

St. Louis-born LA comic John Grimes is in the building with us. We get a look into his comedy-wired brain, talk about growing up poor, and sibling dynamics. Also he said, "if you think it's not worth watching, that's your first mistake." YOU MAKE THINGS THAT ARE WORTH WATCHING!

Comedian Christopher Jayy is in the booth with us. We discover the group mind we shared, talked about the Venn diagram between comedy and music, and Taji's pimple.

air horn air horn air hornnn! It's officially our one year radioversary, if that's a word. (We're calling it a real world.) We celebrate a full year of unhinged shenanigans. It's a great time.

The three of us came together and had a good ole tiiiiiime, chile. We talked about the beloved fast food chain, gave KayBee her flowers, and downloaded a tambourine app. It's really a fun time.

Artist, singer, songwriter, actor, opera librettist (lowkey limitless legend) Alicia Revé is in the booth with us this week! We talk about how Taji and Revé met, what life looks like as a full-time artist, and how you gotta throw every noodle at the wall. What will stick will stick, and what'll fall, you better let it fall. We even sing a little opera! More Black women need microphones.

Not even 10 minutes in and Shante brings up Michael B. Jordan. heavy Negro sigh. We talk about finding joy whenever you can, Bridgerton, and fractions. They ugly.

Poet, activist, writer, all-around BEAST authoruhtee is in the studio with us tuh-day. This was an episode that flewww by while we talked about everything, from North St. Louis rebuilding after the tornado, to zines, to our collective undiagnosed ADHD. It was such a great episode, authoruhtee will be coming back for a part two in April.

We have Larry Greene in the building once again, talking about But Baby I Love You pt. 12 and so much other stuff. This was truly silly, we covered all the bases: Black clones, what be going on in jail, Shante's shenanigans, and a whistling tooth.

It's a frosty afternoon in St. Louis, but we brought the sunshine! We talk about the snow, the hit 90s sitcom, the cornerstone of culture that is A Different World, and what it would look like flirting on Mars.

Our first repeat guest Memphis-based Tony Tone is back! He stayed with us for half the time. We talked about Shaq, Michael B. Jordan (guess who brought him up?), and we heard his impressions. Then when he left we talked about the books we got to further ourselves in our careers.

We take the time to love on Shante and her fantastic set at City Winery opening up for Amber Wallin earlier this month. If you're getting FOMO, that's okay. Both of us will have more shows in the upcoming year. Anyway, this is a fun, lighthearted episode.

We have St. Louis local comedian Nuunie LaRue in the booth with us today. It was nice to have some girl talk, and it was really funny, too. We have a ball! Catch Nuunie on The Chris Thomas Show "Las Vegas!" every Wednesday and Thursday live on YouTube.

Happy New Year! We're live in the studio, talking about our 2025 at a glance, what we want for 2026, and Black people at the movies. Less than half an hour in, Shante talks about Michael B. Jordan.

It's Christmas and it's our 40th week on air anddddd we have our first rapper in the booth! air horn air horn air hornnnn for Zado! We talk about his latest project, ZADO not zaydoe (which is available on all streaming platforms), the intersectionality between music and comedy, and how the journey is the most beautiful part.

Taji and Shante get silly in the booth. We rank our Mount Rushmore for cereals, talk about villain laughs, and plan out Shante's new goal for 2026: twerk at multiple St. Louis landmarks.

We have St. Louis' own comedian Jovan Bibbs in the studio with us today. We talk about bottled water brands, Black movies that would get our cards revoked if we haven't seen them, and warrants. Jovan's piece of advice: be fearless and be better than you were yesterday. Stay prayed up and be true to yourself.

Pinch us. No, for real. We were blessed to be able to get touring comedians Mia Jackson and Dulcé Sloan in the studio (we both cried). Shout out to Shante for networking as well. They have a sixteen year friendship and Shante and Taji just sat back and watched. We talked about the right way to network, the behind-the-scenes look into being a Black woman in mainstream comedy, and we sang Dreamgirls. They got to try St. Louis Vess and other local snacks. We also went over, but that's what happens when you're having a good time.

Taji flexed her networking muscles (it was really hard, I don't wanna do it again) and we got Detroit's finest in the building! Comedian CP was in town for the Flyover Comedy Festival and we got him in the studio. We talk about his extensive resume, the difference between being a writer and a producer, and how his brain works. He has a special out now called Sunday After Six. Be on the lookout for his upcoming special Cigarettes on YouTube!

It's a really silly episode today, maybe comedian Eric Rueseler brought it out of us, I don't know. With him in the studio with us, we talk about his own podcast: The Best? with Eric Rueseler, his disdain for karaoke, and Thanksgiving food. We had a whole heap of fun with this one.

Chicago comedy legend Diane Corder was in the building with us. We were extremely grateful to learn from this fountain of wisdom. She let us know she's a walking miracle (glory to God), what it was like working with other Chicago legends like Bernie Mac, Deon Cole, and Lil Rel, AND she made us cackle while doing it.

We start this episode off without St. Louis comedic legend Darius Bradford. He comes in late with a good excuse, but turns out, he was just ironing his sweatshirt for nobody to see it. But (!), he gives us a myriad of gems: if you have an excuse, go big, can you imagine dying on a full tank, and what it means for the house phone to ring. We talk about social media, respecting time, and seafood boils.

Local comedian Jack Wright (producer of Don't Tell Comedy, Helium's 2024 St, Louis Funniest winner) is in the building with us. We talk about sports betting (sorry, you're gonna get ads for them now), age gaps, and the intricacies of stand-up comedy. It kinda gets science-y when we talk about being on stage and everything that comes along with it.

This is a silly and fun episode and we clowned. Somehow we were able to talk about Love Jones, Kwanzaa, and adult diaper lovers. Taji's dad told us it's actually Ku-um-ba. Three syllables, not two.

so this is a prerecord but you be calling off to work too, so Shante Love and Taji break the fourth wall not even two minutes in. We always keep it real with y'all, thanks for being here with us. We talk about getting out of tickets, Shante pours into us (and by us, I mean me, Taji), and blue chew. How did we get to talk about all three of these? Listen and find out.

Find out why Shante hates our previous guest DLC on this episode. It's because he gifted Taji a horn to honk. She's so giddy about it! We talked about international podcast day and what we like about our podcast and other podcasts. We gave each other our flowers. Our number works! So Shante's dad called in from Texas.

We're super silly today! We talk about the rapture (spoiler: we're all still here), bring a big dog versus a cool car, and the first Black woman opera singer from St. Louis. It's not Shante, it's Grace Bumbry.

We have local STL comedian Scott James in the building for our 6-month radioversary! We talk about how influential Scott has been to our personal careers, balancing life and comedy as a job, and AI (and Shante blames Little Caesar's for it somehow). Also! Live a life worth writing about.

It's 9/11 and we're never forgetting Shante's uphill battle with lactose. She's three days dairy free. We talk about sugar daddies on this good episode along with dating blind men. But! We do bring it back to the stage and speak on how good it is to have a community and surrounding yourself with people that want to do well and want to see you do well also. And Taji has a cough attack and Shante holds it down.P.S. GP stands for general principle. We know that now.

Well-known podcast Da Lions Club came in the building on this good Thursday. DLC and Gabby the Doll spent time and chile, we had a time!!! We laughed about coupons, talked about Jerry Spinger crash outs, and spraying Raid on the kids. On an unrelated note, shout out to DLC's mom!Catch Da Lions Club every Wednesday live at 6 CST on https://mycitymymusic.com/da-lions-club.

Shante had dairy again this week, y'all. And we hear all about it. One of Taji's coworkers threw away her lunch. And we hear all about it. Tonerio is filming his special on August 29th. And we ask him all about it. It's a great and insightful episode. He turned his pain into triumph.

St. Louis native Brandon "Hotsauce" came onto the pod this week, and it was a real treat. We talked about looking for other people's validation (and how it's not needed!), what we learn about ourselves in relationships, and we bragged about our Black dads. "We always created our own way."

We in the studio with Mary Jayne and we not talking bout the stuff you smoke. We wanted her on since the conception of the radio show, and we were able to make it happen. Mary Jayne drops sooooooooooo many gems. Taji had to write it all down. We talk about the differences in comedy scenes between LA and St. Louis, rewriting the plan, and our kids (Mary and Shante's) needing us to be better.

We got comedians Brandon Taylor and Larry Greene in the building! We talked about favorite cereals (dropped a coupla curse words, sorry Father) with chocolate milk and nerded(?) out about comedy. Larry puts on a Valentine's Day show every year (But Baby I Love You) and Brandon has been holding it down in Chicago. This was a hilarious episode and HR will definitely email us after.

There's a market for Shante to rap, right? Y'all going to the album drop party? Shante is gonna get her Beat District Radio tattoo for some reason. Taji judges her for it. Surround yourself with good people. When you hold onto grudges, you do yourself a disservice. That's why your poop stink!

This is the healthiest relationship Shante has had. LMFAOOOO! We truly clowned on this episode. Taji need to take some deep breaths and chew some bubblegum. We talk extensively about some streaming services and Beyond the Gates.

Friend of the pod IAmKeysh is in the booth this episode! She has so many roles and we touch on them all (pause). There is room in your life for you to do it all! Keysh is living proof of it. Bet on yourself. Stop acting like those dreams can't be accomplished.

This was a special July 3rd episode, so we got our DEI hire in the booth in Clay Beyersdorfer, a disabled military veteran. We talk about redirection in careers (because rejection, who? that doesn't exist), saying yes to everything (again, redirection), the military, and Brian McKnight in that tight blue sweater drool emoji

Two local comedic legends are in the BTTS building! air horn air horn air hornnnn (this might be our most anticipated episode imo) Tahir Moore and Arvin Mitchell, long friends and masters of their craft come on to drop some gems and make us guffaw and holler. We talk about learning from bombing, Bill Cosby impressions, and balancing life and business.

ISSA JUNETEENTH SPECIAL!!! Oh, to be young, gifted, and Black! This is also our 3 month radio anniversary. We talk about the support from the listeners (Taji's dad) that tune in live to hear our "unhinged shenanigans", our favorite things about being Black, and ordering fries extra wet.

Local favorite comedian Frank Lyles joins us today! A staple at KJ's On Broadway for the Grown Folks Comedy show. Frank wanted to remind us that he has a job. He's grown. He budgets. He had us cryinggggggg!

We have special friend of the pod, St. Louis comedian KayBee on today! Baby, a time was had. Sisterhood! Women can be funny! KayBee does an exclusive set for us. We talk a lot about how freeing comedy is for performers (and the audience)and also the ups and downs of being on stage.This is also our first 90 minute episode!

Taji FADEDDDDDDD out finally! We grow and we learn. This week we talk about Arthur the aardvark and chicken Caesar salad. We also say 'pause' all up and through the episode. Shout out to the people that did not have cable growing up!

Ummm we're still learning how to fade out! We talked about where the pigeons went (and Taji's bird nerd came out), biting ice cream, and what we'd be doing if we weren't doing comedy. SPOILER ALERT! Shante brings up Michael B. Jordan, unprompted.

Bigger Than The Stage's first episode! Mama we did it! crying emoji Taji and Shante Love talk about non-dairy ice cream, Duolingo, and medical dramas. Oh, and stand-up comedy.