Beyond the Punchline: Mastering Business & Life from Bruce Bruce

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Start the test with a full-known Euro-Promonat on Shopify.de/requord. Welcome to another exciting episode of Macum Plot and today I've got a goat. I've got a guy who helped get me through some of the toughest times in my life just by making me laugh so I could forget about it. He is none other than the comparable, the unstoppable, the iconic, the goat.

Mr. Bruce Bruce. Man, I'm good man, how you doing? I'm doing great now that I'm with you, man. My man, I like that level. A, so I'm just going to go straight into this Netflix special, bro.

I had a watch party at my house, so I have like 27 first cousins.

We were all at the crib, like we were at a comedy club with popcorn, maybe some adult beverages. Yes, sir. We're laughing our butts off. That's good, I like that, I like that.

Yes, sir. So tell us about how that show came to be, man. Well, it's like this, man, I had did a special I landed 15 years or actually 60. And man, let me tell you, man. Everybody said, "Why do you wake so long?"

Well, see the first time, the first time I did it in my mother's house. And on that Monday, right? Yeah, I buried her in that Monday and I had to do this show that Friday, the same week. And I dedicate everything to her, which I dedicated this winter. But I thought about it, I said, "What about my mother want me to do?"

You know what I'm saying? She want me to keep going, keep moving, doing my thing. So that's what I did. But I would not wait this long with you. And I promise you, I'm only 15 years no more.

And I'm going to do it now, I'm going to try to do one next year. But what I want you, I perfected this show. You know, when I was working, then I was working on adding stuff, moving stuff, adding stuff, move stuff. And I picked the best out of the best.

Because I wanted to be quite in front of the beginning to the end. And see, most comedians there give you a roller coaster ride. You know, they'd be up and down. Of, you know, it's funny, didn't go down. You know, and it's funny, I didn't want that.

I want to be like, look, I'm about to throw up. This dude is about to make me throw up. So that's what I want it. And I think that's what I got. You don't know what I mean?

Now that I think, brother, you deliver.

“Because genuinely, that's what everybody said.”

Because Bruce Bruce said it. So I don't have to say it. A lot of comics in their specials.

The first seven minutes are, they get you.

I mean, you're laying in the floor. You're laying in the floor, then you go like, what happened? Then you got 15 to 20 minutes of how much longer is that? And see, what ended all right? And one thing about me, like, when I look at stuff on social media.

And if you don't grab me right then, I go to something else. You got to grab him. I heard James Brown. You know, my James Brown, but now that you probably don't know that. But I love James.

I got the memoir. Yeah. And I love James Brown. And I heard him say one time. He was doing an angry.

He said, once you grab him, he said, you got him. So I come out and grab you. I'm going grab you. I'm going to take you that right now. I'm going grab you.

And I want it. I just wanted to be the best man. And I have had bad shows, but didn't know about it. No, but me. You know, I be your my team.

And something like, I said, I could have been bad. I could have been bad. And what I think could have been bad. I say the next show, I got to turn it up a lot. And that's what I do.

I try to perfect it, man. And people are going to say, you got to love what you do. You got to love what you do. If you like stripping strip, if you like stealing calls, still them. But you got to love what you do.

And like I tell all these new comedians that are on social media. They work that social media because it's great. Give the people more than the five minutes that they see on social media. You know, you got five minutes is great. But what people come and see you, something for them to go home and talk about.

You know what I mean? Just go ahead and look five minutes later, thank you. And then you get on the money. Because me, I've been doing for 36 years. So I've been getting repeated, repeated.

I can go every club every year and do a show and sell out every year. And I bring them something new every time.

“And that's what I'm going to give you your flowers on now because when I believe in”

giving people their flowers and when they can actually see them and smell them. I've seen Bruce Bruce at five shows in the past two years and you are relevant in every show.

And I'm trying to single show because here's the thing.

And again, I'm going to say this. So Bruce Bruce doesn't have to say it. There are comedians that the jokes they were telling 10 years ago are the same jokes they're telling. It's nothing wrong with that because sometimes I have a good joke is a good joke. Yeah, that's a do that joke about the bus driver.

Do that joke about that. I have to do it. You know, but you got to stay on top of your game.

Let people always ask me why I don't talk about drama Trump.

I, it's just one thing on like a by dumbness is hair. I don't care about nothing is. But nobody should be 80 years old with a shag and a bang.

“Did you hear me play a dad mean he got a shag bang?”

Did you hear what I said? And you know, we all see people know you're playing crazy. Donald Trump told you from the beginning what he was going to do. No surprises. All right, I mean, no surprises.

So one thing I can say he didn't lie. He didn't lie about that. And he, and he do the same. So what you get is what you got. So he told you from the beginning.

Yeah, yeah, I love it. Yeah, I love it. So let's talk about this longevity. But you have that because in your world, huh? You get comics that are here today going tomorrow.

You got the social media comics that is cute to be funny and silly. But then you got to be real like you got to be able to take that.

And then go live or go corporate or have real conversations.

You're one of very few people. And I'm just going to say that also look like us. This just been here for a long time, brother. Like what has been your secret? I shouldn't even say secret because I don't like that because you put in the work.

And I know that that's part of it. You put in the work to stay relevant. But also, bro, the other part of that is you still look like Bruce Bruce is 27, 28 years old, too. Hey, man, let me tell you.

“Like I tell you, like I say this again, what I used to be a chef.”

I'm not a cook. I used to work through the literature. And one thing about free the literature, driving that truck, going from store to store that taught me how to run a business. It taught me how to run a business, run my own business.

And I let these companies know, even the guys that work for me. Hey, man, we go right here. We have fun. You know, we eat it the best places. We have fun, but it's still a business.

And you got to treat it like a business. You know, even though we are here, you know, these guys talking every woman they can see. And all that, it's not about there with me. It's about me coming in. Doing my jobs, doing it for the love, staying consistent,

and coming back and doing the game next year. I got a wife. I don't need no other woman. I can't have this net. I got it now.

You're the same I'm saying. I'm trying to get rid of her, but she won't leave because I'm too good to her. You know what I'm saying? But you know, how does it as a business? This is a business.

It's like if you go and work it, you can work your McDonald's. You know, no matter you buy a half of her, but it's a business. And you got to respect people. And you got to have good customer service. And that's one thing I like.

I got I got some sort of nice there. Brother, my granddad, it taught me someone I was young.

“He's saying the only thing free in life is being nice.”

It don't call tonight. So you ain't got to be mean to people who say when you ever get and conceded and stuck up, that's too much energy for me, man. I can be doing something. I can be eating some paparazzi.

You know what I'm saying? I ain't got to be out here. I agree with some paparazzi and give you apple pie. You know, like a 36-piece, you know something like that with a dad coat. You know what I'm talking about?

I got the dad coat. You know what I'm saying? I got to have a dad coat. Well, don't want to gain no weight. But the thing is, just treated like a business.

But how I'm following what you do? I got my nephew working for me. I got my grab one of my grandkids working for my baby boys, my road manager. And man, they do a good job. They're really good on the computer.

So they keep me on top of the game. I saw him tell me, I'm a social media came out. He said, hey, Paul, if you don't change, man, you're going to be behind. And I thought about it.

I said, you know where he's right. And if I had social media in 36-37 years ago, bad hour will be big in a rigid fire, red fox. Bill calls me. Oh, it's a girl.

George called, put together. The social media is a good, good avenue to take. But use it right. Don't do that. I'm crazy.

Don't be on the slapping your girl already. Shoot people. No, use it for your platform. She's like, they can give me a TV show yet. I'm not going to wear back.

I'll put a TV show on social media. I'm going to do my own TV show. You don't take on, I'm going to use that platform. And I'm going to be the first subscriber you have, some of you. I'm going to be good, man.

It's going to be good. I am there for it. I am there for it. I want to go, because I want people to hear this and understand this, because I've heard you talk about it quite a bit.

But I'm going to ask it in a different ways. Your comedic career, that journey, going back to when you got into the game, you've been authentically Bruce Bruce. What I want people to understand is this.

When Bruce Bruce got into the game, the game was call people out of their name, use any kind of language, right? Allow, be different, attack the crowd, like, we're going to do that.

Bruce Bruce was different.

He was always him every day.

I see the thing is, people, they add something as well. How is he at home? She's just like, he is all state. He's the same person. It's not a difference.

I'm not putting out of front, you know. You know, I'm the same person on an offstage. Even when I was a kid, I was sweaty. I was a neighborhood clown, church clown, school clown. I just had fun.

I never did anything to hurt anybody.

You know, I didn't want to hurt. They said, one girl with that ponytail. If you saw that, they threw it in a little bit of a ponytail. Then you don't pick the hard day. They said, she made me be her boyfriend.

She said, you're going to be my boyfriend. So the thing is, you know, you don't take all that to make people laugh. I can sit now and talk somebody. And let's just say I'm in the bank and it's taking a long time. I said, well, what?

They working on turtle today. I said, they pretty slow the day. And then bus out laughing. You know what I'm saying? Like I made the airport one time.

TSA going through everything.

“I got I said my man, are you trying to make lieutenant?”

I said, because what you looking for is on the x-ray when I got in my bed. You see what's in my bed. But you want to check if they're you trying to make lieutenant. I believe he bus out laughing. He realized he said, man, man, go, man, go, go, man.

He's just going to do. You know what I'm saying? So sometime we go too far. You know, we go too far with things. And we just need to just keep it out of minimum, man. Do we just keep it moving?

I go to the airport every Friday, every Friday, Atlanta airport, no, me. Everybody sell ISIS. Then they got ISIS down there. And then I don't know what they're doing.

Man, they just tend to look crazy. They got like, I had a police one time. Who am you over? And I got a big duly. You got the drugs in the car.

I said, I'm having the drugs. I said, now I do have some sandwiches in the bag. I said, now I got about seven to four subways. I said, now, if that's a crime, you might have put the handcuffs on me now.

I said, but right now, I don't care. He brought the dogs out. Man, he don't run around the truck. I look at the dog.

“We're back to the police car just set out.”

You know what I said? So he just said, man, then I said, he smelt them. Then a roast beef. And that Australian sandwich. I had it in the bag.

He probably wanted that. But, you know, man, you're going to run into all kinds of stuff. It's a way to have everything. You know, even with women, even your relationship. You got to communicate, man, communicate.

My wife was shut down sometime. I said, well, I went to get through having her silent moment. And then you come talk to me. You know what I'm saying? And one day, she got mad at me.

I don't know what she got mad about. And I told her, say, whenever you want to talk, I said, you come sit by me in the bedroom. And this chair puts your big girl panties on. And sit down and tear a big daddy.

What's the problem? And we saw the problem in three seconds. You see what I'm saying? You know, I'm that time. I'm come.

I'm not a violent man. And you know, my uncle told me my uncle raised me and said, don't ever hit no one.

“No, I was Lee walk out the door and he said,”

you can't run out until he said, but you're going to be all right. And I live by that. You know, I live by that and I teach my kids, you know, don't hit the woman. No, no, no, no, no, no.

Because when you get to divorce my brother, I don't know who made this rule up.

But the man always got to start for the bottom.

I just don't understand that. Why do we have to start for the bottom? We don't build all this up. And then they just take it away. You know, I don't get that.

I need to talk to some judges. I need to judge. Y'all need to work it out with man. We can split something. Come on, I lose it.

They say, you're the player. You know what? You know, it's just life. You know, it's life. And that's how the law is.

That's how it's set up. And I encourage every young man to have children, take care of your kids. No matter what, you know, when I got to divorce with my first wife man, I was hoping she had a new dude. Yeah, I was praying to God said, probably God.

In the name of you, please don't have a new dude. Please, God, please, ask about prayer. If you real, ask me, you know, and she did, you know. And, you know, something she got to let go.

Because I was told you'd never make it.

You'll never make it. You're fat. People are gonna laugh at you because you're fat. And I said, well, I'll tell you what. I see you on TV.

And here I am right here 36 years later, man. Still doing it, still loving it. And people always say you have 15 minutes of fame. I always tell people, I hadn't even started on my 15 minutes yet. I'm still having fun to understand though.

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Yes, sir. Yes, sir, man. Yeah, love it.

So Bruce, one of the questions I usually ask all my guests at the very beginning.

And I want to be right here to ask you is what is your be cause? Like we hear start with why and what's your why? And I think your why is superficial, right? Your why is completely your kid, your wife or whatever. There's a reason that there you're why and I call that your be cause.

So if I were to say Bruce Bruce, man, it is 2026. You could have stopped a long time ago, right? But you still got it. You still keep going. What's your be cause?

What's your purpose? Why do you keep doing what you do?

“Why can't you remember when I first started to ask your question and show me the ways?”

I remember when I first started was a comedian that liked me and he would never put me up.

Never put me up. I could have easily walked away. You know I could have easily said you know what man forget this man ain't gonna put up with this dude but I did it because I I just it was something there. Some kept telling me keep pushing, keep pushing and we I've always been tall.

I've always been taught to press your weight. So you know I do it because I love it. I love what I do when I want to say it's the first time. I knew I didn't know but I knew that's why I should have been my whole entire life. I knew it. Like I have comedies not I go to my same man got a show for you man.

I want you doing the first time you say how much do you pay it? I said hold it play it hold up you even been seeing walking about TV. Much less on TV and you ask me how much do you pay? I say when I ask you or tell you about a show I'm gonna make sure that you get paid.

I said but the key thing is don't do it for the money to put a love.

Let me tell you something don't ever run it money. Let the money run it and it's just that something.

“But that's why man I got three I'm an older guy man.”

I got older my kids are older my baby girl is 40. My baby boy is 42 my older son 45. When I tell people that they don't believe it. But I was laying it down back in the day. But I wasn't there you could have been proud of the play.

You don't say you'd been proud of it. I wasn't laying it down man like a player but that my kids now I like the best thing in the world to me and my grandkids are even better. You know I love kids so I got 10 grandkids man and my grandkids are like my heart. You know and they're so pure and so innocent and and they cool they come talk to me about everything.

I'm talking about everything. I got wrong grandkids and they talked to me about everything. And I just lay it on the right like Marka did me Marka told you to tell me to look. I'm gonna give you the good and bad uh he said that you got so close to pick the good and bad nothing right I see a certain he said I'm right I'm gonna let you make that decision. That's how he was you know so you know he give you a chance to make the right decision.

Now you go left you like oh wait wait wait wait wait wait come on let me talk to you and thinking now thinking about what you think about what you're doing before you make this crazy

“decision so that's why I did my kids and then you know like I said my baby boy 42”

he went to federal state University of Pennsylvania in Los Carolina. He was Mr. Fairfield State you know he got 3 degrees I mean I mean I went to college you know dropped my curls a lot but look but you know that's just how they but you just got the community and in every aspect of life man he like my manager now we go back and forth on stuff from time I get hot here Bruce I understand I understand what you're saying Bruce I'm

standing but listen I get hot and I get the hot and then I get the hot and then whooping and did he try to give me a different point of view and I go I say let me think about that for a minute so sometimes you need that you don't need a brother cheer and you own all the time you need somebody to pull your rope and say hey man hold up wait a minute wait a minute before you do that think about what you're doing because you're the calls you in the long run so that's what

it's all about yeah I love it I love it and here you talk about your kids man takes me back to the joke on the special about your daughter it's another man oh yeah and you know what you don't like let me tell you so I'm just this one they say I didn't like that junk you told about your daughter I said well my daughter is 40 she's been married 18 years going on 19 years she got man she was 21 I say and I counsel her and I counseled her in the beginning but he asked me

for her and it marriage I told him he could get up but he came bring her back I said you cannot bring her back and when they say who give this woman I pushed up you know you like to say I pushed up that I said look but if a lot of fathers and mothers stop talking at their kids and talk to your kids you can get your porn crops and a lot of divorces wouldn't happen see just like I don't like that junk you did about your daughter so if your dad would talk to you you probably wouldn't have

three husbands right now right it is she looked at me well it's funny no but I just don't think you should stay that's your belt where I'm I'm a teller and I'm a funeral you can't go to because they cannot move back in my house did you what I say it they cannot move back in my I'm sorry I call the police I say I know them but they need to need the preferences right now yes sir hey you got it rolling and I know how busy you are so I don't want to keep you long man but I just again I

wanted to tell you thank you you talk about fatherhood a lot you talk about your family a lot

dad I mean I'm still gonna be dad right but we are friends right and we can have a conversation as friends and just like you when they come to me for dad it's more like the counseling the advice and outside of that like we are friends and I got that from you man like hearing all the things

“that you do following you for as long as I have to be a present father I think is the most”

important skill that all fathers can have and one day we got to understand kids grow up and they become adults so you got to talk to them like adults now I could tell you man I every day every single day when my expression I got to was I call my kids every single day I mean every single day not a day miss I call it hey dad and we they also follow you thought I I've been going for 30 years how you do it so happy to hear from me for my uncle Thomas look here he said yeah

you get into the boys he's like I understand that he said but somebody in this relationship got to have some sense and he said don't seem like she got known he's so it's gonna have to be you to make sense and make things right he said I don't care who you see or what she say or what she do he says your job as a man to take care of him kids he said now you you be doing I tell you

going to come I don't talk I never get you said this he say oh right now be here to see

“he said I might be dead and come he said but wouldn't happen you're going to think about me”

and he was exactly right I kept my kids every weekend not every other week every week yeah because I I was in love with my kids I was in love with a man and we can have so much fun and I was almost like their brother because I play with him constantly over and over constantly and they didn't know me they were telling me anything even as a child they were telling me everything anything and that's the kind of relationship you've got to have with your children man because a lot of

guys think well I'm sitting child support that ain't got none to do with it man to you know your child like my dad my mom and dad when I was four or five years old right I found my dad when I was 40 we talking 35 36 years later and when I met him when I got up with him he was on the defense

but he thought I was fitting come at him you know man what you been first of all I don't know you

all of that I know that you're my dad I just want to talk to you I say man how are you doing I say I got three kids you got three grad kids and I say I got a son just like you and man you can see the relief from his whole spirit of his body just like man is that right man it's his show no we got the talking and then he realized that then I saw telling stuff I remember

“as a child he said you remember that I said yeah man I started remember everything about you”

I said I did I don't know you but I know I got a lot of your ways because my dad was a worker holly he took care of family my mama ran them all she did you know women are going to tell you to and but for my mother passed she said yeah I did run them off I ran that joke on man I said you know as she know she did you know said but most of these guys be mad at their dad but but well the joke did my mama wrong first of all hold it you don't know the whole story

see it's three sides of the story her side he's side in truth you know I'm saying so find out the truth before you start blaming that you he won't around he won't do it it's a reason why he's not around she doesn't tell her he's been like come right then she got some old stupid joke she go with you know I'm saying smoking by throw the look I don't need money here you don't tell I don't need money it out I'm taking it you know so we got understand what's going on and

learn to talk not learn to argue screaming holly ain't with all that I take the young boy now got to old fight I'm triggered I'm telling I will pop them they will see Jesus and they will test to him of his government did you what I said please I'm telling that no we have gone to church yes I yes up with the man himself loose bruise man again love you the floors yours where do you want people to know what you got coming up where are you my goodness are you don't

check out the Netflix fresh it's called ain't playing it's called ain't play it and I ain't playing

and then please check it out because if you don't know me or you never see me trust me when you

see this Netflix fresher you're going to fall in love with me and and the thing is I want everybody to know about go to my social media is at my bruise bruise that's tour the Instagram Facebook all that at my bruise bruise and tell me your likes and dislikes because if it's something you don't like tell me give me a chance to fix it you know I'm not gonna take it personally just tell me I can fix it you know what I'm saying I don't walk around with security that ain't my style

I'm putting the hood a bit lemon I don't see it all you cannot scare me you know what I'm saying I don't see I don't see juggle just walk out of the bushes just from nowhere you know you walk down the sidewalk brother's the A man what's that anyway what you say I'm in the bushes over that what are you doing in the bushes you know so I don't see it all and and and and it's just all about life man and sometimes like you told me earlier I help you do a lot of things you know and

and I help myself do a lot of things right and I grew up in a church you know I grew up in a whole in this church I went back to church home in church and I'm indeed at all man you know

body else and they make it a lot better for you the doors of the church are open in the door

“little church and I'm gonna be in green beer I'm gonna be the companies on the way I'm telling”

if you missed it you go miss a treat because the ticket is going fast I'm letting everybody know now every time I come to green beer cycle and it's about I used to come late years ago and years ago man and these do come in the hotel it's called a club even got there and the green beer show love man and I'm gonna come in there go the SNS cafeteria you know because they took the

one away down here and then I don't know why but did I go the SNS captain cycle and I see the

saying workers that was in Atlanta working of yes so I go show love and I go I tilt good I

“I treat the people good people take pictures man amen it's all about just living in life life”

is too short man and and you know I rest in peace just a Jackson you know I know he passed everything and rest in peace and just a Jackson it is bruised pieces coming to my hometown green get up you there family friends gonna be there we're gonna celebrate bruise bruise we're gonna laugh we're probably gonna cry our summer's gonna be a horror it's gonna be bruise bruises fault I'm gonna blame him for it but I won't every single moment of it brother I'm gonna tell

his three snacks that I'm like I don't I ain't gonna tell her that between me is three snacks that I like I like who's your cream down there and I like it's cinnamon and I like that little debit zebra cake let me tell you so if you bring a little debit zebra cake I'll fight you about in that little you hear me and I'm not a fighter watch what you tell boy let me tell you so that little debit zebra cake oh my goodness I look here I know that's a god in heaven I know

that's a god in heaven amen to that so I'm gonna have leaks to everything in the show notes in the descriptions I'm gonna run a little teaser and trailer because bruise bruise will be in greenville South Carolina this week at the comedy zone make sure you are there if you're too late you too late that's all I try to say I will be there I will be there yes sir bruise again brother thank you so much for all that you do thank you for who you are

and thank you for the mentorship we didn't even talk about that but thank you for the mentorship because you know how I can tell when a man is good when they might see other people win above themselves

salute that absolutely my granddad always said he needed room he said look here we didn't know

what it means but we knew it was some like a pill when he said if you fall off the mattress I would see you through the spring you know I'm saying now we didn't know what it meant but we just knew it was something different and we thought it was a pill my granddad was a dude man so and man it's love to you man forever for life and check out the next thank you special tell everybody they got a TV the seed bruise bruise on that fix I ain't playing he ain't playing bruise bruise I

ain't playing it is a Netflix go get it bruise love you brother to love each other you was in

“listeners remember your be cause is your superpower that's another powerful conversation on”

make unplug if this episode moved you and I'm sure it did follow to show whatever you listen share it with someone who needs that spark and leave it review so more people can find there because I'm really rush and until next time stay driven stay focused and stay unplugged you