Khaled TheComic says his act was forged from growing up in America with immigrant parents. (ArabDASHissh)
Like music, the power of laughter is boundless. It can diffuse anger, enlighten the ignorant and help people of various backgrounds see what they have in common.
The HaHa-HipHop Tour unites these elements in one event at the University of Michigan on Friday and the Arab American National Museum Saturday.
The comedy and music event features Khaled TheComic and Khaled M. Both men are Americans of Arabic decent who share their life experiences through their respective art forms.
Khaled TheComic, who's of Palestinian and Lebanese heritage, was born in Texas and was raised in a blue-collar neighborhood in Indiana. Needless to say, growing up came with some challenges.
"You definitely needed to straddle two different worlds. You had to figure out how to function," says Khaled TheComic. "My parents were both immigrants, so you still had the immigrant influence, which can be bittersweet sometimes."
He remembers getting into fights often and being teased but, he says, those experiences helped to forge his comedic abilities.
"That's where laughter comes from, it comes from pain," he says. "But comedy has the ability to truly and profoundly impact the way people see the world."
Since following his passion for comedy, he has performed around the U.S. and Canada and has created Arab-issh, a platform for the next crop of "brown" to "cafe olé" comics. And when he's not touring, he performs Arab-issh shows in Chicago.
Khaled TheComic has a degree in business and also works in the financial service industry. His profession is flexible and allows him to pursue his art.
"Comedy started out as a stress reliever for me," he says. "I was going through some personal challenges and needed to kind of get things off of my chest.
"I could get up in front of complete strangers I would likely never see again and say what I wanted to."
Khaled TheComic's style of comedy is complemented by the music of rapper Khaled M, who has written for a variety of acts including up-and-coming and established rappers and R&B singers. He was born in Libya and raised in Lexington, Ky.
"I had an opportunity to see one of his performances and I was very impressed," says Khaled TheComic. "His music is message-driven. I appreciated his art before we had any conversations."
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