Niles Abston Is On The Cusp Of Superstardom
By Matt Levy
February 15, 2020. It’s really not that long ago. 25-year-old comic Niles Abston is onstage for what he calls “the dopest day of (his) life to be honest.” That was the night Abston shot his debut comedy special on the Scoopty Boopty show in Los Angeles run by comedians Max Castillo and Miranda Lensky that will be released on May 1. Abston had never done an hour of comedy before. He told me, “In LA, it’s so hard to get stage time because there’s so many good comedians in the city. I was really nervous because until that night the longest sets I had ever done were anywhere from 15–25 minutes. I thought maybe I could get 45 out of it but I actually ended up going over an hour and doing 72 minutes somehow. There’s been very few times in my life where I could say I was ‘proud of myself’ but that night is definitely it.”
It’s a beautiful thing to see an artist reach out, spread their wings and surprise even themselves but dear reader, I’m not surprised at all. Abston is a talent who appears to have been sharpening his wit for years and is starting to finally blossom. Then, I learned Abston got into comedy fairly recently. THAT surprised me. Abston, originally from Flowood in Mississippi, dropped out of college in 2016 to move to Los Angeles to write and direct films. Camille Orgel, a college friend of his, told him the short film he wrote was so funny that he ought to try out stand up. Thank the Lord for Orgel because Abston has been performing on stage almost every night ever since. (Until Covid-19, of course.)
Pre-comedy, Niles was a totally different person which makes him so different, a natural even. He never wanted to be a comedian. Abston pointed out, “It just kind of happened so my style’s kind of weird. I think a lot of times my comedy is just complaining about all the things I wanted to be but couldn’t. Like a rapper, professional athlete, or a politician.” His parents are those things. Abston’s father Willie is a lawyer. His mom, Carmen is an English professor. Abston joked, “I’m pretty sure all I’ve done is scare them for the last 25 years. They’re very by the book and follow the rules and I tell jokes where the N-word is the punchline.” He does credit his parents though saying, “growing up in Mississippi as a Black kid isn’t the easiest but I definitely had a better experience than most because of the life my parents were able to provide for me.”
In High School, Abston used a Drake quote from his song ‘Unforgettable’ as his yearbook quote. It read, “Never forgettin’ from where I came. And no matter where I’m headed, I promise to stay the same.” Although he repeatedly told me the line is corny and he makes fun of Drake in his new special (released May 1- don’t forget!), it’s really meaningful. Niles lives by that mantra staying humble doing comedy with his friends dubbed “The Goonsquad*.” He met most of them performing in his friend Victor Martinez’s garage behind a Food 4 Less in LA and he’s seen everybody grow over the last four years. The gang is still all together even as Niles and the rest of the Squad move up the entertainment food chain.
OK, sorry. I apologize for this detour in the article. It seemed like we were on a nice, linear path but Niles told me a story so good I couldn’t help but share and it didn’t fit anywhere else. So, let’s do it and we’ll get back to your regularly scheduled profile. Here goes. It’s about a show Abston did in December 2018. He was opening for one of his favorite comedians at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. Sold out. 300+ people. After the show, people from the audience came up to tell Niles he was great. This is where the story gets good. Niles goes on to tell me that, “This gorgeous, drunk Dominican woman runs up to me, grabs my face and kisses it all over and says ‘You beautiful Negro, you were so funny’ and then makes me sign an autograph for her. It was kinda racist but also kinda hot and I had never signed an autograph before. I looked at the headlining comedian and asked ‘So it’s like this pretty much every weekend for you?’ and he just smiled and nodded and walked off to go talk to some of his fans.”
Niles really is on his way to that level though. In just these past few years, Abston who calls his main source of inspiration Superbad and Migos has co-written a hysterical Comedy Central web series called “The Night Pigeon” about a Black superhero fighting crime with no superpowers. The series starred Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood, Jr. who just so happens to be one of Niles’ favorites. Now Abston’s working with his go-to comedy collaborator Chaz Carter on an animated series called “Apartment of Solitude” about two broke Black superheroes who live in an apartment in LA with their third roommate who’s…not a superhero. The series made it into the “Yes, And Laughter Lab” as a finalist. Fingers crossed we get to see it soon.
A few years down the line, Niles sees himself owning an independent studio a la A24 making funny movies while traveling the world with his friends and making people laugh. For now, he’s quarantined at home. Abston quipped, “I got a cousin on house arrest. You think this quarantine lock down counts toward his time to getting that ankle monitor off? I hope not. That n*gga owe me $12.”
Niles, always hilarious, is a bright star ready to take off and the upcoming album “Girls Don’t Twerk to Jokes” is his first step toward greatness. Amazing to think that way back when, Niles’ senior physics teacher, Mr. Brown told him he wasn’t funny. Now he’s in prison for pedophilia. Don’t be like Mr. Brown and watch Niles’ special. You’ll be glad you did.
You can catch Niles on these platforms online:
Twitter: @NILES100
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenilesabstonshow/
YouTube Channel: “Girls Don’t Twerk To Jokes” is his channel and can be found at https://bit.ly/nilesabston
Niles’ comedy special “Girls Don’t Twerk To Jokes” will be dropping on May 1 and will be streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon, etc.
One final tidbit! Niles’ favorite quote is, “Dwayne Michael Carter is the best rapper of all time.” That’s L’il Wayne for those of you who aren’t cool.
*Other than Abston, The Goonsquad is comprised of Chelse Greaux, Arthur Hamilton Chaz Carter, Caesar Lizardo, Victor Martinez, Jerome Tennison, Yema Nkele, Roger Lopez, Albert Escobedo and Darran Davis (Davis coined the group name).
