Jay Oakerson’s first TV credit was on BET. Big Jay started stand-up comedy in all-black rooms in Philadelphia, and now he’s playing to everyone while often relying on his sharp wit to riff with the crowds in the moment. He hosts an all-crowd-work series Big Jay Oakerson’s What’s Your F@#king Deal, on the NBC digital comedy platform SeeSo, and his previous credits include multiple stories on Comedy Central’s This Is Not Happening, and appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Comedy Underground with Dave Attell. Big Jay currently co-hosts “The Bonfire” on SiriusXM satellite radio every Monday and Wednesday with fellow comedian Dan Soder, and also co-hosts the Legion of Skanks podcast with friends Luis J. Gomez and Dave Smith. They’re throwing their first anti-comedy festival, Skankfest, this weekend in Long Island City, NY – and Big Jay Oakerson’s first hourlong TV special, Live at Webster Hall, is premiering on Comedy Central.

Oakerson talked to me about the lasting importance of the funny friends in his life, including Kevin Hart, Kurt Metzger, Dave Attell and the late Patrice Oneal.

So let’s get to it!

Here’s a clip from Oakerson’s Comedy Central special:

And for #TBT, here’s Big Jay and I in the basement of Comix from 2010: