Adele Givens Biography

Adele Givens, born as Willadele Givens, is an American comedian and actress known for her appearances on The Hughleys, The Parkers, Def Comedy Jam, Comedy Central Presents, Moesha, Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, Martin, Tracey Takes On… and The Steve Harvey Show.

Adele Givens Age

Givens is 58 years old as of 2018. She was born on 1 July 1960 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Adele Givens Husband

Givens does not share much about her personal life with the public though during an interview, she revealed that she is married to a guy named Tony. She hilariously talked of how they don’t live together and barely see each other as the reason why they are still together. However, her main key to a healthy relationship is communication. She did not talk of any other family members, more so any children.

Adele Givens Stand Up

In 1989, Givens won the Crown Royal Comedy Contest that was organized at The Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois, leading to her fame. She then participated in the Miller Lite Comedy Search but lost in the finale in 1990 with Bernie Mac.

In collaboration with Mo’Nique, Laura Hayes, and Sommore, her fellow African American female comedians, she starred on ‘The Queens of Comedy’ tour which aired on Showtime. She also presented ‘The Sources’ Hip Hip Awards Preshow on UPN in 2001. She has featured on TV shows like ‘Comedy Central,’ ‘The Parkers,’ ‘The Steve Harvey Show,’ ‘Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry,’ and ‘Martin’. In 2018, she provided guest vocals to the single “I Love It” by Kanye West and Lil Pump.

Adele Givens Def Jam Comedy

Adele Givens Movies

• 2017 – Def Comedy Jam 25
• 2017 – Chocolate City: Vegas Strip
• 2016 – A Madea Halloween
• 2014 – Sex Ain’t Love
• 2006 – Def Comedy Jam: Vol. 1
• 2005 – Beauty Shop
• 2004 – Platinum Comedy Series: Adele Givens
• 2001 – The Queens of Comedy
• 1998 – The Players Club

Adele Givens I Love It – Givens 2018

Adele Givens Net Worth

The “Tracey Takes On…” actress who lives in Lexington, Kentucky has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.

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Adele Givens Interview

Adele Givens Interview

Adele Givens Explains How She Ended Up on Kanye West & Lil Pump’s single – “I Love It”

Kanye West has made it a habit of expertly dropping in lines from some of the biggest stars in comedy in his songs.

In 2018, Adele Givens joined the list, with West turning to a 1992 routine she did on Def Comedy Jam to open “I Love It,” his smash track with Lil Pump. Givens spoke to Billboard from her home in Kentucky about the origins of her raunchy line, getting the phone call from Kanye, and filming its viral music video. “He got a lot of respect from me after I saw the video,” Givens says.

Adele, you’re part of one of the biggest songs in the world right now. How does that feel?

I know. It’s so surprising and shocking. I never thought (it’d be big) it when I wrote that particular line, but my “I’m such a fucking lady” line, I kind of expected it to be iconic because ladies wouldn’t say that back then. Everything else, you know how the world is… so politically correct now, and back then even more so.

I want to know how this all came about. Did you just get a call out of the blue that Kanye wanted to use it?

That’s pretty much it. One of his producers called and asked if I’d like to be featured on a song he had, asking me if I’d want to recreate something I did on Def Comedy Jam. They sent the song and I couldn’t help but laugh. Kanye later called and told me the concept of the video and it was even more creative, so I said of course I’d love to and that’s how it happened.

So you recreated that line in the studio then?

Yeah. They wanted me to do it exactly how I did it before, so they had me listen to the recording from Def Comedy Jam. I mean come on, that was back in 1992. I said, sure, I don’t think my voice has changed that much. I probably wouldn’t say it in that exact way these days, but it wasn’t a problem redoing it.

It’s interesting because Kanye seems to be a fan of comedy, whether with Will Ferrell opening “N—-s in Paris” or Chris Rock in “Blame Game.” And this song itself is a funny song. I don’t think it’s meant to be taken seriously.

Exactly. I’ve really thought that. When he sent me the song I told him it was hilarious and I was saying to my husband that I hoped he didn’t get offended when I said that, but he wasn’t. Most people who take the song seriously are the ones who get offended. “This is women being reduced to hoes!” It’s like, shut up! It’s hoes, not women. You’re the ones who are insulting women when you assume that the ho that he speaks of is a woman. It could be a man!

Do you remember originally, writing the routine, where that line came from?

I do. I vividly remember writing all of that stuff back then because I kind of wrote it with a rebellious attitude. I hung out in pool halls on the West Side of Chicago in the hood. Around me, I had a lot of guys who talked a lot of shit. So felt like I had to prove myself almost all of the time with the guys in the pool hall. I needed to be on their level, I didn’t want to be treated like anything except a peer and I made that happen. I talked the same and I played just as good a game of pool. Not only that, but I come from a big family with eight kids and my mother was a comedian, she just didn’t know it. I was a tomboy and a competitor, so when I got in the world of comedy and brought my mouth with me, people would say to me, “Well, you probably need to tone it done. A lady can’t be received in this way.” But I’d be damned if somebody is going to lecture me on how to be a lady, so I came up with that, “I’m such a fucking lady line.” I had a lot of material to shock and let people know not to fuck with me. I’m a lady and I say what I want to say. I used to have this joke: “I can suck a dick, but I can’t talk about it? What kind of shit is that?” (Laughs) I was really bold with it. My mom would laugh and when I knew she didn’t have a problem, oh boy. I just went all the way there with it whenever I wanted to. Most of (my comedy) was sexual and connected to being independent as a woman. A guy would go up before me and do his 15 minutes with all of the words and be so graphic, and then I’d go up and I’d say “fuck” and the owner of the club or so-called manager would tell me I’d have to tone it down. What the fuck do you mean? You didn’t say that to the other person. I didn’t want to hear that.

It sounds like the classic double standard. Every female comedian goes through it, from Joan Rivers to now, I think.

Absolutely. Females in general go through it, but some of us comedians say, “I don’t think so, buddy. I’m doing this shit too. If you don’t like it, that’s not my problem!” (Laughs)

Do you know how Kanye discovered it? Was he a fan of yours?

Yeah, he called (when he asked me to be in the music video) and told me how much he loved watching me growing up and how he enjoyed my material. He flattered me and I was shocked he thought of me that way. I had met him years and years ago on the set of Def Comedy Jam when it was in Los Angeles, though he seemed nice and meek and quiet and didn’t express that at that time. I was flattered of course, and he’s a fellow Chicagoan so that definitely helped. I wanted to ask him, “Did you ever hang out in the pool hall? I probably won your money one day and you don’t even know it!”

What was it like filming that video?

On the set there was a lot of hurry up and wait; they were making the clothes while I was there. The outfits weren’t made, so Kanye was bringing me fabric asking what I liked. It was fun to watch and be a part of, but I’m one of those ADD personalities; I like to move around, so to be fitted and sit there in the wig (was work). I literally told the girl doing my hair, I don’t see how bitches deal with all of this. It looks beautiful and I love it, but I’m not going through all of that to be beautiful! (Laughs). With Kanye, I could see his sense of humor when he explained how he wanted the video and it came out literally like his vision. I thought, this guy is really good. He got a lot of respect from me after I saw the video.

When the song itself came out it was an instant hit. Are you looking at the numbers or hearing about the reaction it’s been getting?

I did not. I mean, it’s not my area. I was excited to work with Kanye West, but I’m not a student in terms of what it’s doing on the charts. I honestly didn’t care. My agent called and said, “That song has 30 million views” and I didn’t know if that was good or not. I was like, “Ok…” He said, “Why are you not excited?” I said, “Shit, I don’t know. I don’t follow the industry like that.” I’ll hear music on the awards show or whatever, but I just don’t follow it. I left the video and went straight to doing five shows in Tacoma, Washington.

Adopted from: billboard.com