Article by: Robert Dean
Things are going pretty good for Nimesh Patel.
He's successfully worked the clubs across the country and is now moving onto a theater tour for the first time this summer and fall.
The horizon looks wide open when you consider he's written for Saturday Night Live, working on the Weekend Update team and he's also penned jokes for luminaries such as Chris Rock and Hasan Minhaj for the White House Press Correspondents Dinner, and served as a field producer for Samantha Bee on her show Full Frontal.
I don't know if you've gathered it or not from that hit list, but the guy can write a joke.
A few years back, Patel got into hot water over a gig he did at Columbia University, where his mic was cut off by the students who booked the show over one of his bits (it was hilarious), and Patel penned an essay for The New York Times, which should serve as a textbook response for how people view the world of comedy and continually pushing boundaries with their jokes,
"I haven't changed my opinion much on the whole thing. I haven't been impacted by stuff on stage at all. I kinda stay the same with my material; I maintain my style,” he said when asked about the incident.
On the surface, this is an essential point of view because what Patel is doing on the stage right now shouldn't ever be censored but celebrated.
One nut down, one special up
Across social media, Patel's followers are exploding thanks to his tight, quick jokes and deadpan wit.
And recently, he's released his newest special, Lucky Lefty or I Lost My Right Nut, and All I Got Was This Stupid Special, which, to be honest, is probably the most outstanding standup special title of all time. Immediately, Patel's rapid-fire joke delivery that's so on the nose beats a consistent "why didn't I think of that" drum of depth, and he never lets off the gas. (The Lebron James bit is so good.)
Watch Nimesh Patel's new special here:
Lefty is personal and reflective, and given the premise of the whole hour was to vocalize and process his recent battle with testicular cancer, but for its moments of realness, Patel doesn't let it turn into a PSA.
Instead, he takes something many men will face in their lifetimes and allows it to be a soundboard for well-crafted, hard-hitting jokes that demand attention. Because of his ability to use his life experience to further his art in such a deadly way,
Nimesh Patel is a mandatory voice in this golden era of comedy; this special cements his rightful place in the conversations about who's crushing it in today's comedy scene.
When asked how the special makes him feel, knowing his work is out there in the world, Patel was humble, "The comments are overwhelming, I was at a different spot last year, and now moving into bigger venues, it's cool. It was a choice to change it up, and going for it worked for this special."
As of writing this, Lefty is nearing 300K views, and as the swell grows, it's easy to assume it'll sail past a million views in no time. With all things comedy, there has to be a root, a place where the jokes started, and when asked about what Patel was like at seventeen, he was taken a little off guard, "I was trying to be what my family expected, I was going to be a doctor. I went to college for it. I dropped out of pre-med but got my Finance degree in 2008, the worst year. I got on stage to try standup in 2009, and that was it."
Nimesh Patel's comedy career
Growing up in New Jersey, Patel has had the good fortune to develop in New York City, the breeding grounds for some of the best minds to ever get on stage; when asked who he considered his Greatest of All Time list, it was unsurprising who he cited as favorites with guys like Chris Rock, whom he's opened for on tour, Dave Chappelle, Patrice O'Neal, and Norm McDonald.
He also gave a shout out to some of the other comics having their moment, like Sam Morill, Marc Norman, and Stavros Haikais.
Comedy is one of the most significant indicators of where a culture is at, especially in America, and it's a blessing to have a voice that's willing to make the jokes at his own expense but also take the crowd on a journey that's full of one-liners and never stops delivering the goods. And besides, who doesn't love a good dick joke?
Go watch Lefty and check your balls, if you’ve got them.
