Welcome to The Truth in His Art, your source for conversations bridging arts, culture, and community. I am your host, Rob Lieb. Welcome back. And since you're back, I wanna ask you to do me a quick favor, and and all of the guests, all of the guests, they're part of this as well. Do us a quick favor.
Rob Lee:Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. That's Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. Leave us a review. Leave us a comment. Let us know what you think of the podcast.
Rob Lee:It helps us grow, helps us get exposure, and these stories reach a broader audience. So enough of that, and let's get into today's episode. Today, I am super excited to welcome my next guest. My guest is a multi talented comedian, teacher, storyteller, improviser, and writer based out of Baltimore, Maryland hometown home team. My guest is passionate about fostering connections through story telling and comedy.
Rob Lee:Please welcome, Malik Coleman. Welcome to the podcast.
Ti Malik Coleman:Peace. Peace. Thank you. Glad to be here. Glad to be here.
Ti Malik Coleman:Thanks for the invite.
Rob Lee:Absolutely. That's the first time I've actually run through the actual professional introduction. Right. Yeah. Here's Malik.
Ti Malik Coleman:Malik, speak right now.
Rob Lee:Look, I'm waiting for you to come up with a corny podcast called Malik Speaks. Is it just you like this holding your fingers?
Ti Malik Coleman:Well, you called it corny, so now I can't do it. Thanks a lot for that.
Rob Lee:You shouldn't. Don't do it. I I I help with production, so we'll we'll talk if you're interested.
Ti Malik Coleman:Alright.
Rob Lee:But before we get into, like, the the deeper conversations, the deeper conversation rather, I wanna give you a space to to introduce yourself. Like, I gave the sort of cut and paste online piece, but I think sometimes those online bios, artist statements, all of that, they tend to miss the mark sometimes. It's something that's left out that's very crucial to the essence of who the person is. So I wanna give you the space to do that. Introduce yourself.
Ti Malik Coleman:Alright. I am Ty Malik Coleman. I go by Ty Malik or Malik. My pronouns are he, him. At my heart, I'm a storyteller, so I tell stories on a multiple mediums.
Ti Malik Coleman:My favorite medium right now is the stage, and I tell stories comedically, sometimes very seriously. I am I believe that we are at our best when we are connected to each other, and connected to ourselves, connected to our higher powers. And so most of my art making, the goal is some sort of connection. Like, I'm I'm a person that thirst connection, and I think other people thirst for connection. So I'm constantly looking like, how how do we how do we see each other better?
Ti Malik Coleman:How do we feel each other better? All of that. I got my start in art through improv comedy. Improv led to storytelling really, really quickly, and I've been in both of those for the last 14 years. And recently, I have started my baby career as a filmmaker, so I'm in production with my very first documentary.
Ti Malik Coleman:And I'm very black, and that's very important. I meant to start there. And, and I'm a trans man. That's also very important, part of how I show up in this world. And I probably after this podcast, I'm gonna be like, why didn't I say that important thing?
Ti Malik Coleman:But I think I think that's good. Oh, and I am I wanna say that I am led by my ancestors in a lot that I do, and that's also very important to for me to say.
Rob Lee:Thank you. See, like I said, you know, that bio is just like, we got this, this, this, but it's like, yeah. Yeah. No. No.
Rob Lee:Where's the other pieces? Where are those other, you know, savory, nuggets there? So so thank you for that. And, you know, as I'm one to do, I like to kinda get to the root of things, like sort of where those things begin, where those creative interests lie, where they begin. And I came to this realization and and actually throwing throwing this podcast where I had a guest point out, like, yeah, you're on the stage early or something.
Rob Lee:Right? You you did something. I was like, no. I'm I'm afraid of the stage. I'm just gangly.
Rob Lee:I can play a tree in a play or something. And she was like, no. No. No. No.
Rob Lee:Think about it. And, you know, she reminded me, you know, of something that I did as a kid. I was, in a master's of ceremony for, like, a school play when I was, like, 5, which terrifies me. I'm, like, how, you know, have I did I do that? So, you know, but it's a memory I don't remember well, but I've remembered enough of it.
Rob Lee:So for you, you know, with the storytelling and sort of having a a a life, a very black life, you know, I've gotta add, you know, as a what is it in your childhood, whether it be, you know, sort of a story that that sticks out for you that's particularly impactful and relates to, like, who you are today as an artist?
Ti Malik Coleman:Well, I I do remember I have a vague memory of my first time on stage.
Rob Lee:Sure.
Ti Malik Coleman:And I was, it was James Moser Elementary School, which is now, I think, Billie Holiday. Shout out to 144. And I was, I was a top reader in my class, and so there was a biggest like, big thing in the evening time, and all the top readers got to read, like, 2 pages from a book. Sure. And I got to read the book, and, I remember the applause of the people, and I was like, I want that.
Ti Malik Coleman:Like, I like applause. And it was it was years. It was years before. I also also I'm a Leo. But it was you.
Ti Malik Coleman:I shoulda I shoulda started that. I I've listened I've listened to a podcast. So I know you're an Aquarius. I know that. But, so I heard that applause, and I was like, I like that a lot, but it was many years before I graced the stage again.
Ti Malik Coleman:And as far as art making, things that stick out, I in, 7th grade, I believe, we had an assignment. We had a journal, and in the beginning of class, we had to write, in the journal. And sometimes we could free write, or sometimes we have an assignment for the day in the journal. Yeah. And I started this story at the beginning of the year, and I continued the story throughout for the whole year.
Ti Malik Coleman:So the journal was one long story. And no matter what the assignment was, I found a way to weave it into the story.
Rob Lee:Sure.
Ti Malik Coleman:And my teacher thought it was just the most creative thing she'd ever seen. She's like, I've never seen someone take take that challenge before. And so from an early age, I thought, maybe I have some cool creative perspective that other people don't have. Plus I like applause. So those 2 thing, like those two thoughts were in my mind, and then I ran as far away from being an artist as possible for for many, many years.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think and thank you. Because I look at it like, we all kind of do a version of that, right, where, you know, it's the choose your adventure thing I look at sometimes, where there's a universe.
Rob Lee:Like, I I watch the, you know, Marvel movies. There's a multiverse out there, right, and there's these different inflection points. There's a ROB that was a comic artist. There's a ROB that was an astronaut doctor. That was a thought I had I was going to be.
Rob Lee:There's a ROB that was a rapper. I might be dabbling, you know, to ask Thomas about this. You should talk to Thomas about this. I will. But, you know, ultimately, there was always sort of this creative thing that I was interested in.
Rob Lee:And, really, I guess I dove back into it a little bit, probably in high school, but it was something that was there, as I was saying earlier, being a master's in ceremony, always drawing, things of that nature And like 5 and then revisiting it more than a decade later, saying, oh, yeah. The creative thing, this is how it works. And then kind of giving it that period where I'm not doing it, and then coming back to it maybe 5 to 10 years later. And, you know, I've been doing it, as as I said, I've been, you know, podcasting for 15 years and this is sort of my creative outlet, but I've had different stops along the way. And sometimes those are things that are very, very, very different.
Rob Lee:So for you, what was that that moment or that series of events that led you back to pursuing something creative when you were doing something that was far away from it?
Ti Malik Coleman:Yeah. I was very far away. I was an insurance accounting supervisor.
Rob Lee:Yep. Mhmm.
Ti Malik Coleman:I was miserable, and I wanted to what did I wanna do? I wanted to meet people, have a good time, and I was trying to figure out how to do that as an adult. And I saw an advertisement for an improv workshop at, Washington Improv Theater, and I remembered I remembered when I was in high school, I took a drama class that I like, and I remember people told me I was funny. And so those were enough facts for me, and I, I went and took this improv workshop, and I was like, oh, this is all I wanna do. This is it.
Ti Malik Coleman:This is it. This is, you've sold me. Make shit up and people laugh, That's it. And so I started taking, I started taking classes. At the time, DC didn't have a big indie scene, so I actually ended up coming to because I lived in, I lived outside of DC at the time, and I ended up coming to Baltimore and finding an indie troop here.
Ti Malik Coleman:Yeah. And that's yeah. And that was like, now all that started, the classes and everything started about 14 years ago, and I think it took me maybe 2 years from that class to moving. And then a year after that, I quit my job, and was like, I'm just gonna figure it out. I don't know what that means, but I don't I know I'm not an I know I'm not an insurance accountant.
Ti Malik Coleman:I know that. And so that's what I did and kinda dove into, art all the way.
Rob Lee:Yeah. It's and and and thank you because that's that's one of those things where, you know, you you make that choice, you make that that leap, that dive. Some people, it's a fumble. It's like, I didn't fell. I fell into heart, like, literally, I hurt my head.
Rob Lee:And, you know, I I come to that a lot in doing this. Like, when I talk to people and they're like, so you do this full time. Right? I was like, no. I just do this a lot.
Rob Lee:I have my day job and, you know, but continually sort of thinking through it. And, you know, I always kind of I guess it's every maybe month or maybe every quarter, think about what my why is. Why do I do this? Why am I interested in it? And, you know, as you were touching on earlier, the the sort of hook that was there of meeting people.
Rob Lee:Right. That's a way that I can do it while being incredibly shy. I'm a shy individual and I can't hide despite my as I want to play the tree in the background on stage. I can't hide, so this is my way of doing it. And for me, and I don't know how many people know this, but I try to lead with some semblance of connection and and and friendship.
Rob Lee:That's what I'm looking at. So, you know, and I use that to kind of segue into this question. Could you speak on sort of finding like your why, like where you're at in the stage? You said 14 plus years at this point. Right.
Rob Lee:And, you know, blending storytelling, comedy, education, writing and having that passion of fostering connections. Let's talk about that a bit. Like, you know, that it can be lofty. It's a lot of things. Like I said, it's multiple people it feels like, You know?
Rob Lee:So who talk about it?
Ti Malik Coleman:That's what it feels like inside. Shit, Rob. I feel I have to I have to bring all all of my mes together, sit us down. You know? It's like, alright.
Ti Malik Coleman:Let's conference this thing out. But to get to my why, that's a good question. I I face the consequences of not feeling connected, for a good period of my life. You know, starting being being a trans kid is is a weird experience, especially, when I was a kid. I grew up in the eighties nineties, and we didn't have words like transgender.
Ti Malik Coleman:We didn't even talk about gender. I don't even, like, we didn't have no nuance conversation. It was like boys over there, girls over there, you know, that's that's all you need to know. And so from an early age, I felt very othered and and and disconnected. And then also growing up, some of the places we I grew up were my mom was in the army, when I was growing up, and so we moved places where they were like I lived in Maine.
Ti Malik Coleman:Okay? I lived in Arizona. Right? Like, I they we found it was like, where where where's the most white people? Send send them there.
Ti Malik Coleman:Send send them there. It's actually one of the reasons why I'm so militant today, I think, is because I just spent so much time around white people as a kid. But I I say all that to say, I grew up feeling disconnected because I did not see myself reflected anywhere. And that disconnection led me down a lot of bad paths. Like, it was detrimental to my mental health.
Ti Malik Coleman:I suffer from depression and anxiety from, from early adolescence. I am a recovering alcoholic. So I, you know, I drink for many years. Like, there is I suffered because I could not connect, or I didn't feel connected to people. Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:And so through art making, I, 1, I want, I don't want anyone to not see themselves. Right? So I'm like, let's see let's see as many different people on stage as possible, so that someone can see themselves. And 2, it is lofty, but I if I can, like, stop a person from facing the consequences of being disconnected, then I feel, like, good enough for me.
Rob Lee:Yeah. That's that's that's great, and and thank you for sharing, and it's it's a lot of vulnerability, you know, in in in which you were saying there, and it's and it's real. You know what I mean? Where, you know, I I I try to be in this sort of I'm the host. I can't really, you know, I I will sprinkle the mind stuff, but it's a tactic, right, that, interrogators use or like hostage negotiation uses.
Rob Lee:It's like, yeah, share a little bit of yours, but you're really trying to get theirs, And I find that, you know, connecting with people, even on a sort of surface level thing, or even when it gets deeper than that, there are, you know, there are some folks that, you know, locally and even abroad, when I traveled outside, that because of that connection, because of that, like, I see you. I see what you're into. It's like, it could be something as stupid as, yeah, you like this movie? Hell, yeah. Like, we should we should grab coffee.
Rob Lee:We should do this, or yeah, you got that reference that I made? Oh, okay, that's great. Or as you touched on, you know, like applause as well, if someone were to throw out there, you're funny, I'm like, oh, my god. Don't don't do that. I'm just I'm here now, and, you know, we're now friends.
Rob Lee:Right. And, you know, I I did an interview, you know, probably probably last month, and, you know, fellow Aquarius is linking up, and, you know, me and, my my friend Tanya Everett, and, you know, she's an actress and playwright and all this really cool stuff, but a lot of her work is, you know, storytelling, but it's around, like, grief. Mhmm. And, you know, that was the most vulnerable I've ever gotten on a podcast. I was like, wow.
Rob Lee:You pulled this out of me. Something was here. And that shows that sort of power of connection and that that's look being being seen. Because we we had a conversation before we even got to the podcast, like a real, like, in the like real life sort of conversation. So it was shorthand, and those barriers were gone.
Rob Lee:And, and I think the way that I look at this, this whole arc, we're coming up on 800 interviews. Right? I think, you know, I don't say, hey, let's just talk, you know, do a story. We're having a conversation and there's elements of story in there and what the real thing is in it, And I would like to think, as loosely as it is, it's community building that's there. And for some folks, when they're really diving in and going deep, it kinda helps and facilitates healing.
Rob Lee:Like, there are some folks who are like, hey, I realized I'm an artist. I realized my work matters. I realized my story matters, and it's coming on something like this. So, again, another another segue, I'm trying to be real tight here. How does the role of, like, storytelling, like, build community and facilitate, healing?
Ti Malik Coleman:Yeah. That was a good transition. Very good. Your your transitions are great, by the way. Doing a good job.
Ti Malik Coleman:Good, great job. I'm a facilitator, I forgot to mention at the top, so transitions is something I deeply appreciate. Let's see here. Storytelling, does a a few things. 1, hearing someone's story is is connection.
Ti Malik Coleman:Right? Like, you just like you just like you did at the top of the show where it's I can read your bio, but tell us who you are. Me telling you who you are is a story. Right? It's it's it's it's starting the story, and that's that's a deeper connection.
Ti Malik Coleman:The, the process of telling your story. Sure. The the things that you have to touch in order to bring a story out, really connect you to yourself. And I think that that the more that you feel connected and comfortable to yourself, the more that you and comfort and and comfort with each other. And then it's like, I think the best thing you can do with someone is share a laugh.
Ti Malik Coleman:You know, like, that's the best thing. Like when 2 people share a laugh. Like you're smiling, you're making eye contact. It's like, yes, like I I am connecting with you. And and a lot of times, stories, even without trying to be have humor, because, laughing is is mostly some part of laughter is like involuntary.
Ti Malik Coleman:And it's involuntary because it's like there's something in your brain that says, I connect to that.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:And so when that like, having those moments during storytelling is like, I don't know. It just brings people together. And I found that after telling a story about me, especially my identity
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:People who don't share my identity come up to me and say, I I understand more than I've ever understood before. And it's not because they didn't have the facts. Right? Like, there's LGBTQ fact sheets more than, you know, more than we need probably. There's fact sheets everywhere out there, but that doesn't do anything until you hear yourself in someone's story.
Ti Malik Coleman:And I think that's like the last piece is that, no matter how different we are, there's there's just universal themes in life, And and when you hear a universal if you hear a piece of yourself in someone else, like, that's like, oh, I don't even I didn't even see myself in you until I heard that. And so I think all of that together just, like, creates just really wonderful connections.
Rob Lee:Absolutely. And definitely, you know, I I remember watching this this documentary years years years ago, and it was about a dude, who was very OBGTQIA centric, because I tried to be a
Ti Malik Coleman:singer. Nice.
Rob Lee:And, and he the dude that was in it, I think the documentary is called Do I Sound Gay? And I'm giggling as I'm watching it, and just seeing, like, I think the the takeaway I got out of it, and I was in this weird documentary phase, like I was just watching like, alright, this is gonna be white. This is gonna be weird. What do we got? And listening to sort of this dude's plight and then listening to the people that were interviewed in it, and I was like, oh, they're terrible just like us.
Rob Lee:Oh, I connect. They judge you the most superficial thing. And as a person who has the, I have a specific voice, I suppose. I've been told, like, oh, you don't have the Baltimore voice. I don't know if you're from here, bro.
Rob Lee:I'm like, what does that even mean?
Ti Malik Coleman:You said, there, what would that mean?
Rob Lee:Like, I'm I'm from East Baltimore, and, you know, it's sort of that thing where I was like, I'm connected on that very, very, very superficial level of, like, yeah, I'm not in. Like, what are we like, I'm not an authentic whatever the situation is. He's not a gay dude. I'm not an authentic Baltimorean, I guess, and, so I was connected on. I was, like, rooting for this dude.
Rob Lee:I'm, like, come on, man. Get it together, man. Put on the affect. I don't know what it is, but you need to be in or be you. I don't know.
Ti Malik Coleman:See, that's what I'm and I think that's that's that's why stories are so dope. Right? Like, because it's because if someone gave you the premise of that, you probably wouldn't think you probably, like, I would I'm gonna educate myself, but your thought wasn't, I'm gonna see myself in that. You know what I mean? So that's that's what's up, ma'am.
Ti Malik Coleman:I'm sorry. They'd be trying to kick you out of Baltimore for that thing. They my cousins used to laugh at me because so my my mom left home at, like, 17. So we grew up everywhere. We just came back home to Baltimore all the time.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:So I claim Baltimore as home. My cousins was like, I don't know that. I was like, oh, come on. It's like, you don't sound like they don't do that no more. When I was a kid, they used to you know, especially my cousin Ramon, rest in peace.
Ti Malik Coleman:He used to teach me for that all the time. Because I would try to claim our block, you know, the block that my grandma and my aunt lived on.
Rob Lee:And I
Ti Malik Coleman:was like, I wanna claim the block, nigga. Like, you can't claim the block. I was like, I'm
Rob Lee:a bit low boy. Bit low. Wow. Wow.
Ti Malik Coleman:Shout out West Baltimore.
Rob Lee:That's Baltimore. I mean, like, back in the day, I was claiming Argo Avenue. That's when it gets real wild. It was like, you know, you need that pattern, my g. But, yeah, like, you know, every now and again, I just have to, like, throw it on.
Rob Lee:Not in the sort of, like, patois sort of way, but I'm like, 2. They're like, okay, you win, you win, you back, you back. Especially when I'm out of town, I'm just, like, aggressive with it. So let's see, let's see. So we're talking about sort of the comedy piece and the storytelling and where this sort of intersects, and with the, you know, other, like, areas in which and where it intersects also with identity, in those other areas where you're working, whether it's, you know, you touched on filmmaking, and that alliance with storytelling, improvisation, education, and writing.
Rob Lee:Could you speak on sort of how those intersect to sort of make up holistically, like, what what your work is about. Because I see the the the lines. I see how they all connect, and it's like a natural progression. But I wanna hear you.
Ti Malik Coleman:This this question has been bugging me for a minute. That's why no. I'm thrilled. Listen. When I write when I every time I update my bio on my website, I'm like, how do I connect all these paragraphs?
Ti Malik Coleman:Because they seem like sometimes they seem like sector paragraphs. It starts improv comedian, storytelling, teaching, film, and then and now I'm a conflict facilitator as well. Right? Like, so it's just like, what is this thing? Connection is the thing I keep coming back to.
Ti Malik Coleman:But really, I think it's I also just like I'm an explorer of the human experience, I think. You know? And and and so where that takes me sometimes is like, oh, you know what? In order to explore the human experience here, I need a whole another medium. Like, improv ain't gonna hit this.
Ti Malik Coleman:And then sometimes you get to a human experience and you're like, this is this is like something that needs some this needs some healing. This needs something. And then that other piece, right, like that spirituality piece starts hitting me, and I'm like, oh, how can I step in? How can I can I how can I be of service to this person? How can I be of service to this situation?
Ti Malik Coleman:And from there, that's where community art started, and community art led me straight to teaching. It was like, oh, you wanna be a community artist? You gonna teach. And that as soon as I started teaching, I was like, oh, the teaching actually helps me connect everything. There's something about spreading spreading the the cult of improv to the world that makes me feel like, oh, you know, I really I really like this this position.
Ti Malik Coleman:I'm gonna get back to my ego again. I like being in a position to expose someone to a piece of the world that they don't see all the time, or they don't know all the time. Right? There's like something really fascinating about that, like watching that little thing. And I think that, that's one of the things, but I wish I was more concise.
Ti Malik Coleman:But anyway, this is what happens when you talk to a storyteller. The I think going back, my main point is, is the exploration and the connection, and I think that's those are the things. And I feel like the piece that's the through line is that is humor, because I use humor in everything that I do. I use humor in facilitation. I use humor in teaching.
Ti Malik Coleman:I use humor when I'm filmmaking. I I interview people when I film making, you know, as you know, humor is like just an opener. As soon as you get that, people open up. So final answer, humor, exploration, connection. Those are the things.
Rob Lee:That's good. Thank you. Yeah. It's, you know, fun when and I always return to this thing, like, the stage thing. Right?
Rob Lee:And, you know, I had to do a a talk because people like this is a couple years ago, but it's definitely an experience along the the the way. And there's another thing that I'm having a meeting about tomorrow that's in that same vein, so it definitely is top of mind, sort of that last experience being on stage. And I remember reaching out to a pretty famous person, locally who had did one of these sessions before. And, you know, and I don't want an aid drug because it sounds gauche. Right?
Rob Lee:But I was just like, yo, how would I do this? You know, like, I'm, you know, not a great on stage, and I'm better than I give myself credit for, but it's like, I got some nerves because it matters. It's like what me and my partner talked about. She'd she'd asked me not long before, no. Actually, last year, she asked me this.
Rob Lee:We were, we went to see Beyonce, and she'd asked me, she was like, do you think she still gets nervous? And I was like, yes. I think so. And she was like, why? And she's and she knows, but she wants to get my take on it because I do this, and I said, because it matters.
Rob Lee:And then it made me think about that because this matters, I'm nervous about it, and I want to do well and all of that. So the advice, as I say it in his very circuitous way, the advice I got from the person here locally, he was like, use comedy. He's like use comedy, do something you wouldn't do, try to get folks on your side, and if you because I was having trouble starting. That's why we were talking before we actually got into the if I just won it and it was like, alright, Malik, let's go. Malik, speak.
Rob Lee:You know what I mean? It would be it would be wild. And I think being able to stretch, warm up, improv, you you know this, and and be prepared in that way, that, you know, kinda makes all these other things sort of forgiving. You you get the people on your side before you go in and do your thing, and then you do your thing very well. That's that's the other thing about it.
Rob Lee:So that that's sort of, you know, what I'm getting. So I in in thinking about it, yeah, revisiting that that whole stage thing is like, I use I use comic references, and I already made one earlier with MCU, but it's, it's crime alley. Certain experiences are crime alley. That was a traumatic experience for Batman. It's just like, I need to go back here.
Rob Lee:I need to win this. I need to win this time. And each time, it's generally a win, but you always think that it was a loss.
Ti Malik Coleman:Yeah. Yeah. That, that nerves thing? Heck, yeah. I think I have I have this show that I do for kids.
Ti Malik Coleman:It's this assembly show. And you would think out of all the things I do, I get the most nervous about performing this show. And it's a simple show, the premise is really simple, an actor who almost lost it all, because I couldn't work well with others. I discovered the joy of improv, and now I'm better again, and helped me be better again through improv. Right?
Ti Malik Coleman:It's really cute, we have fun, very simple. And you would think that I'm about to perform for I was about to say the president, but I don't care about the president. You would think
Rob Lee:That's funny. But, yeah, I don't care, Joe.
Ti Malik Coleman:I was like I was like I was like, no. Because that that that would make me nervous. But you would think I was about to perform you would think Malcolm x came back from the grave and was like, Malik, make me laugh. Like, that's that's how nervous I get. Like, that is that is that.
Ti Malik Coleman:Because because here's the thing. Listen listen, Rob.
Rob Lee:Listen.
Ti Malik Coleman:Because if Malcolm X came from the grave, 1, you got a zombie. 2, you know, it's Malcolm and it's not it it's, you know, it's post it's post mecca Malcolm X.
Rob Lee:You know
Ti Malik Coleman:what I mean? You know what I mean? So he's he's El Hajj Malik El Shabazz now. He for him, he just got shot. Right?
Ti Malik Coleman:So like, that's that's where he's at. So it's a zombie. He's waking up, I'm assuming from the point of that. And and then so and then it's still Malcolm x, and make me laugh. Can you imagine any of a tense amount of pressure that would be?
Rob Lee:I would add this layer to it is like Malcolm comes to you and says the balance of black liberation is on your shoulders if you can make me laugh. You're like, we either get it or we don't.
Ti Malik Coleman:You know, see, here's the thing. A lot of people, you know, when you're growing up, you run the scenario of it's, like, 3 seconds left on the clock. They give me the ball Yeah. And I shoot it. Right?
Ti Malik Coleman:That's not that's me. That's the scenario I run. Black Liberation. It's on you. 3 seconds, like, oh, wow.
Rob Lee:See, see, the thing is, I'm lazy. And as I said, like, basketball and football, none of that works for me where it's super timed. I'm in this way of, like, look, we're gonna do this until I'm ready. It is baseball. It's like, yo, base is loaded.
Rob Lee:You're down by 3. Okay. You know, boom, 2 strikes. 2 outs.
Ti Malik Coleman:That's your thing. Alright. Good.
Rob Lee:Alright. Good. Cool. I can hit this. I'm a foul this off a couple of times.
Ti Malik Coleman:I like I like see, that's what I'm saying. You don't If Malcolm X Zombie comes back, I don't have any foul. I I feel like I don't have no foul balls to to to hit. He's he's looking for the one the one. And I'm like, it has to be funny and free black people.
Ti Malik Coleman:Like, that is that is the that that is the, that's the pressure that I put on myself every day. I love free black people.
Rob Lee:I I I love pressure. We always put pressure on ourselves because as as I was saying earlier, it matters. So I'm gonna move into, sort of the the the last sort of half of the pod or the last third of the pod. You know, 40 year old puberty, let's talk about it. What is it, you know, for for folks that are undeped, like, you know, you know, I'm not trying to bury the lead, but I just wanna hand it off.
Ti Malik Coleman:Yes. 40 year old puberty is a humorous storytelling adventure, about me being a grown ass man with young ass problems. I tell people like, alright. What is 40 year old puberty like? So imagine remember, like, 17, 18, 19, and you were just, like, moody, tired, and then also just horny as hell.
Ti Malik Coleman:Right? Imagine that level of horniness with, like, the knees of a 40 year old And that and that is 4 year old puberty. And so I have an entire show that kicks off just like with that joke. And I talk about, I talk about my first puberty and how confusing it was growing up in a body that didn't match mine and all the the things that, and then I get to my second puberty, and how confusing it is to be in a body that matches, but now having to deal with, you know, hormones
Rob Lee:at
Ti Malik Coleman:Now I'm 42. So having to deal with hormone issues at 42 is wild. And so it's that. It's just like an adventure. It's, it's a peek into my life.
Ti Malik Coleman:It's very vulnerable. I I get really deep in it. But it's also I think it's also just fun. I think it's fun to, from what people have told me, it is a chance for people to reflect on their puberty as well, and their adolescence and stuff like that. And also just to think about what's the I talk a lot about being holding myself back
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:From being who I am. And so ending with, like, this question of, like, what are you holding back, and and and what what can you give yourself? So that's that's 40 year old puberty, and it's a it's a really fun show. Yeah.
Rob Lee:So I got I got 2 more questions related to it, actually. So what was the process of bringing it from, like, idea, premise, concept, pad, you know. You might have one of those ugly books. I I have this, one of my sponsors, have one of those with the notes in there to being on stage, to perform, to having it out there for folks to experience?
Ti Malik Coleman:Yeah. Thank you for that. It started I was, I received an artist residency with a theater called Curious Comedy Theater in Portland, Oregon, in 2023. And I was out there, for the artist residency, and, I started doing I'm not a stand up, but I started doing open mic stand ups. And I did that joke that I told you about being what puberty is like at 40.
Ti Malik Coleman:So that was something that I was like, I like that. Maybe play with that. And another thing that happened was, Stacy Hilal, who was who was then the managing director of that, asked me, do you wanna do a one man show? Mind you, she never heard me do she only knew me as a as a improv comedian and only heard, like, 3 minutes of horrible stand up. But that wasn't like for some whatever she saw, it'd be she saw the potential.
Ti Malik Coleman:And she asked me she said, you should do a one man show. And, basically, to make it happen, what we did was we started applying to fringe festivals that day. So we applied to a bunch of fringe festivals in Canada. And I and I got in. And so I was like, shit.
Ti Malik Coleman:Now I gotta now I have to do it because because I got in. It was it was like the worst news ever. And I got into Montreal Fringe and and so I started writing, and my process was ugly. Oh god. It was ugly.
Ti Malik Coleman:I was I was I was pulling everything. You know, the beginning of storytelling for me is pull everything out first. So pull everything out, and then decide where what's the actual story. Take away everything that's not the story, and then work on the story.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:But the process of bringing everything out, like every pull everything you think is related to your identity and your childhood. Pull every story you think that's relevant. That is that is intense that is intense self work that was happening. It was a lot happening there. And a lot of it was just writing, writing, writing.
Ti Malik Coleman:My, my ex at the time was, kicking my butt. Shout out, Della Mosley. Thank you much. I love you. And I remember we were in Jamaica at her brother's wedding, and I read her, I read her, like she was like, go write.
Ti Malik Coleman:I wrote for an hour. I read her, like, 10 minutes of of what I thought was good stuff, and she listened. And she said, I thought I thought you said this was gonna be a funny show.
Rob Lee:Like, where's the where's the jokes? Malcolm x is here.
Ti Malik Coleman:Right. Malcolm x needs us. So, I couldn't let I couldn't let her or Malcolm X down. But, so just like I had a lot of stuff like that, just like people asking me about the show, everything else, but a lot of it was write, write, write, rewrite, rewrite. I I did what I did not recommend, which is not put it up before I went to the Fringe.
Ti Malik Coleman:Like, I didn't do a a run through or anything like that. I don't recommend that. But yeah. I wrote it for about, about 8 months, about 7 to 8 months, And then, June of 23, I premiered it at Montreal Fringe.
Rob Lee:So we're in the 1 year anniversary.
Ti Malik Coleman:Which is it's actually a year this week. It's a year that we yeah. It's a year this week, which is wild to your boy.
Rob Lee:No. That's that's amazing. You know? I mean, it it's good to hear about sort of the the process and the thinking that goes into it. And, you know, you touched on this this you touched on part of this sort of second question, which is the penultimate question for the sort of the crux of the main questions in the pod.
Rob Lee:But I definitely want to get sort of what is that that key consideration when you're going through sort of the the the work piece, the self editing piece, the going through of like, alright, like, this is an important story that's related to sort of the themes here. However, this isn't this is very important. The importance of it is very high, but it's like, how can I make this funny? How can I make this interesting? How does this translate to being in the performance component?
Ti Malik Coleman:I I feel like that's an in progress question, to be honest. I'll but the first the first level of edit that I do is, is like the brutal is it absolutely necessary? Because it could be important, but is it, like, is it absolutely necessary? Like, do you need this in order to tell the story? So those brutal pieces, I try to pull those away because those are the hardest.
Ti Malik Coleman:The hardest things are let go to are funny bits. Like, when I get a fun I don't like, I wanna build I I wanna build a whole show around a funny bit. That's not how shows are built. Right?
Rob Lee:Right.
Ti Malik Coleman:And so so, you know, letting go of my funny bits. And then this show has evolved a lot, and so one of the things is that I am not the same man that I was when I wrote this a year ago.
Rob Lee:Sure.
Ti Malik Coleman:I've had I've had I've had breakups since then. I've had top surgery since then. I've lost, like, almost £45 since it like, it's just like I am I am a whole another person. So, like, the it's it's just any in any evolved piece. And so that is also a hard part, because when I wanna add something to the end, I still have to take stuff out, you know, to make time and stuff like that.
Ti Malik Coleman:So it's it's basically every time I sit down, and I'm gonna have to do this next week because I have a show at the end of, next week. Every time I sit down, the first question is, is this is all of this still relevant to who I am today?
Rob Lee:Right. Yep.
Ti Malik Coleman:And then if it's not, then get rid of it. And then is there anything that's happening right now that adds to the the story of 40 year old puberty that absolutely needs to be told? And if that's the case, then I add it, but if it's, like, not really, then I I leave it alone. And so I do that for every iteration. Right now, I'm probably gonna keep I did this I performed in, Portland, which was nice to come back to, but I I performed in Portland last month.
Rob Lee:Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:So most likely, I'm gonna keep that iteration, but I have a I'm in Victoria, Canada at the end of August. So between now and the end of August, I'll probably go go through that question with myself again. That makes sense. Yeah.
Rob Lee:Thank you. So here's the last question, and this is more framed around advice. Right? What advice would you share with someone, with an individual who wants to to tell stories, who wants to be vulnerable, who wants to reveal sort of what they're holding back on, what's what's that key piece of advice you'd share with them?
Ti Malik Coleman:I would say find a person or people that you feel really good and safe with and start there. Because when you are, when you're first starting out, your stuff is so precious to you, that how it's received can alter if you continue. And so I would say, treat those first stories really precious. The second thing I would say would be to, is that no matter how, similar you are to someone else in the world, who you are is like unique, right? Like even if you find, even if you're a twin, right?
Ti Malik Coleman:Like who you are, your perspective, your experiences is unique and it's worthy of a story. So if you're thinking, is this worthy of a story? It is. And lastly, there's the only way that you can be a storyteller is to tell stories. So tell your story.
Rob Lee:It's good. It's a good way to close out. It's it's like it's like you've had a conversation before or presented before.
Ti Malik Coleman:Something like that.
Rob Lee:This episode of the Truth in His Art is brought to you in part by Ugly Books, high quality books designed to be used for whatever your brain comes up with. Available in a variety of colors and sizes. Treat them like a notebook, sketchbook, or scrapbook. Beauty has no rules. Learn more about them at uglybooks.co.
Rob Lee:Alrighty. So that's great. This this has been really stellar. So let me move into the the rapid fire portion. I I just made 2 changes, so I'm really happy about these.
Rob Lee:And, so, you know, and these these are sort of that I said what I said, don't overthink it. So here's the first one. What is the worst day of the week? Shit.
Ti Malik Coleman:It's hard because I I don't like so many of them. I'm a say Tuesday. Fuck us up with Tuesday. Like, it's it's it doesn't feel like the beginning of the week. It feels like the week has started, but I haven't done enough for it to be the middle of the week.
Ti Malik Coleman:And so I don't know what Tuesdays do. Every other day seems like it's related to something. Wednesday, hump day, middle of the week. Thursday, baby Friday. Friday is Friday.
Ti Malik Coleman:Saturday. Daydream. Other days should speak for themselves. You can just say Saturday, Sunday. And then Monday is hard, but, like, it's Monday.
Ti Malik Coleman:It's like it's supposed to be there. But Tuesday, other than Taco Tuesday like, they had to put tacos on it to make it significant. That's a damn like, you had to add a food to it to make it a good day.
Rob Lee:That's good. That's good. I I remember I remember back in the day, we used to have media released on Tuesdays. Yep. Like, new records was out or DVDs.
Rob Lee:Now it's just you get tacos. And then those are not here's the thing. Right? You're dealing with tacos. Right?
Rob Lee:Now I'm gonna sound like an old black man. You're dealing with tacos. If they come in that little metal thing that's the holder to keep it together, Those are trash. What? Get them out of here.
Ti Malik Coleman:And it's too much. And, you know, they're gonna be too much. Like, not only are they trash, but they're gonna be overpriced if they want as soon as they hit that thing on there. Yeah. Give me a little plastic joint with, like, a sheet of tissue paper, and then all of them collapsed together, and it looks like they share in top ends and shit.
Ti Malik Coleman:Like, give that's why I want my tacos. Give me like that.
Rob Lee:See, the one with sort of the the colonizer metal is, like, the, like, l of gentrifirito or what have you. It's it's so wild. It doesn't work.
Ti Malik Coleman:See, remember I was talking about connection earlier? They disconnect the tacos. And he's a that's that's not what they don't want. They don't want us connected. That's right.
Ti Malik Coleman:Colin and I
Rob Lee:be red can't be red line of tacos. No? That but the taco Red
Ti Malik Coleman:line tacos. You take your red line tacos back.
Rob Lee:Someone's gonna isolate that and say, yo yo. What's up with the taco conversation? What's the hot taco talk?
Ti Malik Coleman:Nah. Because no. Because because we have to talk about gerrymandering and we have to talk about tacos. Like, there is, like, there the we have to have this conversation. We are the ones advancing advancing that story.
Ti Malik Coleman:So shout out to us for seeing seeing the truth.
Rob Lee:While my competitor says no new taxes, I say no new toppings. That's so funny. That's that's so stupid. What is and and this is almost in a in a similar vein. You know, is because we were talking about food even though it's a question about wheat, but that's a good quote.
Rob Lee:That's a good answer. Now this is a kind of a Baltimore centric question. Okay. Is chicken box related? Good.
Rob Lee:Flats or drums is the part 1 of this question. Right?
Ti Malik Coleman:Flats, right? Okay.
Rob Lee:But the part 2 is what kind of fry?
Ti Malik Coleman:Oh, listen. I know I'm supposed to say western. Fuck that. Give me a good steak fry or just Really? No.
Ti Malik Coleman:Honestly and I can't get this you can't get it in a chicken box. But, really, what I want is a fresh ass fry. Give me a fresh cut. But I don't want I don't want no western fries. That's that's too thick.
Ti Malik Coleman:That's a potato. You're given a baked potato. Like, I don't like baked potatoes. Give me some regular ass fries, please. Don't fry them too hard.
Ti Malik Coleman:Lightly salt them and leave me alone. Like, that's it. That's it. That's it.
Rob Lee:Wow. Particular. See, here's the thing. Here's the thing. You know, noted the food, Snob Rob Lee here, chiming in.
Rob Lee:It has to be drums. You said flats. I'm I'm I'm over here side eyeing.
Ti Malik Coleman:I'm over here questioning why I did this podcast. It has to be drums.
Rob Lee:Always drums.
Ti Malik Coleman:I've never heard someone say
Rob Lee:it has to be drums. Percussion. No. Never mind. Black.
Rob Lee:Bam. But it yeah. It's you know, like, I'm not a huge chicken wing guy to begin with. Right? But I I generally go with whatever feels like it's the easiest to eat.
Rob Lee:I don't like breaking, like, I have broken legs in in real life. I need to break wings and, you know, chicken life. So you got that. You got drums. And this is where we're on a completely different islands.
Rob Lee:This connection that we had earlier is gone somehow. I love western fries.
Ti Malik Coleman:Most of y'all do. Language.
Rob Lee:This is this is where it gets even more dicey. I'm I I had a had a girl yesterday. It was from Saint Louis, and she was like, what is your style? She was like, I hear all the stuff about, the chicken box here. I was like, look, I get drums, salt, pepper, ketchup, western fries, hot sauce, ketchup.
Rob Lee:She was like, that's Wow specific. You ran that off like it was a string.
Ti Malik Coleman:You ketchup twice too.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Yeah. Salt, pepper, ketchup, and hot sauce ketchup. Yeah. Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:And that's ketchup. The the double. Pepper. Yeah. That's, I used to be a salt salt, pepper, ketchup guy.
Ti Malik Coleman:I I did used to be a salt pep ketchup, because I like the steam. Like, you know what you know what I'm talking about? You know, like, when this the steam and the ketchup, I'm like, I like how that tasted, but then the older I got, the less I wanted on my stuff. I'm like, just click it off. But, yeah, I I don't I'm I'm so mad that you got me on, that you got me on record talking about how I don't like Western fries because they already be like, Malik, stop claiming, and they really gonna be like, oh, bro.
Ti Malik Coleman:Is you? I'm like, I swear I am y'all.
Rob Lee:But but but here's the thing, though. Here's the thing. You know, when it comes to and I think you probably will agree with this. Yeah. You know, just, you know, I need I need to have hot sauce.
Rob Lee:I need to have hot sauce, especially with something like fried. Like, if I get fried fish and there's no hot sauce, what what are we doing? What country is this? What am I? What are we doing?
Ti Malik Coleman:Look. We we we started listeners, viewers, I want you to know that me and Rob, we started this podcast and it was like, we might be bros. And now. I only hot sauce. I look.
Ti Malik Coleman:I know. Listen. Listen. Take take you can't take my card from me. I sold it in my I sold it in my skin because of this reason.
Ti Malik Coleman:Because because I don't like grits, and I don't like hot sauce. And and and I feel more ways about it. I've I've I've come to a point where I'm I am I'm settled in my blackness. I don't like hot sauce. I like my mouth to feel good.
Ti Malik Coleman:Sorry. That's weird. And yeah. So
Rob Lee:Do do you like do you like mac and cheese and cornbread? It just I just need to
Ti Malik Coleman:I can't have mac and cheese because I'm lactose intolerant.
Rob Lee:Oh, well, that's And
Ti Malik Coleman:I'm not one of those people that'd be like, it's not worth it to me. Cornbread, I love. I love cornbread. I don't want corn in my cornbread, though. I don't yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:I don't I don't like that cornbread.
Rob Lee:It's it's it's like I'm trying to hit a food parlay with you, and I've only gotten cornbread. So
Ti Malik Coleman:No. We're gonna do this, bro. Come on. Like, we got this. We gotta we we can't end like this.
Ti Malik Coleman:There has we'll figure it out. But there's plenty of I like the fried fish. I just don't put the hot sauce on it.
Rob Lee:See, here's the thing. Now this this is where as well. Like, I hate chicken legs. Right? My parents remind me that my first solid food was a chicken leg with hot sauce, and I was like, word?
Rob Lee:I was like, nah. That's probably why I like the the drummies, I guess. I I don't know. Yeah.
Ti Malik Coleman:Yeah. Because I was wild. You just say you don't like legs, but you eat drummies because it's like was the leg too big for you? Is that too much to handle?
Rob Lee:It seems like and I feel bad about it. It seems like renaissance fair commoner food. I refuse. If someone's like, man, I can't wait to get a turkey leg. I'm like, you can throw that in the trash with the old lettuce.
Ti Malik Coleman:Oh, so you're just too good for the chicken leg.
Rob Lee:Oh, I'm boujee. Oh, I'm super boujee.
Ti Malik Coleman:A chicken leg. Okay. Chicken leg. I've never I've never because if you put a chicken if you put a piece of white bread wrapped around, like, a hot piece of of a drum, you got a sandwich right there. You kidding me?
Ti Malik Coleman:That's like that's it. You're silly.
Rob Lee:Alright. Let me let me hit you with this last question. Let me hit this last question. What is the last song that you've listened to?
Ti Malik Coleman:Damn it, Kendrick Lamar.
Rob Lee:What song was it? It? It
Ti Malik Coleman:was not like us, Kendrick Lamar.
Rob Lee:Well, I mean, it is a bop. I'm like, you gotta give it the credit.
Ti Malik Coleman:I gotta stop listening to that song, though. I I just gets me too it gets me too hyped up. I'm like, who because here's the thing. Right? Like, I don't I don't have enough beef around me to be absorbing this shit.
Ti Malik Coleman:So now I gotta, like, find the beef. So I'm in I'm in the gym, my headphones on just imaginary, like, you're not like me either, nigga. You know? Like, it's just it's just it's it's not good. And I'm not you know, we're opposite.
Ti Malik Coleman:Like, I have a big personality, and I'm short. You know what I mean? Like, so when so people think on screen, they're like, this dude is probably at minimum average height. And then I get there, they're like, Malik. You know what I'm saying?
Ti Malik Coleman:So so it's not it's not good for me to, be beefing, because I don't I don't have what it is. It's my in my head, I have what it takes to back it up, but I don't. You got it.
Rob Lee:I mean, that song will have you op hunting, so that's that's fine. You know? Who wants it?
Ti Malik Coleman:Who wants these who who wants to challenge me in improv? Like, what am I beefing about? Like
Rob Lee:Here here's the thing. I I learned this now. That was sort of the wrap of the the questions. I learned this earlier about sort of like, I'm a cusp, so I'm a Capricorn Aquarius, and when those 2 come together, all of my pedious energy is full Capricorn. So I think that's the side that's like hunting for smoke regularly, and then the Aquarius is like, hey, man.
Rob Lee:Let's just do something different, man. Let's just think about you first a little bit, bro.
Ti Malik Coleman:My Leo energy keeps me from beef because my ego is like, for what? For you. Right. And then as soon as I want a beef, I catch myself in the mirror. I'm like,
Rob Lee:that's silly.
Ti Malik Coleman:Right. That's silly. Look at you. So, yeah, y'all. Just work on your egos, and, it'll keep you out of beef.
Ti Malik Coleman:Stay away from western fries.
Rob Lee:Language. Those are just baked potatoes. So let me let me close out on this. There's 2 things I wanna do. 1, I wanna thank you for coming on and spending some time with me.
Rob Lee:This has been a lot fun. And, and I got a free I got a free laugh out of it, so that thing you've been looking for. And, and secondly, I wanna invite and encourage you to share with the listeners' website, social media, all of that good stuff. The floor is yours.
Ti Malik Coleman:Thank you. Tymalique presents.com is the website. I would ask you to start there and book me for some gig while you're there. I am on Facebook, Tymely Coleman. Actually, if you look up I'm the only Tymely Coleman in the world.
Ti Malik Coleman:So if you put Tymely Coleman in wherever I'm at, please find me. I have a show in Richmond on June 22nd. And in October, I will be doing a I will be running 4 year old puberty for Black Pride Baltimore. So come out and hang with your boy. It'll be a fun time.
Ti Malik Coleman:Oh, and I almost forgot. I'm in a duo, Malik and Rashid. It's very, very funny. We have a lot of shows coming up in Baltimore, this summer, so come fuck with your boy. Sorry for the language.
Rob Lee:And there you have it, folks. I wanna again thank Malik Coleman for coming to the podcast and sharing a bit of his journey with us. And formerly Coleman, I'm Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture and community in and around your neck of the woods. You've just gotta look for it.
