MINNEAPOLIS — There's something unique about Joseph "Juice" Sutton's jokes:
"My nephew came up to me the other day, and he was like, 'Uncle Juice, I've got a question for you,' and I was like, 'Yeah, shoot away.' He was like, 'If vegetable oil is made out of vegetables, and coconut oil is made out of coconuts, what is baby oil made out of?' And I was like, 'Probably you if you don't sit down.'"
Maybe you've already noticed.
"With comedy, it's like, 'Uh, can my kids watch this?' Like you know, there's big names like Kevin Hart, but you know there's going to be explicit language or like some type of sexual jokes," Sutton told KARE 11. "For me, I found my lane early, where I was able to make people laugh without even having to touch on those topics."
The clean content comedian describes himself as a man of faith, and with a wife and infant daughter by his side, a family man.
"A lot of funny stuff happens in church," said Sutton, whose accolades include BET, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Fuse, TBS and the CW.
When he was young to the industry, he secured mentors within Minnesota comics - many of whom have made it in Hollywood.
"Adrian Washington, Shed G, Pierre Douglas," Sutton said. "Bruce, he goes by Legendary Bruce."
Now 8 years in the game and 6 years full time, he's recording his first comedy special at one of the venues where he got his start. The U Yo Daddys Son, Juice Sutton 30th Birthday Comedy Special started Friday evening at the Capri Theater in north Minneapolis, where he's from.
"It's at 6 p.m.," Sutton said. "It's at 7, but you gotta tell people 6 p.m."
Hosted by Ashli Henderson, openers include Bianca Dennie and his mentors Pierre Douglas and Legendary Bruce. The event started with a red-carpet photo opportunity. Music artist Mission is also scheduled to perform.
"I was like, 'Just as a reminder...' and they were like, 'We know, we know, we can't cuss," Sutton said.
While it's too late to attend the recording, the special is set to air on streaming platforms both local and large.
"I was in contact with a distribution company," Sutton said. "I was like, 'Hey ya'll, this is what I do. Y'all wanna fund it?' And they were like, 'No.' And so I was like, 'Hey, I'm going to fund it myself. What if I show you the product and we go from there?' And they were like, 'Well, we've seen your stuff and we like it.'"
"They gave me the parameters. 4K quality, etc, high-quality audio, and I was like, 'Okay.' Sent it straight to Ricky."
Ricky Collins owns Packed House Live, a Twin Cities-based, pay-per-view platform allowing creators to set their price. Sutton says he'll allow viewers to pay what they can because he believes everyone deserves to laugh. His special is set to premiere on Packed House Live on March 1, 2024.
"My dad passed on March 1st of 2021 and so I as a new father … I dedicated this special to him," Sutton said. "Fatherhood is something that's really slept on, especially in our community as well, and not really shining a light on those who are in their kid's life."
Sutton says Max, formerly HBO Max, has also committed to streaming his special starting in September next year. He says he's also in talks with Hulu, Amazon Video and Tubi.
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