Ian Edwards

Ian Edwards may have been born in Britain and raised in Jamaica, but when he stood in front of an audience for his stand-up comedy routines, he was 100% American. Whether he was delivering social commentary onstage at Harlem's Apollo Theater or writing for a hot new sitcom, Edwards was the quintessential New York boy who took a chance and showed them all just how funny he could be. He cracked up all his co-workers at the burger joint where he worked, to the point that a customer suggested he try out stand-up. He crashed horribly at first, but while met with limited success he saw he just might have what it took. From there, it was hard work, writing up a storm and never looking back. His first big break was as a guest writer for "Saturday Night Live" (NBC 1975-), no small honor for a kid still wet behind the ears. But even though he loved to write comedy, he never walked away from his first love: stand-up. His edgy take on everyday life kept him busy at the microphones of many comedy clubs for the next few years before he returned to television. The hard work paid off when he was invited to be one of the participants in the historic "Def Comedy Jam" (HBO 1992-97). During this time Edwards was honing his skills as a writer. In addition to a number of episodes of "The Uptown Comedy Club" (BET 1992-94) and "The Lyricist Lounge Show" (MTV 2000), Edwards joined the writing staff of "P. Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy"(HBO 2005-07). The next few years were busy ones for Edwards, writing for Comedy Central's news parody show "Chocolate News" in 2008 and 2009, followed by his work on episodes of "In the Flow with Affion Crockett" for Fox in 2011. His regular appearances on "Conan" (TBS 2010-) paid off in 2014 when he signed a deal with Conan O'Brien's new comedy label Team Coco Records. The first album from that deal, 100% Half Assed, was released in the summer of 2014.