Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaliyah Skye Johnson.
So, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am Native American, and I am an enrolled member of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. My comedy wasn’t planned at all. I remember just looking around in my grandmother’s bedroom in 2017 and then all of a sudden, I had found a black wig that had belonged to my uncle. I slipped it on my head and ran back to the living room where my family was all watching television. I just started to make jokes until everybody started to laugh at them. I also remember watching a couple of videos about this guy on YouTube named Guava Juice. He called the character Rolanda. So I randomly just started to call this new character of mine Rolanda J. My mother had also pulled her phone whenever I came out of the room, and then she started to record me. I also have a character named Ricardo. There is also this Native American woman named Tonia Jo Hall who I look up to as a comedian. She, herself, also has her own alter ego called Auntie Beachress. She had once made a video about how she couldn’t make it to a powwow in Rapid City, South Dakota. Since I really didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing at the time, I just said something similar to what she said. Then BAM! There went my first video on social media. When I just felt so happy, I would pull out the wig and go surprise my mother while she would be hanging out in her bedroom. Like the other times she has seen me in my wig, she’d start to laugh very hard. And then she would usually pull out her phone and record a one minute video of me goofing around. Before I knew it, I would be making my very first public appearance at one of my tribes benefit powwows. I have a few other Native American comedians following me on YouTube as well.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
So far, it has been pretty smooth. If there are challenges waiting for me in the future, I hope to overcome them just like any other I’ve had in life.
What else should we know about you and your work?
I am a comedian who posts videos on YouTube just simply for fun and makes other people laugh. My people, the Alabama-Coushatta, like to laugh when times can be hard for ourselves. It’s like a distraction from everyday life. I really like to make people laugh because then it makes me happy.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My future plans would be to make my YouTube channel grow a little bigger than it is right now. And to post another video only because I’m totally needing to do so at the moment. It’s like I’m leaving all of my viewers on a serious cliffhanger. I really feel bad for doing that to them.
Contact Info:
- Phone: (936) 933-5558 ( Mother’s phone) and (936)442-8706 (Father’s phone)
- Email: [email protected] ( Mother’s email)
- Instagram: #rolandaj
- Facebook: Rolanda J/Native Rolanda-Rolanda Comedy
- YouTube: Rolanda J/Native Rolanda
Image Credit:
Victoria Johnson/Skye Breese Photography
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