Client: Lil Rel Howery - Talent
2021 has been a prolific year for actor and comedian Lil Rel Howery. After the success of films like “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Fatherhood” with Kevin Hart, plus starring opposite Ryan Reynolds in the upcoming “Free Guy,” Howery is launching a new audio-only comedy album, titled “Lil Rel – Humbly Vulnerable: I Said What I Said.”
The album will debut exclusively on Pandora on Aug. 17 and launch on all streaming platforms on Aug. 24.
“I did an audio-only stand-up special because I wanted to pay homage to the greats that came before me and also no visual distractions, [so] you have to truly hear me,” Howery tells Variety.
With the new special, recorded in March, Howery professes to get back to his Chicago stand-up roots with a set that is reminiscent of his comedy heroes, including Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor.
The new album is co-produced with the Aziza Work Group, who joined forces with Howery on this album after representing him in public relations.
“We have been with Rel since the days of ‘The Carmichael Show,’” said Michelle Watts, principal of the Aziza Work Group. “To have witnessed his triumphant trajectory and to have bolstered his career from a public relations perspective to now partnering on this album is a natural next step for us.”
Howery will next be seen in “Free Guy,” opening Aug. 13, and stars alongside John Cena, Yvonne Orji and in Meredith Hagner in “Vacation Friends” which is dated for Aug. 27.
The multitalented entertainer kicked off the year hosting the 2021 Oscars pre-show (and memorably dancing to “Da Butt” with nominee Glenn Close during the broadcast). The evening was doubly momentous as “Judas and the Black Messiah, in which he reunited with his “Get Out” co-stars LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture, winning two.
Howery followed that up with a vocal performance in Tim Story’s “Tom & Jerry;” joining Eric Andre and Tiffany Haddish for Netflix’s wild comedy “Bad Trip” and starring in Netflix’s true life-inspired family movie “Fatherhood.” The actor also appeared in “Space Jam: A New Legacy” with LeBron James.
After “Free Guy” and “Vacation Friends,” Howery is set to reunite with the “Judas” producing team — Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King and Shaka King — for the new political film, “Insurrection.”
Howery is repped by UTA, Fourth Wall Management, and Cohen & Gardner and The Aziza Work Group Inc.