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Mick Unplugged

The Heart Behind the Humor with Roy Wood Jr.

13 Nov 2025

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.149 - 22.078 Mick Hunt

Roy Wood Jr. has made us laugh for many years, but in this conversation, he made us think. We go deep into the man behind the mic, his journey from FAMU to Birmingham to The Daily Show and to the lessons that shaped his comedy and his brand new book, The Man of Many Fathers. This episode isn't just funny, it's powerful, it's raw, and it's proof that laughter can lead to a legacy.

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22.098 - 25.482 Mick Hunt

Ladies and gentlemen, I present my good friend, Mr. Roy Wood Jr.

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Chapter 2: What is the journey of Roy Wood Jr. from FAMU to The Daily Show?

28.263 - 33.575 Mick Hunt

Mr. Roy Wood Jr. I appreciate you. I appreciate you. I appreciate you more, man.

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33.595 - 34.116 Roy Wood Jr.

Good to see you.

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35.379 - 56.381 Mick Hunt

Like, we graduated high school the same year, college the same time. Like, you've always been that person that from afar, I've just appreciated because... During the time that we were coming up, Roy, man, like you were doing it in the comedy entertainment game. I was trying to do it in the business and leadership game. Like we didn't have a lot of people.

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57.082 - 68.962 Mick Hunt

I'm just going to be blunt and honest that that looked like us that were blueprints to show other people how to do it. And I appreciated you because you were like. You were like my generation's blueprint.

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69.002 - 84.641 Mick Hunt

And so like every move that you were making, I was trying to follow to see how you were doing it because it was pushing me to be like the best person, the best entrepreneur, the best leader that I could be because you kept changing your game. So I had to change mine. You kept elevating. I had to elevate.

Chapter 3: How does Roy Wood Jr. use comedy to affirm Black experiences?

84.982 - 87.665 Mick Hunt

But for me, it's all because we're literally the same age, bro.

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88.005 - 117.552 Roy Wood Jr.

I appreciate what you're saying, but I guarantee if you point out any part of my game, it was amazing. I got it from watching somebody else, my damn self. I think the drive and the gumption, you have to be a little crazy to bet on yourself. That's inherent. But I think that the belief that, oh, I could do this, that didn't come from me, that came from Ricky Smiley.

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118.628 - 145.412 Roy Wood Jr.

I saw Ricky Smiley on TV in the late 90s, and he was repping Alabama hard. He didn't just put Birmingham on his back. He put the whole state on his back. And nobody asked him to do that. He just did it. And when I saw that, I was like, oh, bet. He can be from the north side and get on TV? I can do it from the west side. And that was it. It wasn't even no big...

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145.51 - 151.453 Roy Wood Jr.

Whatever debate or doubt I had about whether or not I belong in entertainment, gone.

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152.716 - 175.982 Mick Hunt

But that's what I mean, man. It's that drive. It's that thing that you've always had that inspired people like me. Because, yeah, you saw Ricky, but you still had to go do it, though. It's not like there was there was a thousand people that were like, oh, yeah, I'm funny, too. I can go do this, too. Yeah. But you actually did it, bro. And that's why, again, you're my goat. I appreciate you, man.

176.002 - 196.743 Mick Hunt

I appreciate you, man. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So on the show, I like to ask all my guests, like, what's your because that thing that's deeper than your why? Right. Like if I were to say, Roy, what's your why? You're going to tell me your son. Right. But when I say why is your son your why? I call that your because. So if I were to say, Roy, man, what's your because?

196.763 - 202.129 Mick Hunt

Why do you do the things that you do? Why do you have the legacy that you're trying to leave behind?

203.898 - 229.211 Roy Wood Jr.

I do what I do in an effort to better inform, to confirm to our people, to Black people, that they aren't crazy in what they're seeing or what they're feeling. because so many people will gaslight us into thinking that what we see is not there.

229.892 - 256.543 Roy Wood Jr.

So, you know, if I can confirm to Black folks what they're thinking and feeling while opening new eyes from non-Black people on what we're going through, then mission accomplished, you know, because a lot of people don't know what's happening, you know, to our people. And And it's fun to be able to do that through comedy. It's more difficult now to do it through comedy, but that's my weapon.

Chapter 4: What challenges did Roy face when creating his own internship?

1320.364 - 1344.692 Mick Hunt

First thing is, so I've been a speaker for a long time, 10 plus years. But watching your specials, and I know you say you're not a storyteller. I'm giving it to you. I'm giving you your flowers, not the lonely ones. I'm giving you the big, beautiful flowers, right? But watching your specials helped me as a speaker just with pace, just with slowing down and let the story tell.

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1345.252 - 1366.347 Mick Hunt

Let the points that you're trying to hit tell. Because I'm not a comedian, but again, I do inspirational speaking. I do leadership development. Same concept, right? To me, being on stage is stories and points. Les Brown taught me never tell a story without a point and never make a point without a story. And you do that really well. So watching you help me bring that aspect of that to life.

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1366.368 - 1367.589 Mick Hunt

So I'm giving you kudos for that.

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1367.609 - 1367.93 Roy Wood Jr.

Thank you.

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1369.171 - 1403.815 Mick Hunt

Number two, your dorm room famous, bro. These Gen Z's and millennials are Roy Wood followers. And here's why. My kids, who are now 25, 23, 27, but when they were in school, when they were in college, you know, people stopped having CD players. You know, like for us, that was our Mac move, right? Like, go look at my CD, go look at my shelf system over there. But my kids always had a CD player.

1404.149 - 1407.455 Mick Hunt

Only to play your prank call CD.

1408.237 - 1416.092 Roy Wood Jr.

And so their dorm rooms used to be part. Put the albums on like the seventies. Everybody crowd around the record player.

1416.112 - 1428.629 Mick Hunt

Yes, sir. So, so you were a dorm room famous. I just want you to know, because it's a thing. that people still carry CD players to listen to your prank call CDs back.

1428.649 - 1459.738 Roy Wood Jr.

I pulled a lot of prank phone calls off offline. Number one, I pulled all the albums off of digital stuff. Like, I think you can stream my stuff maybe, but most all of my pranks are underground now. Like, matter of fact, I'm positive you can't purchase my albums anymore. Like, that... I went through a phase about 10 years ago. This was a year or two before I got Daily Show.

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