Source Exclusive: Rip Micheals teases Tracy Morgan, D.L. Hughley, and other Big Name Stars for the 12th Annual April Fools Comedy Jam

Live comedy is officially back and if Rip Micheals has anything to say about it, better than ever as preparations are underway for the 12th Annual April Fools Comedy Jam. Comedy legend Rip Micheals sat down with the Source to talk about the upcoming show (taking place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Friday, April 5) which is a celebration of multi-generation comedy, hip-hop, and his health.

Straight away, Micheals explains that one notable thing about the show is that “it will be a mixture of hip hop and comedy.”

Micheals explains how he carefully curated a lineup of comedians from different generations, stating “we’ve got young and old and everything in between.” 

Tracy Morgan is set to headline the show, which boasts a lineup including D.L. Hughley, Bruce Bruce, Nephew Tommy, Loni Love, DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, London Brown, Chaunté Wayans, Torrei Hart, Brian Hooks, Cocoa Brown, and more. Musical guests will include Young Jeezy, GloRilla, and more.

For Micheals, who has been very public about his health struggles, the show has a deeper purpose.

“Laughter is healing,” he says. “Like, my name is actually ‘Rip Mic Heals. I’ve always been blessed with the gift from God to make people laugh and forget about the things that they’ve got going on in life.” 

Micheals also talks about the importance that comedy played during the pandemic and in the years after and how he has tried to use his comedy and shows as healing mechanisms, saying that he sees comedy a an opportunity to heal people.

“A lot of people suffered from depression and anxiety issues [during the pandemic]. And I feel that since then, comedy has been a vessel to allow people to come out and just have a great time- and combined them with music too. So overall, we want to just make people feel good again and are trying to restore people back to what they were and looking forward to coming out and looking forward to life and just smiling at the pain and everything that they’ve been through. 

As for his current state of health, Micheals explains that his heart health is at about 12-15% and he is currently on the heart transplant list, giving a shout out to the staff at the Mayo Clinic and Long Island Jewish Hospital as well as all of his fans that have supported him throughout his health journey and continue to support his comedic endeavors.

Rip emphasizes that his condition is genetic and says “I want to emphasize the importance of regular checkups, especially if heart conditions run in your family. There are steps you can take to protect your heart.”

Micheals emphasizes that he expects this year to be one of the best Comedy Jams in history, not just because of the lineup, but because of the passion of all that are involved in it.

While most people with such a heart condition might relax after such a major event, Michaels shows no signs of slowing down, laying out a list of other projects he has coming up in the near future including a comedy special set he just filmed at the Apollo in February, the second season of Urban Eats and Treats, Fall Back in Love Tour and acting..

In conclusion, he states: “I’m going to give it all of my heart that’s left in me.”