Azeem’s Stand-up Comedy Brings Students Together

Photo Credit/ Natalie Irula Azeem had worked for The Department of Mental Health in St. Louis before changing his career over to being a stand-up comedian and shocking audiences with his fast and personal style of comedy.

Natalie Irula 

Opinion Editor 

Personable and charming, Azeem, a stand-up comedian from St. Louis, drew laughs from everyone in the room, including the two student patrol officers who couldn’t resist not coming in to check out the show.

Having been in the business for 20 years, Azeem is no stranger to an audience and engaged everyone with his comedy.

From family to navigating East Stroudsburg, nothing was off the table as Azeem bounced from joke to joke, inspiring no-filter cackling from the crowd.

The seasoned comedian has performed in Las Vegas, been on BET, Comedy Central, and has had two half-hour specials with packed audiences in thousands, but still joked, “And then I was like, man, my spirit says it’s not complete…I need to go to a town that nobody’s heard of.”

The performance was presented by ESU’s Campus Activities board last Friday and lasted for about an hour.

Self-proclaimed “holistic healer through humor” quickly hopped off the stage to get more friendly with the audience, inviting people in the back of the room to take a seat upfront.

“I was never not laughing,” said junior Saige Taylor. “Seriously, he was great.”

His bit was immersive and hilarious as he played off of the room and the students in front of him, asking about majors and hometowns and then firing off jokes off the top of his head.

“I’m so glad I came,” said sophomore Bree Moore, “He was seriously so funny and straight up. I don’t know how he just pops off jokes like that, but he has a gift.”

Having begun his career working for The Department of Mental Health in St. Louis, he completely changed his life around to pursue his passion.

“I was like absolutely not,” said Azeem, recalling his 26-year-old self’s answer when asked if he’d ever thought about pursuing comedy. “I’m not a people person. And they were like, ‘you should try it.’ So, they took me out to a comedy club and my clients came with me, I told a few jokes and everybody loved it. So, I was like, ‘this feels pretty good,’’ and I picked it up and twenty years later I’m still doing it!”

The stand-up comic is currently touring colleges and universities around the country, spreading laughter wherever he goes.

Azeem is active on social media and you can find him on Facebook under AzeemComedy or through Instagram with his handle @azeemcomedy

Email Natalie at: 

nirula@live.esu.edu