Dope Ass Conversation #6: Zack Fox
Or: The Man Behind The Memes
A Note from Dro: The following excerpt is something that has been sitting in my drafts much longer than originally intended. I had planned to have this ready by the first week of October last year, but unfortunately, a close relative of mine unexpectedly passed away that same Monday, and I fell into a deep depression that stifled much of my creative energy. While I am still working through the grieving process, enough time has passed for me to finally finish writing one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever had. I appreciate your patience and hope you enjoy it as much as I did crafting it.
And to Zack, if you’re reading this, thanks again for being such a dope ass person to talk to.
They say to never meet your heroes because they’ll always let you down. Luckily, that rule doesn’t apply to your favorite internet comedians.
On September 23rd, I gained VIP access to “Night School” by The Cool Kids, a combo live talk show and concert they were having. Just to provide brief context, the legendary rap duo of Sir Michael Rocks and Chuck Inglish wanted to do something special in honor of their latest album Before Shit Got Weird (which I highly recommend). So, they decided to record a live recording of Mikey Rocks’ late-night twitch show Mystery School, co-hosted by Owen Bones, a couple of hours ahead of their headlining performance. Among the show’s special guests was fashion designer extraordinaire Joe Freshgoods, Oakland rapper Guapdad4000, and the man, the myth, the legend, Zack Fox.
To those who aren’t chronically online (congrats if that’s you), Zack Fox is an omnipresent force of hilarity. Originally a stand-up comedian from Atlanta, he became prominent on Twitter quite frankly for being funny as fuck. Now it’s virtually impossible to scroll through the site without seeing his jokes whether you follow him or not. As his notoriety on the internet grew though, so too did his creative endeavors. Since 2018, he’s dropped a handful of loose rap singles including the legendary Kenny Beats-produced freestyle "Jesus Is the One (I Got Depression).” In 2021, he dropped his first full-length album shut the fuck up talking to me (which was featured in my list of favorite projects of that year). Then in 2022, he leveled up even further by going on his first musical tour with Detroit rapper ZelooperZ, debuted as the scene-stealing Tariq in the Emmy-winning sitcom Abbott Elementary, and dropped a surprise R&B EP in December titled wood tip EP, showing off his versatility and range as a musician (and you should definitely listen to it in the background as you read this).
I knew I had to introduce myself to him and let him know I was a fan of his work, but since this might be the only time I might ever share a room with him, I figured to shoot my shot and ask if he’d be down to have a brief interview after the show and he was down. You never quite know what to expect when you’re meeting someone who you only have previously known as an online avatar. What started off as a quick rapid-fire style interview turned into one of the most memorable and human conversations in my life.
Q: Thanks again for doing this. How did you connect with The Cool Kids for this whole thing? And how do you usually prep before a show?
A: Me and The Cool Kids been friends since like 2017. Me, Chuck, and Mikey are just like kindred souls. For prep, I drink water and watch SpongeBob (laughs).
This question is kind of existential, but how do you navigate the space between being internet famous and then also being like your real authentic self with people? Because I imagine some people come to you thinking you're one thing, right? But then, I mean, I'm talking to you right now and you're one of the most humble, down-to-earth people I've ever come across.
Just you know, leading with the fact that like the internet is just a hologram of yourself no matter how genuine you try to be on it. Like, you're never gonna get a three-dimensional representation of a person until you meet them in real life. Which is like the point of doing real life shit like shows and being able to connect with people through stand-up or music or anything like that. Then they get more of a whole view. It’s like a gift and a curse. You know, it's a online platform, but it’s kind of like a cardboard cutout of a n—. And then hopefully when you come and meet the person, you're like, “oh, wait, that's a real 3D n—!”
I just noticed that you have a Devilman tattoo. Which tat of yours is your favorite?
It’s Devilman for sure, I’m a fucking fanatic.
That makes sense with your type of humor.
Yeah, there’s a bit to be said about duality. I’m not the type of person to get tattoos because they mean anything, I get them ‘cause they look cool. But Devilman is one of those things where, yeah, it’s a bit corny, but I’m just really into that whole mythology.
Type shit. Now, you've accomplished a lot this year. You starred in Abbott Elementary. You did your first music tour. Congrats on both of those, man. What has been your proudest accomplishment so far?
My proudest accomplishment was my mom finally understanding what I do. Because she watched Abbott. And you know, my mom is almost 70, she don't be on Twitter, she don’t be on Instagram. Like she don't care about none of that shit. For like music, she listens to fucking Patti LaBelle and Tevin Campbell, she don't listen to my shit. But seeing me on TV just being funny, she was like, “I get everything you've been saying for years about what you're trying to do.” So like it came full circle with her. If I can impress my mom, I'm like, “okay, cool. I did it.”
That’s real. How did you even find comedy as your form of expression?
Well, it kind of just happened naturally. People would just be like “you're funny” all throughout Atlanta and shit. And really, I'm a shy person. So I would have never had the courage to go do stand up and I was on the internet a lot doing like Twitter shit, and people were like, “Yo, you're funny” and I’m like, “ yeah, that’s just on the internet” but then they’d like, “no, you're funny in person too!” And then I just had to kind of gain the courage to go up there and say words.
You got any final words right now?
FUCK… (long dramatic pause) nah, I can’t say it. I was gonna say “fuck John Legend.” I just have a bad feeling about him, but I don't know if he’s a bad guy. There’s something about those eyes that tell me he’s hiding something though.