Bryan McCree has toured and performed all over the country, but he began perfecting his craft at a young age right here in Flint.
“I probably started (in comedy) when I was a kid because I’m the youngest of three brothers, huge giant brothers,” McCree said. “I was an undersized kid and I suffer from sickle cell anemia. So I was a small kid. I used to talk a lot of shit on the school bus so people would be like, ‘That little dude is crazy!’ So that was my defense mechanism, my defense with them was my mouth.”
In addition to touring, McCree, a Flint Southwestern graduate, has appeared on Mad TV, Comedy Central, and Comics Unleashed. He’s been on stage with legendary acts like Sinbad, George Wallace, and the Isley Brothers. On January 24, he headlined a show in his hometown, performing at Communities First, Inc.’s, Good for the Soul Comedy Show 2 at the Flint Farmers’ Market.
Steve Lind was the emcee of the event and other performers include Kesha No “I,” Pat Gaines, and Kate Brindle. Proceeds from the event supported Communities First’s family and neighborhood programs.
“I don’t get to perform in Flint a lot, so it’s gonna be a treat,” McCree said. “It’s not often I get to help do something in the community because I’m working and writing standup and traveling, but I’m looking forward to it and they’re (Communities First) doing such good work in the community.”
McCree is from a famous Flint family. He’s the nephew of Floyd McCree, the first Black Mayor of Flint, and began exploring his passion for performing in a space with his family’s name on it.
“I got into theatre in high school, and after high school, I used to do theatre at McCree Theatre,” McCree said. “Then that evolved. I was doing my first play at McCree with a good friend of mine from my neighborhood who I grew up with. We had just finished rehearsal and we used to go downtown to this place called Doobies, it was on the flat lot right across the street from the Flint Journal building. They used to have an open mic night. My boy was like, ‘You’re funny, Bryan. Why don’t you get up there and do something?’”
McCree went on stage with no material prepared and immediately fell in love with it.
“I went up there and had a ball, the crowd loved it, and I was addicted,” McCree said. “So I started adding that (standup) to my repertoire. It’s so different from acting, because with acting you’re on book and you’re not yourself. So the chance to be able to actually get on stage and say things I was thinking and wanting to talk about was very alluring to me.”
For people who saw McCree perform for the first time on January 24, his personality and real life experiences are what audiences can always expect from him. He also thinks the mix of talents of performers in the lineup on Saturday gave a wide range of styles and laughs.
“I’s gonna be fun,” McCree said. “I mean, everybody’s of course got their own style. It should be a really fun concoction of comics. I will talk about myself and my life. My life is very diverse. I have an interracial family. Race is the centerpiece of our life, you know, being a blended family like that. So I talk about that a lot.”
McCree said he’s slowed down some on his touring schedule in recent years and tries to stay closer to home now. Dates and performances are always promoted on his Facebook or Instagram pages. At his peak, he used to be on the road about 35-40 weeks per year. He also spent some time living in Los Angeles before he and his family moved back to Flint.
“There’s nothing like Flint people,” McCree said. “What you see is what you get with Flint people. Flint people are just raw, man. They’re gonna give it to you in stark terms, and that’s what I love about my community.”
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