# Chris Redd
**Chris Redd** (born 1985) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and rapper from the Chicago comedy scene, best known as a repertory cast member on NBC's *Saturday Night Live* for five seasons and for winning a 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for the SNL song "Come Back Barack".[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5412083/) • [2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985, St. Louis, Missouri; moved to Naperville, a Chicago suburb, at age 8[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5412083/) • [3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) |
| Breakout role | "Hunter the Hungry" in *Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping* (2016), produced by Judd Apatow[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) |
| *Saturday Night Live* | Debuted on the season 43 premiere in September 2017; repertory player for 5 seasons[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) • [2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) |
| Emmy Award | 2018, Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, for the SNL song "Come Back Barack"[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) |
| Stand-up special | First one-hour special, *Why Am I Like This?*, released October 2022 on HBO Max[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [4](https://uproxx.com/filmtv/chris-redd-snl-kanye-hbo-special-interview/) |
| Created series | Co-creator, writer, and star of Peacock's *Bust Down*, premiered March 2022[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) |
| Hosting | Host of Netflix's automotive makeover series *Resurrected Rides*, produced by *Pimp My Ride* co-creator Rick Hurvitz[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [5](https://www.axios.com/2024/07/23/pimp-my-ride-netflix-resurrected-rides) |
## Early life and comedy beginnings
Redd was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved with his family to [Naperville, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/naperville-illinois), when he was 8 years old.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5412083/) • [3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) He first pursued a career as a rapper, seeking to become, in the words of his Second City biography, Chicago's next great hip hop artist, before the city's comedy scene drew him in.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) • [6](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/bio/ChrisRedd) In interviews he has described the conversion as accidental: he tried an improv class at [The Second City](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-second-city), found that it "looked so stupid, but it felt so dope," and kept taking classes.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chris-redd-saturday-night-live-the-second-city-interview/)
**Second City training.** While performing stand-up around Chicago, Redd trained at The Second City and the iO Theater, produced his own stage show at the Southside club Jokes & Notes, and toured the United States and Europe with The Second City Touring Company, also serving as an understudy for the Mainstage.[6](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/bio/ChrisRedd) • [3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) He co-wrote The Second City's 2014 collaboration with the Hubbard Street Dance Company, *The Art of Falling*.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) After leaving the company he took television roles on *Chicago PD* and *Empire*, then landed the breakout part of "Hunter the Hungry" in [The Lonely Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-lonely-island)'s 2016 film *Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping*.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) That same year he was selected as a Standup New Face at the [Just for Laughs](https://www.edgepedia.org/just-for-laughs) festival in Montreal, and his [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) half-hour special aired in September 2017.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd)
## Saturday Night Live
Redd made his SNL debut on the premiere of the show's 43rd season in September 2017, appearing in sketches with guests including [Chance the Rapper](https://www.edgepedia.org/chance-the-rapper), Miley Cyrus, and [Tiffany Haddish](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiffany-haddish).[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd) He had auditioned for the show once before and did not make the cut; he described his first year in New York, after years of couchsurfing, as one of the craziest of his life.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chris-redd-saturday-night-live-the-second-city-interview/)
His best-remembered musical contribution is "Come Back Barack", a [Boyz II Men](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyz-ii-men)-style ballad performed with [Kenan Thompson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenan-thompson) and host Chance the Rapper, which won the 2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [8](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2019/03/13/chris-redd-aims-singular-stand-and-snl-team-player/8wiMDMtHIcVAnZFZeqTT0I/story.html) He also drew attention for celebrity impressions, including a [Jussie Smollett](https://www.edgepedia.org/jussie-smollett) sketch opposite host Sandra Oh in 2019 and a well-received turn as Will Smith in the show's response to the 2022 Oscars slap.[9](https://www.dailyherald.com/20200105/lifestyle/napervilles-chris-redd-weighs-in-on-eddie-murphy-cory-booker-and-doing-stand-up/) • [10](https://www.tmz.com/people/chris-redd-news-and-updates-tmz/)
While still on SNL he took on a second [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels)-produced job, playing Gary Williams, Kenan Thompson's live-wire brother, on the NBC sitcom *Kenan* for two seasons, shuttling between coasts during the pandemic.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [11](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/02/snl-and-kenan-standout-chris-redd-is-ready-to-get-all-the-jobs) Redd left the show after five seasons, saying the time was right; he has described what SNL gave him in blunt terms: "I entered that place a funny comedian who understood sketch and improv and TV a little bit, and I left that place a machine, a full producer."[4](https://uproxx.com/filmtv/chris-redd-snl-kanye-hbo-special-interview/)
## Film, television, and created work
Redd's screen credits beyond SNL include the comedy films *Vampires vs. the Bronx*, *Deep Murder*, *The House*, and *A Futile and Stupid Gesture*, the independent horror film *Scare Me*, and a role as the Comedy Club Emcee in *Joker* (2019).[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5412083/) On television he played Steven "Dank" Dankerson, one of the fictional dispensary's best customers, opposite [Kathy Bates](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-bates) in the first season of [Chuck Lorre](https://www.edgepedia.org/chuck-lorre)'s Netflix series *Disjointed*.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd)
**Bust Down.** In 2022 Redd co-created, wrote, and starred in *Bust Down* on Peacock, alongside [Sam Jay](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-jay), Langston Kerman, and Jak Knight; the show follows four casino employees in middle America looking for self-worth within their bad ideas. Redd has said the show grew out of a bad pilot script he was handed and jam sessions with his three co-creators.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [12](https://www.networkisa.org/screenwriting-podcasts/view/5998/70)
**Recent work.** His first one-hour stand-up special, *Why Am I Like This?*, drawn from starting therapy during the pandemic, was released in October 2022 and streams on Max.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) He appeared opposite [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy) and Tracee Ellis Ross in the Amazon Prime Video and MGM holiday film *Candy Cane Lane*, and was announced as the star of the Amazon MGM rom-com *Merv* alongside Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) He hosts Netflix's *Resurrected Rides*, a vehicle makeover series produced by Rick Hurvitz, co-creator of MTV's *Pimp My Ride*, and voices a role in Ramy Youssef's Amazon animated series *#1 Happy Family USA*.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [5](https://www.axios.com/2024/07/23/pimp-my-ride-netflix-resurrected-rides)
## Stand-up style and music
Redd performs stand-up across the country and describes his stage work as a deliberate hybrid of stand-up, sketch, character work, improvisation, and rap. He has said he resisted advice to pick a single lane, instead doing all of it at once, and that the mix keeps writer's block away because he can move between different parts of his craft when one stalls.[13](https://www.dosagemagazine.com/chris-redd-at-punch-line-philly/) He cites Richard Pryor as a key influence, particularly Pryor's vulnerability and character work, and describes his own approach as narrative-driven, with characters and improvised jokes woven together.[9](https://www.dailyherald.com/20200105/lifestyle/napervilles-chris-redd-weighs-in-on-eddie-murphy-cory-booker-and-doing-stand-up/) His rap background remains part of the act; he freestyled in his *Popstar* audition, appears on that film's soundtrack, and continues to release music.[2](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/) • [14](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/chris-redd/848623501)
## References
1. [Chris Redd, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5412083/)
2. [A Force of Funny Shit – Chris Redd, official biography](https://iamchrisredd.com/bio/)
3. [Chris Redd, The Second City](https://www.secondcity.com/people/chris-redd)
4. [Chris Redd On Kanye, Leaving 'SNL,' And New Comedy Special, Uproxx](https://uproxx.com/filmtv/chris-redd-snl-kanye-hbo-special-interview/)
5. [Netflix resurrects "Pimp My Ride" concept, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2024/07/23/pimp-my-ride-netflix-resurrected-rides)
6. [Chris Redd, Laugh Factory](https://www.laughfactory.com/comedians/bio/ChrisRedd)
7. ['I Love What That Job Has Brought Me': Chris Redd On 'Saturday Night Live', The Second City, 'Deep Murder', CBS Chicago](https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chris-redd-saturday-night-live-the-second-city-interview/)
8. [Chris Redd aims to be a singular stand-up and 'SNL' team player, The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2019/03/13/chris-redd-aims-singular-stand-and-snl-team-player/8wiMDMtHIcVAnZFZeqTT0I/story.html)
9. [Naperville's Chris Redd weighs in on Eddie Murphy, Cory Booker and doing stand-up, Daily Herald](https://www.dailyherald.com/20200105/lifestyle/napervilles-chris-redd-weighs-in-on-eddie-murphy-cory-booker-and-doing-stand-up/)
10. [Chris Redd: News and Updates, TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/people/chris-redd-news-and-updates-tmz/)
11. [SNL and Kenan Standout Chris Redd Is Ready to Get All the Jobs, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/02/snl-and-kenan-standout-chris-redd-is-ready-to-get-all-the-jobs)
12. ['Bust Down' Creators Chris Redd, Sam Jay, Langston Kerman & Jak Knight, The ISA](https://www.networkisa.org/screenwriting-podcasts/view/5998/70)
13. [Chris Redd at Punch Line Philly, dosage MAGAZINE](https://www.dosagemagazine.com/chris-redd-at-punch-line-philly/)
14. [Chris Redd, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/chris-redd/848623501)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stand-up comedy and comedians › American stand-up comedians, contemporary › Stand-up comedians born 1980 onward › Surnames N to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license