We recently connected with Jasmyn Carter and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jasmyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I guess I kind of always knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally. I remember being a little girl and being envious of my big sister who could draw, rap, paint, play the piano and etc. I thought I didn’t have any talent. I started creating comedy content when I was in high school and I never stopped. I guess that was really when I realized I had talent. I didn’t know a creative path professionally was obtainable because nobody in my family was doing it or had did it in the past. Not to mention, the extreme stage fright paralyzed me. I went to see Beyonce on tour and I was there early and I said allowed: “I’m going to be so big that I will fill this stadium.” At the time, I didn’t know it was going to be stand up. After seeing Kevin Hart perform live and telling my boyfriend at the time I wanted to be an “entertainer,” and him looking at me like I was crazy, I knew then that I was definitely going to purse the arts.

Jasmyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Jasmyn Carter and I’m a stand up comedian from Cleveland, OH. I live in LA now. I started creating content online when I was in high school and it just grew from there. I would be in my college dorm making 7 skits a day. I would play multiple characters. It grew from there. I started making longer form comedy skits that eventually grew into web series etc. I started doing stand up a couple years after and the two skills started complimenting each other. I started to focus more on the acting side as time went on. I wanted my videos to not only be funny, but to be shocking and I wanted it to have a message. I wanted it to feel like TV. I think what sets me apart is my versatility. You come to my page, you don’t just get one style from me. I might be rapping one day, I might do a parody to something, I might do something you’ve never seen before. All while being myself or multiple characters. Not to mention, my acting is great. My storytelling abilities will have you wondering if I’m telling the truth or not. Which might I add, my material in stand up is very honest. I do not lie on stage when I tell jokes. Now a skit might have some exaggerations but it is rooted in truth. I believe my ability to make the hard honest truth funny, is truly a gift. I am most proud of my ability to grow and evolve with time. I’m proud that a lot of my old content, although I cringe at it, still holds up. I’m proud to have inspired others and keep pushing forward. I’m most proud of my podcast: “Cool Down w/ Jasmyn Carter” which combines comedy, fitness, martial arts, and mental health. I wanted it to feel different from any other podcast and it is. The main thing I want my followers and fans to know about me is that I have given and continue to give them all of me. I pour my heart in soul into the things I create and I am nothing without the support I’ve received over these years. I am super grateful and hopefully I feel more like a friend or family member to them other than someone they just follow.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

About October 2018, I started to feel , I don’t want to say sick, but basically I started losing the feeling on my right side of my body. Headaches were everyday, partial paralysis would visit me frequently. I couldn’t hold more than 10lbs without feeling faint. My speech started to be affected. I got into a car accident December 2018, in which my symptoms had worsen. I literally felt like I was going to die everyday. Jan 2019 I got diagnosed with Chiari Malformation, which is a condition where there isn’t enough room in the skull for the brain and the cerebellum sits on the spinal cord. Feb 2019 I had surgery to relieve, not cure there is no cure, the symptoms of Chiari Malformation and prevent further damage. That entire time I was suffering and recovering I still created content so that I wouldn’t be out of commission too long. I vlogged the entire process. I remember a couple days after I went home, I was at the comedy store with literal staples in my head. I would be performing, barely able to turn my neck, and still writing, filming, and editing my content to put online. I put out a comedy album 6 months after my surgery and it was on the Billboard top 10 at #10 for a week. Anything I was going through, I never stopped creating, I used it to drive me. Sickness, sadness, grief, it didn’t matter, I was going to create and I still do.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I aspire to be the best version of myself in everything I do, that is what keeps me going. I know there are people who are counting on me, I have children looking up to me to do great things. I know my city, Cleveland, OH believes in me and I do what I do for the small person who thinks that it’s impossible to achieve their dreams based on where they are from. I do it for the kids who’s sitting at the desks at Maple Heights High School, saying they want to be on TV one day. That was me not too long ago and I’ve been on TV multiple times. If I can do it. Anyone can do it. I do it for the shy people who just started doing stand up and their YouTube and TikTok pages hoping to get 1000 followers. I was once there saying “I’ll never hit 5000 followers.” Now I have over a million followers collectively across all social media platforms. I do it for the androgynous people who don’t think they are beautiful or have to be a certain way to get the respect or attention they deserve. I do it for those struggling with who they are. I did not pack up my bags in less than 48 hours and leave my entire family to not be who I know I’m destined to be. Everything I do is for ya’ll.. Oh yeah, and most of importantly, I do it for the guy who said: “Jasmyn isn’t worth $2000 if she had $2000 in her back pocket.” Well, honestly, he was right. I’m worth way more. I was born with $3 and 6 dimes. Do the math.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @__Jasmyn
• Facebook: Jasmyn Carter The Comedian
• Twitter: @KissMyJas
• Youtube: Jasmyn Carter
• TikTok: @Jasmyn_Carter

Image Credits
Louis Hamilton II Images