We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kymbra Li a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kymbra , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
I’ve always been misunderstood and the difference now that I’m older is that I don’t fight with people to try and make them get me. I am a very direct, real, open and honest person and with the current state of the world, it seems people would rather be lied to than hear the truth, so people will label me ‘rude’ when I’m simply stating a fact. It’s like if your dad is Charles Manson, and I say your father was a murderer, you will get mad at me for being rude- instead of getting mad at your father for being a psycho!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started my creative endeavors in China 8 years ago and now after Covid I’ve landed back in my hometown of New Orleans where I run my own production company, MILKDIT CONCEPTS. I made the switch from being a law professor to becoming a standup comic and rapper, and now after 8 years I finally have a viral hit web series called Uber Risk Parody, which has garnered over 15 million views across platforms. I play Susan Seezer, a crackhead Uber driver who doesn’t ever brush her hair and is always trying to charge her passengers extra for things like using the seatbelt or air conditioning. This series was so successful it has led to me creating 3 ‘Risky’ spinoff series – Risky Eats, Risky Jokey and Risky Bars, which explores cuisines from different cultures, and shines a spotlight on new comics and rappers in my city, respectively.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I got kicked out of China during Covid and lost everything I ever owned. They shut the borders and refused to let foreigners in the country. I was forced to start all over from scratch again! And this isn’t even the first time! Life has a strange way of giving you things and then taking them away just as quickly ! It’s not the fumble that counts, it’s the recovery ! It’s about how you bounce back. And I’m bouncing back stronger than ever !
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I like to make people laugh. It’s particularly fun when a stage bit isn’t working, and I take the bit to a different medium- like sketch , and then it works magnificently. Breathing new life into old material has been the most rewarding for me lately along with seeing how the audience is responding to my work and this year alone I’ve been nominated for several awards- most recently my music video No Teeth was selected for the Lift Off Film Festival in Paris.
Contact Info:
- Website: Kymbrali.com
- Instagram: @uberrisk
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100074101645616&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kymbrali
- Other: TikTok @kymbra_li
Image Credits
@Mel9Vinn @Medussa_Traprock @Keiana.J @underdogcentral