Kid Fury
Fury with co-host Crissle West at a live taping of The Read podcast
Born
Gregory A. Smith[1]

(1987-11-24) November 24, 1987
Miami, Florida
NationalityJamaican American
Occupations
  • YouTube vlogger
  • podcaster
  • comedian
  • writer
Years active2009–present
Known forThe Read

Gregory A. Smith (born November 24, 1987), known professionally as Kid Fury, is an American YouTube vlogger, comedian, and writer. He is best known as the co-host of podcast The Read, with Crissle West.

Early life

Kid Fury was born and raised in Miami, Florida, where his parents emigrated from Jamaica.[2] He has two younger brothers.[2] He enjoyed comedy from a young age and especially liked In Living Color, Martin and Moesha.[2]

Career

YouTube vlogs

Kid Fury launched a YouTube channel in 2010 where he hosted a vlog series called Furious Thoughts.[3][4] At the time of the launch he also had a comedy blog and created the YouTube account to drive traffic to his blog.[2] His videos featured comedic, unfiltered takes on pop culture and his real life and attracted a large, diverse audience. The New York Observer called him "Black Twitter's Kingmaker", and Ebony's Jamilah Lemieux compared him to Eddie Murphy.[5]

Kid Fury moved to New York City in 2012.[2][3] As of July 2013, his videos had over 10 million views.[5] In 2016, he told NBC: "As a person of color and gay man, it is three times as hard to get opportunities in this industry, so I am doing my best to create my own...I'm building my business instead of waiting for others to give me the keys."[3]

The Read

In 2011, Kid Fury met future collaborator Crissle West, who later moved to New York City in 2013. Chris Morrow approached Fury about doing a podcast with Morrow's then-startup podcasting company, the Loud Speakers Network.[6] Fury asked West to join him and they named the podcast The Read.[7] As of January 2019, The Read was averaging 400,000 listeners per episode.[8][9] In 2019, the podcast's television adaptation, The Read with Kid Fury and Crissle West, premiered on Fuse.

Television work

In 2016, Kid Fury put on a live version of his show that consisted largely of stand-up comedy, called "Furious Thoughts Live".[3][8] He also appeared as a supporting character in the second season of Dear White People.[10]

In July 2018, it was announced that Kid Fury was developing a television show for HBO with executive producer Lena Waithe.[1] The project is described as a "surreal dark comedy" that will follow a gay Black man in his twenties, navigating life in New York City with depression.[1] Kid Fury met producer Chloe Pisello of Avalon Television, who enjoyed the pitch and helped him shop the show around to several networks. Eventually, they signed a deal with HBO.[2]

Kid Fury is a staff writer for the Miami-set HBO Max series Rap Sh!t.[11] He also appeared in two episodes of the show's first season.

Personal life

Fury is openly gay. In an interview with HuffPost, he stated, "I want people to understand that being black and gay is so different than just being gay...Black women get overlooked in the fight for women all of the time, so there's I think a similar thing that happens in the gay community with black gays."[2]

He is noted for advocating for Missy Elliott to receive MTV's VMA Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award on The Read. Elliott received the award in 2019 and thanked Kid Fury and West for drumming up support during her acceptance speech.[12][13]

Accolades

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2014 Shorty Awards Best YouTube Star Himself Won
Black Weblog Awards Best Podcast The Read Won [14]
2019 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Best Multi-Cultural Podcast Nominated [15]
2020 Best Podcast of the Year Nominated [16]
Best Comedy Podcast Nominated
Shorty Awards Best Podcasters Kid Fury and Crissle Nominated [17]
2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Best Comedy Podcast The Read Won [18]
Best Pop Culture Podcast Nominated [19]
2022 Queerty Awards Best Podcast Nominated [20]
2023 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Arts and Entertainment Podcast Pending [21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Otterson, Joe (30 July 2018). "Kid Fury to Develop HBO Comedy Series With Lena Waithe Producing (EXCLUSIVE)". www.variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Finley, Taryn (February 4, 2019). "We Built This: Kid Fury's Brutal Honesty Is What Will Actually Make America Great". HuffPost.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Moodie-Mills, Danielle (February 24, 2016). "#NBCBLK28: Kid Fury: Telling The Furious Truth". NBC BLK. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Smith, Jada F. (2016-01-15). "Kid Fury of 'The Read': From Digital Realm to the Stage". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  5. 1 2 Sands, Darren (24 July 2013). "The Kid Stays in the Picture: Kid Fury's Journey From YouTuber to Black Twitter Kingmaker". New York Observer. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Locke, Charley (June 29, 2016). "Live Tapings Are Helping Make Podcasts A Little Less … White". Wired. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Lopez, Linette (December 16, 2013). "How 2 Friends Started The Most Hilarious Podcast Of The Year By Being Brutally Honest". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  8. 1 2 Smith, Jada F. (15 January 2016). "Kid Fury of 'The Read': From Digital Realm to the Stage". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. ↑ McDonald, Soraya Nadia (14 November 2013). "Q&A: 'The Read's' Kid Fury and Crissle West". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Bowen, Sesali. "Why This Dear White People Lesbian Narrative Is So Important". www.refinery29.com. Refinery 29. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Tinubu, Aramide A. "6 Things We Learned About Issa Rae's 'Rap Sh!t,' Including If It Is Really A City Girls Origin Story [ABFF 2022]". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  12. ↑ McDermott, Maeve. "Did Missy Elliott just give the VMAs' best performance of all time?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  13. ↑ Ifeanyi, K. C. (2019-08-27). "This podcast helped Missy Elliott finally get her MTV VMA Vanguard Award". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  14. ↑ Sachs, Adam (July 13, 2015). "The Read's Crissle West on Making a Living with Podcasting". The Wolf Den. Midroll. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ "iHeartRadio Podcast Awards 2019 Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. January 18, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  16. ↑ "iHeartRadio Podcast Awards 2020 Winners Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. January 17, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  17. ↑ Perelli, Amanda (January 21, 2020). "Exclusive: The full list of nominees for the Shorty Awards, including Jeffree Star, Sophie Turner, and Baby Yoda Sipping Tea". Business Insider. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  18. ↑ Spangler, Todd (January 22, 2021). "2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Winners: 'Office Ladies' Wins Podcast of the Year". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  19. ↑ "iHeartRadio Podcast Awards: Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey's 'Office Ladies' Tops Nominees (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. December 8, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Podcast / The Queerty Awards". Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  21. ↑ "2023 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: See the Full List | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
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