Desus Nice
{{short description|American comedian}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox comedian
| name = Desus Nice
| image = File:Desus Nice, June 2018.png
| image_size =
| caption = Desus Nice in June 2018
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Daniel Baker
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|5|18}}{{cite magazine |last1=Vozick-Levinson |first1=Simon |title=Out to Lunch With Desus and Mero, Comedy's Bronx Bombers |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/desus-mero-showtime-bodega-boys-new-show-782306/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=February 4, 2019 |access-date=13 May 2019}}{{notinsource|date=November 2019}}
| birth_place = The Bronx, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| medium = {{flatlist |
- Television
- Podcast
- YouTube
}}
| active = 2013–present
| genre = {{flatlist |
}}
| subject = {{flatlist |
}}
| influenced shout our Trevor Anthony on the next show =
| spouse =
| domesticpartner =
| education = College of Mount Saint Vincent
| notable_work = {{Plainlist |
- Desus vs. Mero
- Bodega Boys
- Joking Off
- Guy Code
- Desus & Mero (2016–18)
- Desus & Mero (2019–2022)
}}
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Daniel Baker (born May 18, 1981), known professionally as Desus Nice ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|iː|z|ə|s|_|ˈ|n|aɪ|s}}), is an American television, YouTube, and Twitter personality.
He rose to prominence alongside The Kid Mero, with whom he worked as comedy partners for over a decade; they first collaborated on Complex TV's Desus vs. Mero podcast (2013–2014)[http://www.fastcocreate.com/3040940/how-guy-code-became-a-comedy-breeding-ground How "Guy Code" Became A Comedy Breeding Ground]. Fastcocreate.com (January 14, 2015). Retrieved on 2016-09-07.[http://noisey.vice.com/blog/a-conversation-between-itsthereal-and-the-kid-mero A Conversation Between Itsthereal And The Kid Mero]. Noisey.vice.com (April 2, 2013). Retrieved on 2016-09-07.[http://www.hollywire.com/2015/03/desus-mero-talk-about-new-show-joking-and-how-they-met Desus & Mero Talk About New Show "Joking Off" And How They Met!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710081048/http://www.hollywire.com/2015/03/desus-mero-talk-about-new-show-joking-and-how-they-met |date=July 10, 2015 }} Hollywire. July 8, 2015 followed by their long-running Bodega Boys podcast (2015–2022). Beginning in 2016, he was the co-host of the talk shows Desus & Mero on Viceland and, subsequently, Desus & Mero on Showtime (2019–2022).{{cite web |last1=Petski |first1=Denise |title='Desus & Mero' Late-Night Show Gets February Premiere Date On Showtime |url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/desus-mero-late-night-show-premiere-date-showtime-1202511383 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130123049/https://deadline.com/2018/11/desus-mero-late-night-show-premiere-date-showtime-1202511383/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |website=Deadline |access-date=March 19, 2019 |date=November 29, 2018}}
Early life
Baker was born on May 18, 1981, in The Bronx, New York City, to Jamaican immigrant parents.{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEBhC7MruAQ|title=Desus & Mero Answer the Web's Most Searched Questions|date=September 21, 2020|type=video|publisher=Wired|minutes=8:08-8:57|quote="Where do I live? It's no big deal – the greatest borough in the world in the greatest city in the wold – BX all day! [I was] born here. My parents came here from Jamaica [and] landed in the Bronx... [on East 233rd Street]."}} He was raised in the Wakefield section of The Bronx with his three siblings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BgFmCbsBBZE/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BgFmCbsBBZE |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |url-access=registration|title=Desus Nice on Instagram: "Came here to America with nothing. Put 4 kids thru college while earning her masters degree. Refuses to accept boney goat meat. Shouts to…"|website=Instagram|language=en|access-date=2019-11-12}}{{cbignore}} Growing up, his mother was the senior librarian at the New York Public Library's Soundview Library branch.{{Citation|title=Notes from the Reading Life with Desus Nice and Rebecca Carroll at the Bronx Library Center| date=June 26, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ZogsjvmLA|language=en|access-date=2019-11-12}} His father is a landlord.{{Citation|title=Desus Nice & The Kid Mero on Their Parents, Making Money & New Show| date=January 31, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyJB4kBh3PU|language=en|access-date=2019-11-12}}
Baker attended the nearby Pablo Casals Middle School in Co-op City, where he met Chris Hayes in the gifted program,{{cite tweet|number=503723372938022912|user=chrislhayes|title=@JCinMD @desusnice IS 181. Name was...|date=August 25, 2014}} before going on to attend Herbert H. Lehman High School. He earned a degree in Literature from the College of Mount Saint Vincent.{{Citation|title=Desus and Mero Take a Lie Detector Test {{!}} Vanity Fair| date=May 20, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB79ZgPPndo|language=en|access-date=2019-11-16}}
Baker enjoyed working with computers from a young age. His ability to fix his family's computer during his childhood earned him the nickname "Jesus", which he changed to Desus to reflect his first name.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/magazine/how-desus-mero-conquered-late-night.html|title=How 'Desus & Mero' Conquered Late Night|last=Hughes|first=Jazmine|date=2018-06-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-14|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
He worked several jobs before joining Black Enterprise as a small business columnist, where he remained until 2014 before leaving to pursue a career in television.Weiner, Jonah [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-desus-and-kid-mero-went-from-twitter-cranks-to-comedys-hottest-duo-20150331 How Desus and Kid Mero Went From Twitter Cranks to Comedy's Hottest Duo] Rolling Stone. July 8, 2015
Career
In December 2014, MTV announced that Desus Nice and The Kid Mero would be joining the cast of Guy Code for season 5, along with eleven other new cast members.[https://web.archive.org/web/20141226001015/http://www.mtv.com/news/2026370/guy-code-season-5-new-members/ ‘Guy Code’ Returns For Season 5 With 13 New Cast Members]. Mtv.com (December 15, 2014). Retrieved on 2016-09-07.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150215033136/http://www.vh1.com/celebrities/kid-mero/#cast=guy_code The Kid Mero on MTV2's Guy Code]. Vh1.com (February 9, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-09-07. They appeared on the first episode of season 5 which aired on January 14, 2015. After building a relationship with MTV and MTV2, Desus and Mero appeared on other shows including Uncommon Sense and Joking Off.[http://www. zmtv.com/shows/guy_code/video/full-episodes/ MTV2's Guy Code season 5] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050411002813/http://www |date=April 11, 2005 }}
On September 12, 2015, Desus along with co-host The Kid Mero released the first episode of their Bodega Boys podcast. They recorded their comedic takes on all things pop culture weekly at Red Bull Studios New York for several years before making the move to the "jam room" in Milk Studios.
On August 30, 2016, Viceland announced Desus & Mero which premiered on October 17, 2016. The half-hour show ran Monday through Thursday hosted by the Bronx-reared comedic duo.[https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/viceland-desus-and-mero-late-night-eddie-huang-1201848032/ Viceland Sets Late-Night Talk Show, New Series Orders and Eddie Huang Renewal]. Variety.com (August 30, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-09-12.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160927124405/http://deadline.com/2016/09/desus-mero-premiere-date-desus-nice-the-kid-mero-bodega-boys-viceland-1201826429/ Viceland’s ‘Desus & Mero’ Gets Showrunner & Premiere Date]. Deadline.com (September 26, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-11-29. Its finale aired on June 28, 2018. Desus co-hosted Desus & Mero, which premiered on February 21, 2019, on Showtime and ran until June 2022.
In 2023 he was a guest host of The Daily Show.
Personal life
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2013–2014
|rowspan="6"| Himself |rowspan = "8"|With The Kid Mero |
| rowspan="2"| 2015
| Guy Code |
| Joking Off |
| 2015–2022
|Bodega Boys |
| 2015–2016 |
| 2016–2018 |
| 2017
| Gottlieb (voice role) |
| 2019–2022
| Himself |
| rowspan="3" | 2022
| The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | College KG Leibowitz-Jenkins (voice role) | Episode: "When You Wish Upon a Roker" |
| The Captain
| Himself | Sports documentary |
| Jimmy Kimmel Live!
|Himself (Guest host) |Episode: August 15 |
| 2023
|Himself (Guest host) |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desus}}
Category:American male comedians
Category:American people of Jamaican descent
Category:Comedians from the Bronx
Category:University of Mount Saint Vincent alumni
Category:Late night television talk show hosts
Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners
Category:People from Wakefield, Bronx