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The Lucas Brothers continue their rise in the comedy world

Kenny and Keith Lucas both dropped out of law school to pursue comedy together, which has clearly paid off. 
Kenny and Keith Lucas both dropped out of law school to pursue comedy together, which has clearly paid off.  Photo Credit: Getty Images / Drew Angerer

The Lucas Brothers’ 2017 comedy special “On Drugs” may have felt like the first formal introduction of the twins on a national stage, but the duo has been involved in comedy projects stretching back to when they were both still in law school, taking to the stage for their first stand-up show together in 2009. Then there was “Lucas Bros. Moving Co.,” an animated show on Fox, a sketch show on TruTV, and even a web series on Comedy Central’s site.

Now, with co-starring roles in an upcoming project alongside Jermaine Fowler and Lil Rel Howery, and their own script in development, the chances to see them in smaller comedy rooms may be fleeting.

amNewYork caught up with the identical twin brothers ahead of their Brooklyn gig this Friday.

Pulling out of law school for a career in stand-up seems … risky. Why did you do it?

Kenny: I would say it was our third year of law school, and we were coming up on the end of it. I was having some misgivings about the occupation and the amount of time I’d have to give to it, and if I really had the passion to be a lawyer. I lived in New York, so I was so close to comedy clubs, and I would go there to let go of my stress. So, I thought, “Why not try comedy? I’m always here. Let’s give it a shot.” I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t give it a shot. I had to convince [Keith] to join me in my insanity.

Keith: Yup. I don’t know why I listened to him. It worked out in the end, but at the time it was a little crazy.

Have either of you written a joke for one of your other projects that you wish you had kept for yourself?

Keith: You think about it in retrospect, you can probably make that claim, but when you’re doing it in real time, I can’t think of a joke I would have wanted to do for our stand-up. You got anything, Kenny?

Kenny: There are jokes that are certainly portable, but the nature of the medium sort of dictates the form of the joke. If it’s a film, or animation, it’ll probably get delivered differently. Especially on stage, our characters are the closest to our most authentic selves, so the way we deliver our jokes tend to be more natural for us than how we’d say it in the movie. Like in “22 Jump Street” — we don’t talk at the same time, but the joke only works if we talk at the same time. I think with stand-up it’s different.

You spend some time taking justified shots at Deion Sanders’ brief rap “career.” But who is the better athlete/rapper: Neon Deion or Shaquille O’Neal?

Kenny: Because we share a hometown [Newark, New Jersey] with Shaq, our loyalties are firmly behind him. He’s one of the greatest centers to play basketball, and he’s one of the greatest rappers to ever live.

Keith: I don’t think there’s much of a comparison. Shaq actually rapped with Biggie, with Method Man. Deion is just a joke when it comes to rapping. He’s a great football player, a Hall of Famer, but his rap career is laughable, if I had to give a review.

If you go: The Lucas Brothers perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at The Bell House, 149 Seventh St., Gowanus, thebellhouseny.com, $25.