STAND BY YOUR TRUTH

A part memoir, part testimonial, and part life guide from Rickey Smiley, a Steve Harvey-mentored comedian, nationally-syndicated radio show host of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, and television star of TV One’s The Rickey Smiley Show and Rickey Smiley For Real.
“I’m very passionate about everything that I do and I don’t play any games. I just keep it honest. I don’t put on airs. That’s the only way you can be. If you tell one lie, you’ve got to tell another lie. I’m cool with who I am. What you see is what you get.’’

Stand-up comic. Single dad. Radio personality. TV star. Prankster. Producer. Community activist. Man of faith.

Visit a church, comedy club, college campus, or barber shop, and you’ll find few people who aren’t familiar with, or fans of, Rickey Smiley. At least four million listeners in over eighty markets tune in every weekday morning to hear him banter with his radio show crew, hilariously prank call an unsuspecting listener, and perform skits etched by his one-man cast of characters including “Lil’ Darryl,’’ “Beauford,’’ and “Joe Willie.’’

But in between the rapid-fire jokes, hip-hop beats, and celebrity dish are flashes of how Rickey views the world, from the challenges of raising children, to the importance of education, to the need to always stand in your own truth. After more than two decades in the spotlight, Rickey is finally ready to delve more deeply into the opinions he voices ever-so-briefly on the air, riffing on those issues that his listeners, viewers, and fans find most important. STAND BY YOUR TRUTH is part memoir, a part testimonial, and part life guide, mixing Rickey’s down-home humor with the values he learned from being raised by three generations of elders, steeped in the Baptist church, and mentored by some of the most celebrated comics in the entertainment industry today.


Rickey Smiley is an American stand-up comedian, television host, actor, and radio personality, known for his prank phone calls. Smiley jumpstarted his career by opening for comic greats, including Steve Harvey and George Wallace. He has starred in the sitcom The Rickey Smiley Show which aired on TV One, is a featured columnist on the Fox-produced tabloid show Dish Nation, and in 2015 started starring on Rickey Smiley for Real, a reality television series about his life as a single dad and entertainer, airing on TV One. He is currently the host of the nationally syndicated radio show Rickey Smiley Morning Show, and has released 8 chart-topping comedy CDs. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his family.