Last Comic Standing Winner Felipe Esparza Releases Third Album 'Translate This'

800 Pound Gorilla Records announces the June 15 release of Translate This, the highly-anticipated third album from Last Comic Standing season seven winner Felipe Esparza.

Previously available only on limited-edition vinyl, the new audio version of Esparza's 2017 debut HBO special is SiriusXM's June 1 Raw Dog Album of the Week. Translate This, recorded live at the San Jose Improv comedy club, tackles highly personal topics like immigration, social-class division, and Esparza's evolution from troubled single parent to proud stepfather.

"We have been following Felipe Esparza's stand-up and podcast for a while now," says 800 Pound Gorilla co-founder Damion Greiman. "His material is thoughtful, honest, and always hilarious. We are all excited to finally be working with him to release the audio from his HBO special."

During a stint in rehab before he was twenty-one, Felipe Esparza was asked to list five things he wanted out of life. As a young immigrant growing up in the projects of East L.A. and then as a teenage father with a drug and alcohol problem, it was a difficult task because he had never thought that far ahead.

From being raised in a family of nine living in the most gang-infested neighborhood in the country to selling out live comedy shows all over the country, Felipe's life has been anything but boring. He worked for years as an opener for fellow comedians such as Gabriel Iglesias and Paul Rodriguez, then took a leap of faith and went out on his own. After the sixteen-year "overnight success" of winning Last Comic Standing, Felipe went on to produce his first hour long stand-up comedy special, They're Not Gonna Laugh at You (now on Netflix). He has also made several TV appearances such as recurring roles on The ERIC ANDRE Show and NBC's Superstore, TruTV's World's Dumbest and Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at the El Rey, and was the spokesman for national Honda and Target Mobile campaigns.

Today, in addition to his live stand-up touring, Felipe hosts a weekly podcast on the All Things Comedy Network called What's Up Fool? that focuses on interesting stories from just about anybody. His second hour-long stand-up special, entitled Translate This, premiered on HBO September 30, 2017.

Founded in 2016, 800 Pound Gorilla Records distributes comedy albums to more than 100 digital retail partners in the United States, and an additional 300 partners in nearly 200 countries internationally. In addition to working with Spotted Dog Entertainment and the estate of Richard Pryor, 800 Pound Gorilla artists include George Lopez, Jim Jefferies, Kathleen Madigan, Demetri Martin, John Heffron, Ms. Pat, Maz Jobrani, Chad Daniels, and more. 800 Pound Gorilla Records comedians are regularly featured on Pandora's New Comedy Alerts as well as SiriusXM programming including Laugh USA's Comedian of the Month, Raw Dog's Album of the Week, and Kevin Hart's LOL Backstage.