FREMONT — Kabir “Kabeezy” Kanhaya Singh’s friends and fellow comics remember him as a natural talent — someone with untold potential who could hilariously command any room he stepped into.
Singh, who grew up in Fremont, died Dec. 4 at the age of 39, just under four weeks shy of his 40th birthday.
His sister, Sonya Singh, told NBC News that he died in his sleep in Pleasanton, after his mother found him unconscious at home. According to the report, Singh had congenital heart disease and previously had two surgeries due to the condition.
Singh most recently performed a set of shows in early November at Deaf Puppy Comedy Club in Manteca for a sold-out crowd, according to his Facebook page. His first show ever was in the early 2000s at Mission Pizza & Pub in Fremont, according to his close friend and Palestinian American comic Sammy Obeid. The two attended Mission San Jose High School in Fremont at the same time, with Obeid graduating in 2002 and Singh in 2003.
They knew of each other in school, but didn’t become friends until a few years later when Singh decided he wanted to do standup comedy and Obeid, who booked and performed shows locally at the time, had an open slot.
“He was very funny instantly. He did very well that first night. He made a lot of people laugh. He was just very naturally funny,” Obeid said in an interview. “I definitely saw the potential for him to become a comedian, so I encouraged him as much as possible.”
Singh was “very self-deprecating” and “did a lot of stuff about being Indian” but also covered topics of dating, family and his childhood in Fremont, Obeid added.
Locally, Singh’s claim to fame was his audition for America’s Got Talent in 2021, where in 90 seconds won the approval of celebrity judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel. He joked about serial killers, his Indian mother being a snitch, the quarantine era of the Covid-19 pandemic and his struggle to pay his phone bill.
All four judges unanimously passed him onto the next round. He would advance through the show’s 16th season to become a semi-finalist.
Even though Obeid said the Bay Area is a tough region for standup comics, Singh was always “magnetic” in the rooms he performed. He was a regular act at clubs and bars in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and elsewhere.
“He was a natural. He had the ability to make anything funny” Obeid said.
Obeid had planned to see Singh for his upcoming 40th birthday and was stunned to hear his friend died.
“First I was in disbelief, and I texted him,” Obeid said. “Then people confirmed it, and I was pretty devastated.”
Singh put out several comedy specials, won several other local comedy competitions and contributed to major TV network programs such as Family Guy, Gabriel Iglesias’s Stand Up Revolution, Punchline and several others.
Ato Walker, a comic from San Jose who knew Singh through Obeid, said he remembered Singh “was always nice. He was just one of those guys you kind of root for him.”
“I like to say he was always on the cusp of getting that great push that every comic wants to be a national or international comic figure. I think he was on the cusp of that always,” Walker said. “Kabir is a Bay Area comedy legend and his impact in our community was wide and far.”
Singh is survived by his mother, Anita K. Singh, and two sisters, Malini Kishen Singh and Sonya Kulbir Singh. His father, Kulbir Singh, died in 2009.
A memorial service is planned for Singh on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., followed by a witnessed cremation at 11:15 a.m. at Chapel of the Chimes Reflection Chapel at 32992 Mission Blvd. in Hayward.