Questlove SupremeEstablished as a king of comedy and a leader in film, television, and hosting, Cedric The Entertainer has added novelist to his resume. Cedric speaks about his debut novel Flipping Boxcars, his career journey, as well as the origins of his latest pivot in a funny and thoughtful episode of Questlove Supreme.
Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio.
Word Word, What's up? Right up?
What's going on? What's going on?
Hey good, I'm good. I saw you guys the other night that was lit.
You was there, Yeah, yeah, l a yeah those our Okay. That was my first time at the former and I enjoyed that.
Oh yeah, yeah, I did it.
Uh.
I did it in May with the tour we was on that was I hadn't been. I had actually did it one other time with me and Georgia and all that. But it's a great performance venue.
Yeah, it's ready to be in a venue which there's not bouncing sounding on us.
Yeah, it's specific exactly.
We can introduce ourselves to say, I'm.
Like, yeah, how you doing, like yeah, yeah, the work it worked them out.
Yeah, there get all of them. It's a live.
Man.
We met a few times.
We uh, I think I brought my family backstage and you guys went in Raleigh.
This was a couple of years ago when you and Eddie and George I was doing y'all tour and you I think you went Pool y'all played.
I think you when Pool was doing just do something with sports together something from those Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, that's right. We had one of those.
Football things together. We was all in yeah, like ship and Steve just rolled the joint though.
What yeah, probably did.
Yeah, I just rolled ten joints.
It's his birthday.
Say let's go, let's go.
Nice to me, yes, sir, Congratulations on your book.
Man.
It's nice to see all these Saint Louis references in here. I got a mama from there.
Word okay, yeah, yeah, really really happy with the way it turned down and everything, so super excited about it.
It looked like it's gonna be on somebody's stage or screen, and it's yeah.
Yeah, it's got definitely got all the elements of being a great story.
Actually, that's kind of where I started it.
I started writing the writing a TV show idea, and then it and then the book.
Opportunity came so so dope. Man.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, the summer is over. I hope you guys thrived and uh and did well.
Uh.
There is another episode of Quest Love Supreme from yours Quest Love. We have our team Supreme's with us. Take a little bro.
What's up man, a working man working? How is your summer?
My summer was was hot?
I think I realized this summer, my favorite season really is fall. I think I only like summer as a kid because there was no school. Summer as an adult, it's fucking hot.
I've had this ship cuz over fall got but I mean, but the summer it was cool.
I didn't get to cook as much as I wanted to because it was just it was just that hot.
It was too crazy. But uh but no, we had a time man and the family too.
You have an outdoor set up and you crip, oh yeah, oh.
Yeah, I got my got my the big green egg. I do it on that. And you know that's doubly where I do all my all my cooking outside my grilling.
But you ain't a real griller if you ain't got that egg. I heard that's like a thing.
No, I mean, it's it's official.
But I mean, listen, I hadn't seen dudes get busy in a file cabinet before.
So you know what I mean, if you.
Got the skill to do it, you know what I mean.
I wanted to talk barbecue. We'll get into I want to talk barbecue to Sig because I know you an Anthony.
Y'all got your thing too, So but yeah man, Uh yeah, someone was cool.
Someone was cool?
Word up. That's right, Steve.
You remember we used to put out the deluxe George Foreman grill on the patio.
No, we had a real barbecue, but the Foreman with Sandy definitely handy.
I missed my former grill. Man, it's probably still on that patio. I've left the house like sixteen years ago. I bet you're still out there. I was just talking, Steve, What's what's going on?
Bro Man?
Just like Fanta is a lot a lot of work, a lot of projects. Got the record label NonStop or just did our twenty third record on JMI and uh twenty three records, twenty three records, Yeah, last Man six six label.
Real.
You guys remember when it started, right around time Quest Lop Supreme started.
Yeah?
Ray every one was the first one, wasn't it was that.
A second second one?
Yeah?
It's like ten really angry albums later.
Yeah, well he our He's our flagship artist for sure, Okay, and a lot of good stuff coming out.
Yeah cool? Why are you? How goes it?
Uh?
It goes well? Much like Fante. It was a hot summer, especially because this was my first Parry summer. So that was an experience, Harry.
Oh Fellas. So let me tell you.
Parimenopause is the stuft that happens before menopause.
It could pop off.
At like, you know, thirty five, starting the age of thirty five. Mine happened a little later. And that's just when you get all the sheets from the mintopause. All your things are still rolling. You know, your body's still doing things. Maybe not as often. You know, I'd be partying for fifty days without a situation. But yeah, if you look at me now, there's a glow.
She's saying every day summer for you.
Every day summer, every day.
Shout out to your bandmate Kamal, who wanted to make that known to everyone yesterday.
I'm still gonna kick his ass.
What did he do?
Oh no, he just didn't announce that.
I had my menopause fan in my hand, and I was like, it is, but let me tell my story.
No, no, no, no, he only knews that because I can attest that Kamal Tarique and maybe two other routes also had their fans in there. There's a thing that you plug into your iPhone and yeah, it cools you off. And yeah, we're up there. Then this this is the summer in which I felt whatever the equivalent of preschool is to being a senior citizen.
That was the summer the Force Dog.
This was not a music tour, this was this was Camp j This is literally g I Jane.
Oh, please tell us something to me or just tell us something.
No, like Ella wasn't having it like we've been. I probably lost an additional fifteen pounds like he has working out lifting weights, like getting cupping every night, and similar to the spot to get yo, I need you all relax man, getting drips oxygen tanks like ll is I mean not like major pain level of drill sergeant, but like you don't take that.
You he looks phenomenal, so you know that it's got to be a lot to make that happen.
Well, yeah, it's it's definitely an osmosis effect that's been happening.
So you know, four more gigs left.
But I will say this is one of the hardest summers of my life. Like and I had to do no running, none of that stuff. Like I mean, you've seen this so like the it's had to you've seen us injured like you saw thayus jumping with one leg and.
And it was the wettest I ever seen you. You got on stage, you was like soaked. I was like, that's not like you. You do this like it's nothing.
Three and a half hours. Well, you saw short show that was just like three hours on the news. But normally it's like three and a half hours. Back where I belong, sitting in the chair, talking and not moving is where I'm the happiest. So again, I will say that longtime listeners of the show should know how much we love focusing on career pivots. All of us have reached our pivot where we were one thing when the show for starting, now where you know, multi hyphenated doing other things. And I will say that our guests this week is absolutely all about that. You know as probably one of the biggest stand ups in all of comedy, and he has pivot to become a fixture on his television, film actor stage. We know him first for comedy and then you know, if you're if you're fans with Comic View and def Comedy Jam and in the prime time Emmy Awards, you know our guests, but you know he's also executive produced shows and create opportunities for so many other comedians and actors in his wake. But also I will say that our guest tonight, he's sort of expanding.
His palat a little bit.
And he is a novelist and his first novel, Flipping Box Cars, is currently out, and he's joined us to talk about his life, his career and his many pivots. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the one and only.
You're ready for your next black people have.
Wait, So this is what you don't know.
Said Okay, So I without alienating my position with one of my jobs with the Roots now fifteen years at that job, we kind of have a short list of the types of a guest that get to the couch, but we have a top five list of people who are our snooze city. Like yeah, like give it like when you see it on television, it's perfectly edit it.
It's nice.
But these are like eighteen minute story like the equivalent of me in real life on the show. And it's to the point now where all three of your ad libs, uh like literally your ad libs are triggered on my computer to the right. And that's what I used to sometimes make fun of guests on the show. So you know, if you happen to see us laughing from the couch and you didn't say anything funny.
Yeah, yeah, fuck.
No, that's one of my favorite bits.
Man.
I love that. How are you doing, bro?
I'm good, brother, I'm doing everything well. Man, it's good.
Whatever are you in the car right now?
Yeah?
Man? I was actually out with my wife.
What's up with every black guest that we have? Hey do their interview in the car? This is where it's where it's uh.
Soundproof and whatnot? Where are you calling us from?
I'm in I'm actually at the nail shop.
So my wife wanted me to come to come to the nail shop with her.
And then I was like, oh.
I was like, our anniversary was Sunday, so I've been like just anniversarying it up with her, like so each day whatever she wants to do.
And I, you know, I was like, babe, I got.
This interview and she was like, come, it's gonna be fast, and of course it's not. She and they're getting jailed toes and dips, they dipping it.
It's all kind.
I said, I gotta go to the car and do this interview.
So it's long enough for you to do a podcast.
Yeah, if she getting jail on the toes and the hands, yes, yeah, no.
Wait, yeah can I can? I ask you guys for advice. So, at what point in the relationship do you realize that you shouldn't do too much at the beginning, because then you'll have to maintain that level of excellence throughout the entire relationship, Like when February is looking around? Yeah, do y'all feel like the pressure of God gotta Yeah.
You can easily put yourself in to your point, you can put yourself in bad situations and depending on the person you you're dating.
Right, My wife is not really big on her.
Birthday, but her anniversary that.
Means much to her. So anniversaries are things that I gotta go hard on.
Valentine's Day is something that she's as long as I pay attention and don't forget we good. But like you know, but like Thanksgiving, Chris, anything to do with the kids, like the kids gotta be like their birthdays and what we do to celebrate them or I need to be very concerned. Learned about that as a man, which is you know, in most cases, I am not I'd be like yoh.
When was these little kids born again?
Like I don't know, Okay, they are all old and stuff now I'm looking at them like I don't know who your birthday is?
Bro.
Okay I was about to say after twenty three my dad stopped acknowledging my birthday.
So yeah, yeah, it's like, bro, like, come on, man, come on down, like sleut oh yeah, I'll be doing my son like that, my man, every birthday, bro, Like that's it.
You know, you're.
No longer a little dude where I got to get the cake and throw the Lakers birthday party for you and all that stuff.
You know, like you know how old are your kids now?
Man?
Man, my son's going to be twenty three in the end of September, and my daughter will be twenty in November. And I got an older daughter that's thirty four and a granddaughter that's seven.
Wow. So yeah, and you and your wife y'all got twenty years? Is this twenty fail?
Yeah? Twenty four twenty four four?
If?
Yeahful?
Congratulations? What's what's you're seeing? I'm always looking for advice. What's what's the secret to keep me in alive?
I mean, I mean, I mean we really enjoy each other. I think that was the main.
Thing, is to really kind of keep your wife as your girlfriend, you know, try to keep that part of it alive, you know, so that you don't get into playing those kind of traditional roles and get you know, everybody just kind of like playing the game of marriage. So we still like date a lot and have fun together and laugh a lot and have our own inside stuff.
And it's important.
Even when we was raising the kids, we still like you know, made it, you know, made our relationship about us, and you know, the parenting part of it was again a part of the overall system. But never was it all about like, oh, you know, we just gonna be mama and daddy and not you ain't gonna be my girl.
You know what I'm saying. You got to be my girl too. So I think that's the key.
That's what's up.
I've never had an in depth conversation with any of the kings of comedy. And yeah, you know, I've seen many you know, like a documentary on like the comedy act theory and all those things, but I know that a lot of you've gotten your start out I'm assuming like in the Midwest then making that way out west. So just in general, I want to know, like where does your where does humor play in your life? Like were you always the class clown? Were you always making people laugh? Like how whenber you at what point on the timeline were you mark where your journey starts with comedy?
I'm gonna say you know probably that you know that that seventh seventh grade lunch room cafeterias area where we all kind of start to identify ourselves as a you know, like your own personality, but you know you also got to stand up against you know, the uh, the larger group, right. And I came from a small town at that time. I used to live in a little small town called Ruthersville, Missouri, and moved to Saint Louis, So I'll it was like the kind of the new kid. But you know, I lived in the household my single parent alshold me and my mom. But like my uncle was and my cousins, they was funny. Like I got like one uncle that's just was one of these funny personalities, just always said funny things.
And I think that that was you know that.
Place where you see it, you see it, that environment where you like, you know, somebody that's always gonna walk in the room and everybody can't wait till he get there because he's gonna say something crazy.
And he had a hundred of them.
And so I think that even my style of comedy is more like you know, somebody, you know, like somebody like more conversational in in my delivery.
More like an uncle or a cousin.
And then I had to learn how to put it on stage, you know, you know, in a formulated pattern way. But but I still still more or less write jokes and come with my jokes from a point of view of like slice of life, like what I would say in a circumstance.
At this point in.
Your career, how do you work stuff out?
I mean because you you know, you've done stadiums and stuff, so yeah, go to just kind of you know, when you need to work your ideas out. Yeah, I got a couple of comedy clubs I like to work out, usually up north, Like I'll go up to you know, like Sacramento, you know that kind of area, or it's a little club outside of Oakland. That's one of my favorite clubs to go workout is in Pleasanton, California. So I would go in there and just you know, do multiple shows, and that's usually where I'm trying to like write jokes and try new things out.
But I'll also do it on the big stage. You know.
I've kind of gotten to the point where if I think I know what the joke is, I'll just do it like right there in front of people, like just try it.
Okay, answer this question to me about or how they would at least, So you're about maybe the sixth or seventh comedian that I heard that will mention a place outside of Los Angeles is yeah.
So.
But the thing is is that when I'm on so I'm currently right now in UH on Sunset Boulevard, you know, the comedy store is always crowded, and all the comedy club's up here. Who's working out there? If none of the heavy hitters that I know are working out in Los Angeles, like I always hear like, oh there's like an out the way comedy club, like yeah, one hundred miles away. Is it that there's a fear that a writer or somebody's going to take your joke or whatever?
Or yeah? Is that that? That's one thing in in LA.
It's a lot of comedians here trying to find themselves, get put on of course, looking for discovery, and so that's where they kind of work out, you know, all the kind of guys that's trying to make it happen. And there's some people who you know definitely have you know, like their brands already, you know, say like a Dray or somebody like that. They they work out here and they have their own rooms and that works, you know for them. But you know, most comedians we try not to be inside that one. I try not even hear other people's material so that I don't even you know, I'm.
Not even get influenced by nothing.
So I'll try to go like you know, outside of LA and it's usually just better. The audiences are you know, a little more regular people with jobs, you know, and it's kind of like the to your point, it's that that middle of America audience that you're looking for.
But in California where.
It's close to go to work, when you go to Hollywood, you got you know, you got the people that want to be seen trying to be seen, and it's that vibe, you know. So it's it's like, you know, you you gotta almost wear a full Vasachi Outfit to go and do shows there, like you know, it's that you gotta be just as shop as everybody who's coming out, you know, like it's an old look at this drip.
So how how is how is uh lost? Or Hollywood divided? Like I know how New York is where a lot of the alternative medians are either Brooklyn only or maybe part of the village. And then kind of the more established ones, you know, they'll go to the comedy Cellar in the West Village and kind of work their way up in midtown Manhattan, and usually like the Vegas level comedians or whatever are just like kind of midtown to uptown.
And then I mean, at one point I knew that.
There was a.
Place where black comedians to work out way uptown. I don't know if it's still that way now, but for those that are of the comedy act theater set, like, yeah, they work out because I'd never see you guys at like it's still kind of an apartheid in terms of yeah, a little bit.
I mean, you know, it's definitely you know, like Chocolate Sundays, which is at you know, the Laugh Factory, and that's a Sunday night.
Kind of thing.
That's where the black comics go to workout in Hollywood Hood at the at the laugh Factory on Sunday nights. UH Comedy Store usually have a night or two where everybody kind of goes up in there and pop. So almost all the clubs got like a night where it's the black night to night where you know, and if you want to work out with your people, is that's where you go.
And then you know, and then it's a it's a.
Few like in l A, like it's you know, it used to be one down like on Peaco near that Roscoes down there.
I can't think of the name of it right now. I don't even know.
It's hard for them to survive after COVID too, like you know it was. You know, that's one of the things because to your point, even the bigger comedians where people can draw a name and you know, and and these these these kind of locations can do well they have them, they find themselves struggling just to keep it packed.
You know. But you know, it's again there's.
A lot of comedians so and there's a lot of comedians that you know, want to get on stage and work that that are dope.
You know. So I think that, you know, those are the kind of those are the kind of spots that still need a lot of love and support, uh you know, you know.
And usually I'll go by when somebody like, like you know, where a friend of mine want me to really come through, like it's something like that. I might pop up and say a cool marble stage for a few minutes. But I don't really work out like that much that like when I'm in La because between the TV show and being a family man, when I go, I don't really want to just hang out and be like, you know, do it the old school way. I'll be wanting to go in, do my business and break out.
You know.
So is j Effany Brown's play still open? I've been meeting to check on that place.
Yeah, I don't know, Like yeah again that was the spot that was again had a lot of love, a lot of residents. I would I would think so, But I had heard. I saw Jay not too long ago and I didn't even ask him about the club. But but it seems as though it's still alive because it's right near Soup Snoop Dogg's kind of big everybody go and hang out Yeah, So.
Can I go back real quick because the mea talked about Saint Louis, but I just I really want to get into Saint Louis a little bit because you said you're from how do you pronounce it in Cathur? I couldn't say it in the Brothersville. Yeah, so can you break down what's the different what's the distance between Carruthersville and Saint Louis And the difference is.
So Gruthersville is like a super small town. It's like and it's it's probably four hours three and a half hours from Saint Louis and probably an hour and ten minutes from Memphis. So it's like going south, like so we go, you go down south from Saint Louis and you go towards Arkansas and Tennessee and it's right in a booth hill. So and it's a small town, probably three thousand people, three thirty.
Yeah.
Yeah, you're very different, very segregated, you know, uh, you know, but.
It's on the river. It's on the Mississippi River.
So where you know where I prayed the when I framed the book in the forties, the river, the river. Both cities were very thriving because people traveled on the river a lot and they were stopping. They would eat and come and hang out, and so these were like really kind of bustling little small towns and so uh you know, with a thriving downtown and restaurants and all that stuff. So uh so that's where I kind of you know, tell that story around when my grandparents lived there, but you know, I grew up there as well.
What was what was the impetus of starting or for you to go into storytelling and writing your first novel.
Well, you know, for me, it really kind of stems from the idea that I was I was trying to I was, first of all, I was trying to like just kind of have this connection to my my family. Right, Like I grew up my mother was a single parent who she raised me and my sister, and so I didn't really have my male figures around. I knew my dad, but he wasn't really in our life, and so oftentimes, you know, my mom would say, you, you know, that's like my daddy would do that. My daddy would have done this, and he had passed before where I was ever born, so you know, and listening to stories about him. I started to wonder like, uh, like what was my connection to somebody I never met before?
Like what was that DNA?
That kind of led to me being very entrepreneurial, uh, kind of a person that didn't want to work inside the lines like I, even though I had my degree, I never wanted to have a job.
Like my mom used to be like, why don't you just work at that company. I was like, I don't.
I don't want to go to work every day. That's not who I am. She was like that my dad that was like my dad, you know. So you know, it was that kind of thought process. So I started to create the character based off me having these machinations of who he was. And then and then you know, I started to write a TV story about it. Uh that kind of felt like Boardwalk Empire.
Always kind of loved that, uh, that character Chalky White because in a way, the way way yeah way.
My uh way my mom would describe he was kind of the the the the de.
Facto mayor of the black side of town. He was the guy that you call to get things done and all that stuff.
He was plugged in with the sheriff and so I basically put all that kind of stuff in the book and then told this fictional tale about who he is.
Did the seat of the start for you in the pandemic?
No, you know, actually it was a little bit before that.
It was so interesting that, you know, because it was times when I was kind of transitioning from you know, like you know, movies. I was doing a lot of movies in the early two thousands, you know, and then my kids started to get to get older where they couldn't travel and they couldn't come with us because most of the movies weren't doing them in la anymore.
And so they were younger, they could come with me. Well, we would shooting movies.
In Toronto and you know, and in Vancouver and then Ireland, and you know, when they were younger, my family could come with me. Then they started to get their own schedules, and so I was trying to figure out how, like how I could still be a part of the family structure and being part of lifely without giving that up. I decided to do television, and that was when it was like, you know, it was kind of like, you know, considered a fallback. If you do television, you was you wasn't as hot as a movie star. So and it's instantly with streaming and stuff that everybody had change. You got Yellowstone, you got movie stars coming to TV now, so you know.
But but it's like but at that time, it was.
Like a real, you know, real hard move, and I had to make that kind of strategy.
And I started to think about like stuff that.
My will pop in my head, like what would my grandfather do in this situation? And so I started writing the ideas down back then, and then you know, the book kind of came as I was trying to you know, kind of shape the show. Then the opportunity for me to do the book because you know, you know, the neighborhood was doing well, and so then everybody started offering you all kinds of stuff.
Then they like, yeah, you want to do a book.
And I was like, I was like, yeah, but not no book about me being a stand up and telling you my kind of doctor doc story. I got a whole another idea and when I per that, they loved it and that was it. So I was glad that it took. It took it like a year and a half to really kind of shape it up.
Though.
So let me ask, because you know, one we had a pandemic. But what we're kind of going through right now as we speak is kind of pandemic two point zero for anybody that's kind of a professional in the industry. So let me ask you, is there ever? Okay, so let me let me phrase it. America Ferrara when she started her Ugly Betty series, she told me that she waited. You know, it was an instant hit out the box, and she told me that she wanted to wait till the third season before she felt safe enough to like put down on that house. And really, you know, for there's a point where you go from like living in that little apartment that you lived in and until you find that hit sitcom and then you really want to make sure that you're contracting, your money's right and all that stuff. So she said, Okay, I'm gonna wait until my third season, and you know, she nominated for Emmy. So it just seemed like, okay, plamo instant hit. And then after season three they were like, all right, well that's it. You're done, knowing what you've been through, and you know, you're you're famous for the joke of you guys not getting the cake. You know, other shows you've been on that got canceled without warning.
Yeah, no no cake or anything.
So now that you're on like an established network comedy show, like, do you always feel safe or is there a part of you that's always like, nope, let me have my plan BC and D, like.
Just in case you never know.
Definitely, mean, I learned that a long time ago, because it's such a fickle business. Like none of us really saw like this strike coming, if you will, but you do reckon is that, you know, ratings or what's hot or something new comes along this town just really fickle like that, Like you know, so whatever the latest craze is, they'll just figure out like, oh we're gonna change to that now, and you'll be like what happened?
You know. So I'm definitely I'm definitely.
Far more cautious about you know, like just being you know, being super confident that whatever I'm working, even though it is working, that it's gonna always work.
You know.
I mean, we we we've been ordered for the sixth season, So that's a real blessing. Theoretically, yeah, for the neighborhood. Theoretically, I like to go to eight, you know, I like to go and be like yeah, yeah, but you know, like shows like Blackish and you know other kind of black shows of that, I feel like our hell competitivegree that's been on like major network should have the opportunity to run all the way out like tell your full story, you.
Know, and so you know and then you know. But also like now as a.
Producer, I'm creating uh, you know, spin offs and other versions so again that you have the show live beyond it's it's it's years and so these are the things that I try to like like even negotiate for. While I know that my show is doing well, I'm like, hey, give me the spin off so that I can like turn my show into another show that can run another you know, you know five six years that you know I can be eating off of and do something else too.
I shall see that with your sons.
So for me, there's there's a myth in the music business where they say like all it takes is one hit and your set for life, which is kind of a truth and a lie.
I mean in other words, like uh eight.
It ain't true today, right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You know, I'll say hip hop has definitely changed everyone's lifestyle goals.
So in other words, if I were the writer.
Okay, so if I was one of the writers of Queen's under Pressure at the time when Vanilla I sampled it and you know, sold ten billion copies, you know, that's a nice check that I'm gonna get every year. And if I maintained my lifestyle. But if you know, if I'm pursuing a five million dollar lifestyle and I'm only getting a million dollar check, then like you're asked out. But the equivalent of that in the television world is when your show gets syndicated, is that the goal, like can one actually like for now, like for any act or any actor actress that is on a show that's syndicated and currently running right now, I'm certain that those checks are helping a lot. While your current show's not only but is dedicated.
Money still good, No, not anymore.
It's very much, very parallel to like you said, it's music business. I mean it used to be and probably and to some degree. One of the big reasons why we're striking too is that you know, new forms of media, streaming, all these all these companies kind of being yeah, being mixed in together. They they protect themselves, you know, Like I mean, CBS is a part of Paramount, Paramount plus uh and then of course the whole what used to be Viacom all their channels, so they will syndicate to the syndicate to themselves, and and of course that will ruin the ruin the money that used to be available, right, And it's internal and it's internal business, and and they basically tell you that these are these are internal numbers.
This is what we're doing to protect our assets.
So that's that's the scary part.
Said, I had just listened about that, and we were just talking about this before you came on, and we were talking about how like, so if you're on TV and you do syndication, because I think a lot of times we need to explain this to the people who actually watch TV.
They don't know the intricacies of his language a lot of times.
And so the TV versus I was just watching the actor from Breaking Bad saying that, like he's on Netflix and Breaking Bads on Netflix, and that is zero money that he receives from that versus maybe if it was on an actual network on TV, it would be.
A more Yeah.
Yeah, Like I mean the opportunities, you know, we used to have this thing like where you go like and I say most people would understand, like the Channel ninees or Channel thirteens in your local city when you see something that come on after the evening news, you get to watch everybody Love Raymond or Friends or all this. That's where the money is because you got to think it's one of those in every little town and they all got to buy it in a way as a part of a group or individual. And so it's being sold that many times right every episode, and so so that's when they're buying it. But like a Netflix will just take it and and then they they're a technology company, so they're not a broadcast company, so they don't have to even reveal what numbers they out. Yeah, it's like it's technology. I don't know, Like I don't know, I don't know.
It's one of the striking points to finally reveal that.
That's that's that's one of the real kids to put to push towards it, because really what happened is not even that we didn't know, is that we need to be able to have the the kind of uh, you know, transparency, because what they did is now is they kind of take your intellectual property by not revealing it because they do do original programming, because they do have people create things for them. And then you don't have to basically tell me what it is, right I can I can pay you one time and and you can have a hot show and I don't have to really ever reveal to you how hot that show was, Like, I don't have to ever say it was. But I paid you, and you know, and their thing is that usually they paid more than what people used to get paid. So that's how they won for so many years because they would pay.
You a larger premium.
So to be on Netflix was that good bag, right, it was that fat bag and nobody really cared. Like, you know, if I would get thirty thousand on a regular show, Netflix.
Might give me one hundred and fifty and you'd be like, give me that.
Right, but they might have made two million.
And yeah, you never know, you never bothered the ask, and it didn't really get you know, it didn't get important until shows got bigger and bigger and you start to realize, like, oh, that's really all we watching is Netflix a lot now, you know, and and Prime and Hulu.
We only watching these shows. Now, where's the money So.
That's why I said, your pivot is more brilliant than it looks, right, because not for nothing do you feel like your business is changing in a major way? I tell them, I said to music people, I was like, we used to be like wait till I get the TV and film. That's what the big money is.
Every day he's.
Becoming the music business now like yeah, movie is no, it's so true. I was say, it looked like it's like every business looked at the music industry and was like, Yo, they don't pay nobody, why should we exactly?
And that's it.
And you think it was the digital the digital trash platform that really changed the music business, when you know, when the stream came in the napster of it all and people started to be and that changed the whole model in that in that Netflix and Amazon basically changed the model for us. Like once they got really hot and locked in and then was able to create and become the it, then everybody else wanted to be them. So you think about it, Disney became Disney plus, Paramount became Paramount plus the Peacock on NBC. Everybody took streamers so that they can do their model. They don't want to have to pay, and they individuals.
I was just gonna say, I just get really sad about watching it because I come from a business that used to be called black radio and nobody noticed when we kind of got eaten up by a thing called podcast.
So I watch y'all.
Industry and I'm like, oh, I mean, I watch hour because this is something that I wanted to participate in as well.
But it's scary. It's a little scary. I'm glad that you have made this pivot to the novel.
That's literally yeah, because you are on a hit show and I've seen a few people in the comedy world. I'm bringing it back to clubbing and working out that you know, you want to work out in the gym and work out new material. But the more you're established on your comedy show, it's like, the less that you are working out your material on stage, does that weary you a little bit? Like I mean, assuming that stand up is your first love, even though you're doing these other things. But I mean, if it were all up to you to choose one medium, would you just choose acting or stand up.
Or you know that's interesting. I mean, I think stand up is the freest.
You know, I always say that, you know, I just I did some shows this weekend. I went and did a casino in Oklahoma. And that's the really great thing about being a live performer is that we have so many like difference space. You got comedy clubs, you got all these casinos across the country. Now you know the whole Indian casino run. You got the big casinos, you got you know, big venues. You know, we if I decided to do it like a larger tour with some of my friends, like we did this summer with like uh straight jokes, no chases with me and Mike Everson, DL and DC Young Fly. We was able to go and do arenas and it was fun and we rocked that all the way to May and then went on a break because music, mainly the music acts killed the summer.
We you know, we learned a long time. You stand up. Don't you go out there against me.
You can't win against and the festivals.
Yeah, and you don't.
So we we stopped out to it in May and we'll pick it back up in October, late October, November. So I mean, but that's kind of what we've learned as stand ups over the years is like get out the way of them, of the big music acts. They gonna murder you and murder every ticket in the area and so and so you so you're like, all right, cool, but but but you know again, I was able to go and do a casino because it's kind of an enclosed audience. You know, you can go and or the casino gonna market to their people and they gonna say, hey, said come in, And I'm able to go and do two thousand and three thousand seats, you know, two nights in a row on my own. Like so that's that's a beautiful thing, right. So I respect to stand up and I stay with it. You know, I've been my whole career. I've never really ever given it up. You know, I've known I known comedians that, you know, you make it on television, or you start making it in the movies and you kind of give up on it, or you feel like you don't have to do it anymore. But it is the it's the dojo. It's the place where where even if I'm gonna write a movie or be in a movie, I like to go do stand up before I just start the movie because it helps you. It helps you kind of start your engine on your comedy vibration. Like if I got a character or something I'm trying to do, I'd rather just go do some stand up in a small place for a little bit, just to get my energy going. So like, all right, cool, when I come to set, I'm gonna be funny as this character.
Like I know, there's the hot ten and sometimes there's the hot twenty.
If Chappelle asks you to do something or whatever.
But when you are, like, are you the type of person that has to ramp your way up to you know, seventy five ninety or whatever the time is for like Netflix specials or HBO specials and whatnot?
Is it?
Yeah?
How hard is it ramping up to that?
Especially with I guess I'm asking you if are you operating in the same way that MC operates, Like you know, like obviously, uh, you can take Fonte or even Tarik from the roots, those both you know, very capable, excellent mcs. But this is kind of a new battleground, if you will, with new rules, and MC's today don't relate to the you know or do that have the same process as yesterday's. E see is it that way for the for the comedy world, or is it still about for you a punchline. Chris Rock told me that he doesn't believe in a punchline anymore, which kind of shocked me.
So yeah, I mean, you know it is it is a little different.
I definitely think that new comedy has kind of removed the idea of punchlines. You know, like people are more like into like trying.
To deliver, you know.
I think I think after Chappelle hit, everybody just want to be prolific man, Like everybody want to try to like try to deliver like they you know, these brilliant Swaian people. And that's just him, Like he got a totally different brand than everybody.
Right, So you read that, you know, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.
A lot of people a lot of people don't read, and then they want to be out they talking about they saying smart stuff.
But you know, like you're like, bruh, where do you get that from?
So but I think that the I think that for you know, for me, like the idea of like even even thinking about delivering a special like I really I'm probably one of the one comics that take a lot of time between my specials because I have material that I feel like makes a special But you know, I'm also not a person that's very interested in just kind of throwing stuff out there.
You know. I think people use it for a number of different reasons.
One, you know, you might have the deal on the table, right they might say, all right, cool, were throwing a bag at you. Put this special out, and you'll see people go do it just just so they can get the money, right And then and then you have people that really feel like they got something to say right now, and then you know, and they'll put those specials out. But I think in the last couple of years, you know, for me, it's all about like just making sure that my my material, my personality, what it is that I want to say is all in tune with the brand I built over thirty years. So I'm not gonna just go out there and just take like little chance. I think y'all like that too, as far as the roots go, as far as my opinion, like y'all, y'all, y'all are curators of y'all, of y'all brand, Like in a real way we were when we was watching on stage the other night, me and my wife were saying the same things, like nobody has the ability that to entertain like they do. Like you know, you'll see the new people like that, you know, kind of come out and maybe have a band on stage with them. But it's like the combination of musicality, real professionalism, and and something you know you gonna get when you spend your money, right, I know it's gonna be lit. I got it right now. I know, like going to mastros or or a quality restaurant where you know is gonna be good.
I don't have to worry about it, like it's good.
So that's what I try to deliver when I'm when i'm you know, and I'm doing specials or anything. So I'm not I'm never in a big hurry to just throw out anything.
You're not putting any pressure on me whatsoever for my future in music.
He's saying, do what you continue to do, Do what you continue to do.
I'm really just shocked that no one's really done a concentrated study on how you your whole clique and Walter Lathan kind of built the brand and built you guys up. So can you just talk about that that that initial period of matter of fact is Walter still active in terms of throwing shows or.
Not that I know of that.
He tried to do some stuff on the internet not too long ago and try to like create some brand where he was like taking you know, using like young comedians and kind of using his kings of comedy, uh, you know, pedigree do things for people.
But I think it all kind of burnt out, for my opinion.
But you know, he was he was just he was a he was a young creative uh you know, show promoter at the time, and he was he was just one of these guys that had like you know, he was aggressive and young and had good ideas and a lot of heart and so he he he would do all of us individually. He d Steve, uh you know, and you know these would be theater shows, you know, small theaters, and he did Steve and then he did Bernie. Then he did Steven Bernie. One time he would do d L and I together. He was the one when when I became the host of Comic View, d L used to be the host and he put us together and called it, you know, the host of the host of BT or something like that, and put us together and we were able to go out together and do these tours. So I think it's inside of that space where he looked at his numbers and saw like, all these guys were doing.
These numbers in these individual situations.
What if I put them all together, I probably could do it arena. And so that's really how the Kings of Comedy came about. He it was it was his idea. He kind of called us, put us together, put the tour together. But I do think that in the process of that, he started to think he was the other King of Comedy.
And so it's like his own hubrist kind of got in the way.
And then, you know, it was it was after the show and the movie came out that you know, it was so many little things that he just was Nobody wanted to be in business with him no more.
So that was it.
But he you know, he didn't do the Queen, He didn't do the Queens.
He didn't do the queens. You know, the Kings, the Kings, Yeah, the Kings and Queens. But he he had that Kings.
And Queen's title, and uh, and then he did a few other ones. He did a couple of tours after, but nothing to the magnitude of the Kings of Comedy and the Queens of Comedy?
Is that is that the original roster? I just wanted to know. I always wanted to know, But the Kings of Comedy?
Was there ever somebody that was wanted it originally or that got dropped off of the list?
No deal wasn't. It started out just me, Steve and Bernie, and then then.
They added d L and then that that became the one that you know that really toured around and got hot.
So yeah, we started out just the three of us.
We got Torri got toy with him, c and uh and and had a night popping got.
When you're doing that, like who's determining like the order things and who's the the or at least the curation of it.
All, it would be it's it's usually the comedians.
I mean on a tour like that, we decide and it's and it's usually you know, usually an honor or respect thing, you know, depending on you know, who's on the tour.
Like usually people just kind of.
You know, give props to you know, whoever the og is and be like yo, you go last if you want to. Uh, But on our tour, I remember, like Bernie was the dude, like Bernie was the dude. But Bernie wanted he called it the hammock. He didn't want to he didn't want to go first, and he didn't want to go last. He wanted to lay in the hammy.
Yeah.
Yeah, so last and first is the Penn Ultimate right before last that's in sweet Spot.
Yeah exactly.
So, so you know, even on the special it looked like Bernie go last, but when we actually shot it, he was.
He was in the hammock. He did not go last that night.
It was the I went last, and he would but on the special, the way the edit work, it was better for him to go last.
For the movie of it all.
But he performed in his hammock. That's that's what he liked. He was like, that's where I want to be. And he had been out, you know, I got it. He had been out, like Bernie got hot before the rest of us, and he had did like big tours on his own, and so when he decided to do the Kings, he was just like, look, man, I already been out, like as a big star, already touring. I like the idea of this, but you know, again, we're doing thirty forty minute sets me, let me ride easy.
So I got it.
And so that became that became a thing that a lot of comics like to do to this day. Like you said me, like, we all like to we like to go in that spot right before last.
It's just less pressure.
You could kill it and you could be gone, be like yo, dude somehow like and and if and if you don't kill it, then you know somebody else coming behind you and everybody can have a good time and they ain't gonna blame you. Yeah, they're gonna blame you that the show.
Was bumb ass or whatever. But so you know you so but uh.
But it's usually a respect things, usually the comics deciding where everybody want to go according to who we feel, you know, deserves that that reverence or whatever.
You know.
How involved were you guys working with Spike and filming that was he kind of hands on with you guys, or he just let you'll no, it was a it was a you know, it was a one We all made a choice that you know, because we were trying to find somebody to direct the movie we had.
It was it was our choice.
We were all partners on the movie and Spike, you know, came up of course presented the idea that he wanted to do it, and I mean he was the most expensive one to make our partner. But we also knew that it was the best move to get a movie. It's you know, to kind of create the kind of cred that we wanted. And and then you know, he Spike Lee. He really loved comedy, He loved he loved the idea of being He came.
I think we did Radio City Music Hall.
He came and watched this, came backstage, talked about it. He just super hyped and we was like, yeah, this will be crazy, this Spike does this movie, so you know, and it just ended up being the right move for us. And again, you know, we knew that when you bring Spike on, you know, he gonna cut into the money, like all the money that we could have gotten for use it. You know, you could have used Billy Woodrow for somebody.
You know, Hey.
Wake, I gotta ask you because from a fan perspective, for y'all, those fellas two questions. Number one, I just got to know how you preserve Bernie in your heart and also like the relationship with you and these men, Like how do y'all make sure that y'all continue to nurture it.
Oh Dan, Yeah, for sure.
I mean, you know, I just did my golf tournament, my celebrity tournament, charity tournament last year.
Both Steve and d L came. You know.
Of course me and DL we probably we see each other most because our wives are friends, like real friends, So we see each other a lot, you know, go to dinner and hang out, you know, and then we tour a lot of much a lot too, like all the kind of big arena.
Tours I've been on. DL been a part of them.
So you know, we got that kind of brotherhood and then be back in just one of these guys man that you know, whenever we you know, we always related to the kings of comedy, and so you know almost in any interview, every situation, he's gonna come he's gonna come up and be a part of it. But he you know, kind of like what Quest was saying about, like certain jokes, so he just got so many cash phrases that all of us that that day I go to for regular regular life. You know, if somebody say something off you know, off kill two, then we you know, we're gonna pull out of Bernieism. You know, it's like they just a part of like the part of like how we made up, especially by being with him so much on the tour. You know, like he would he just have a hundred, you don't want a fifty yard line, but it's first and gold. You know, you'd be like what, you know what I'm so.
That means, that means that's wherever I ever in life. I'm out here trying to win, and I believe I could win.
At this point, I'm on the fifty yard line for him, it's first in gold, and I was like, Daggy, I love that one.
Right there, like so you know, let's let's be back. That is kind of laguage.
I wanted to ask you about two of my most favorite roles that you have done, Gus Pitch and Jazzy D. Yeah, Gus Pitch was Tom mccru and Jesse D was top five, top this rock movie. Both of both of them was like these sleeper movies man that I was always really really good, you know, really blessed to be a part of these like.
Moves like one.
Gus Petch was like just a fun character because he was like yo, you get to be in the movie with George Clooney and Kepta Zada Jones and uh, you know this the character you did you the Detective and it was the Cohen Brothers.
Yeah, what was it?
Please?
Because that was really it was an unconventional film for what they normally kind of do.
You know.
They you know, they're you know, they're super artists, so you know, and they're very eclectic and different.
Of course, you know, Joel.
Is you know, probably a little bit more talkative, and then Ethan is kind of like, you know, laid back and so but they they were both like they both like really enjoyed what I was bringing.
To the character.
So like once they kind of recognized like what I was gonna do and what I was doing as a character, then it was like really fun. They just kind of embraced so many things that like choices that I kind of wanted to make as the guy.
But I think you had.
To kind of earn that with them, like, you know, because they are very specific to their vision.
You know.
That was the one thing and I think that with that particular movie, to your point, it was a little outside their normal thing of what they was what they kind of normally do.
So they they kind of trusted, you know.
I was thinking about even like what Jeffrey Rush did in that movie and all those kind of things and Billy Bob, Billy Bob.
You know, like all these kind of things.
They people did different little you know, character choices, and I think they they kind of opened up and like, yeah, you know what, all right, try it, you know, so I think you have. And then and then with Top five. You know that was Chris Rock. He was directing, he had ridden the movie. He was he had you know, he was directing the film. And he you know, he a brother, right, you know, you know, he my comedic brother. So we we've been knowing each other many years and toured, been ony each together. And when he told me what the character was, I was like, say less man Like he was like, you know, it's it's the dude that you know that when we when we start coming up, the dude and the promised you all this stuff, and you know, I'm sitting in the limo for you. Don't worry about it. I got you in the dope hotel. You could this, I do it. Trust me, I'm the man in Houston. And I was like, oh, say less if I ain't met this dude one hundred and thirty times exactly who he is.
That whole scene came back to me Carli Red and all the stuff.
Yes, yes, so.
Now that beats me.
Yeah.
Me getting them hangers, that was like, that's like the real thing because you realize, like people always still in the wooden hangers from the hotels, and they got good wooden angers, and you're like, oh man.
They got the lock on them. Yeah, they got the lock on me.
Are you the hanger is a two piece now a mire?
Oh dog?
I thought it was the only person that that did that. All my good hangers at home. Yeah, man, the world boy.
Yeah yeah man, yeah, the good the good angers.
You go to the hotel, they got the good angers, and you're like, they got they about to get got.
That's a rap.
Yeah, I was gonna well, I'm gonna add on to what they said. You get character actor roles, but you are not a character actor.
Like everyone knows who you are.
So how did you how did you nuance that in starting Your first movie?
Was Ride? Was it not?
Yeah? Yeah? First movie was Ride?
Uh you know, and I think you know that was that was the one thing I think like even my stand up early on, I used to I used to do a lot of characters on stage, like you know, like act out things fully. So in my mind, I just kind of transitioned the idea that, you know, where I would write a joke, I would try to develop a character, so you know, like like the like the old man in the barbershop, they was choice, like Eddie was a choice, Like they wanted me to play a different role, and I was like, nah, I want to be the old man. And I remember everybody was like, well, we want to cast a real old man. And I was like, well just let me, let me read it. Let me just show you what I'm gonna do with it. But I had this guy like that there was a combination of a dude at my mom's church and somebody else, and it was this whole beat of like who this dude was. I knew exactly who he was. And so I got to the point I could do Eddie. I didn't even need dialogue, like you just give me your circumstances and Eddie just gonna come out of me, like I know the stuff people say, and it was just that. And so the directors started seeing that and they was like, all right, cool. No, that was before we even shot. So when they gave me the character, that was great for me. And that was really one of those transitional spots because that kind of like you know, really like changed me from being just a character actor in the movie that people saying, all right, cool, you can lead a movie. And so I started to get other little movie roll Johnson Family and Honeymooners.
And little things.
But I loved doing in to your question question, I love like getting like just great little character roles.
That like show up in the movie.
With the with the right people and you know, and where you can just come in and steal scenes and and and then and just burnout like those are fun to me. I think I always loved like like when Don Cheto did Devil in.
The Blue Dress, like you know, we had.
Yeah, we loved, we loved the zel, but Mouse was and he was just he wasn't all through the movie, but he was like where Mouse said, give me more Mouse, I wanted to say that character.
There has never been a moment said when you walked on the set and felt intimidated in that way.
No, I mean you know, like uh, you know, like with that that that the first scene in in Tarborough Cruelty, I had to do a scene with George Clooney, like the first day I got there, and you know, it was one of those things and knowing like he was Cloney at the time, and you know, and you just kind of want to do the right thing and you just you know so, But I never I never really got small.
I just was very.
Careful, right, like you're kind of like more careful, like making sure you know, you know, And I knew the Cohen Brothers was a big deal.
And it's all these things where you just.
Want to be like, I don't want to be this guy to come in and like act like these people not a big deal, and then you find out like, oh that.
Was offensive or whatever. So that's the that's the young virgin.
But you know, I always kind of was confident in who I was and what I was coming there to do.
So I just leaned into that more than anything.
Did they know who because as your fans, did they know who you were? I just always been curious.
About that, like you step on that Coin Brothers that George Clooney know, like I'm a.
King Clooney did. But the Coen Brothers really knew. I think they knew like after once they kind of got into casting and I had to kind of go there a couple of times, and then they you know, and a rehearsal. Then they kind of realized like, oh, oh you like really that dude, but like people will.
Come see this movie for you like that?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, But I don't think they knew that right away.
Are you it's still in the occasional audition phase or is it? I once said the entertainer, and you don't here's the script, tell me or not?
No, I will.
I will always, you know, I tell teens that sometimes people don't they don't see me or you know, see me in a certain role. So if I must audition, if it's something I like and I want to do and I must audition, I will. I definitely prefer to be offered, you know what I mean, you know, but but it's certain roles, like it was a role that came up. I don't even know if they ever shot this project, but it was a role that came up and it was a cool like you know, Apple TV series, and it was it was something that I wanted to do. It's very liking it to the character in my book, and I don't think anybody would have saw me as this character. But I was already kind of on this journey and when I saw the breakdown, I was like, Yo, give me an audition, like I want to go in and I had a long you know. Because of that, I was able to have go along way with the directors and the producers. But I'm not sure what direction it would. I've never seen the project come out, so but I know I ain't get the roll, but I did. I did open the conversation up once they saw like what I could do. Then people started to be like it became a little more real, and you know, by doing the audition, so I wasn't afraid for that. Like those kind of things make sense.
Was there a role that you passed up that you later had a regret about doing?
I e.
Will Smith passing up on the Matrix.
Matrix Man, let me see, not necessarely. I know that I had the opportunity to do like Mike uh that movie like Mike, but it was also at the same time that I could do Barbershop, and I felt like I made the bet. But I just remember was a bigger money play and you know, and my team was like, Yo, you're gonna get paid over here. This's a big movie. And then the other one was a small movie, and I.
Was like this that became a franchise.
Yeah exactly, yeah, exactly, smarter move.
So I was trying to think of like ones where I didn't where I kind of passed up that I didn't get. Uh, nothing really comes to mind that. I was like, Yo, I'm you know, I kind of regret I didn't get that.
One man talk about threats the jay zdra.
Like you two have something in common sort of uh yeah yeah, a six degree to separation way with the threats studio.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah, so uh yeah, I was, uh, you know, I'd seen Jay.
Like, you know, throughout my career many times, and.
So I just told him one time, I was like, Yo, but ever in New York, I want to see you work and I come to the studio. Everybody told me about you know, the rain man thing he does and how he just kind of ride to move and I just asked him could I come to the studio and he was like, yeah, no doubt.
So I go one time he's there.
We in the studio and everybody just kind of hanging out and he's like, I gotta leave. I gotta go and run some aeron but I'm working on this this threat situation. I'm working on this thing. And he was like, it's on the it's on like some Mad the Rapper type stuff.
You can just.
Throw something out there, let me know, you know, And so he literally left. I think it was ninth and uh it was ninth and Guru was there and I just kind of like went in and just start freestyling it. And then he called me maybe a few months later and was like, hey, man, you made the album.
I was like what he was like, Yo, he made the album. I was like, oh man, that was crazy. It was the black album.
So it made you feel like, yo, it won you just a part of like, you know, superhistory, and so I was I was really happy to be a part of that.
You know. It's kind of same thing on the Nellyville on Country Grammar.
That was d Ray doing Bernie Damn.
I did not know that was d Ray.
Yeah, yeah, d Ray doing.
Oh that wasn't Bernie mac all right talented? I ain't know.
Yeah. Yeah.
Seeing you at at this stage of your life. Is there any is there anything that you have yet to.
Achieve that you have like as a bucket list, do you feel like now's the time for you to just get your bucket list storing and and start green lining your own projects and whatnot?
Like what do you.
Yeah, that's kind of really the space I'm in now, you know, of course, like this strike really really teaches you.
That too, Like you can't always.
Kind of like you know, expect that you will have time or that everything that you want to do will just show up when when you need to. And so, uh, you know, I feel like, you know, I definitely want to get back into the movie space, like in The Starring Role PRDs, you know, like you're looking for THHD.
So are the right movies that you know that I feel like makes sense for me?
Uh?
And then yeah, exactly, I think that too.
More so to your question question, is that it is dramas that I feel like people hadn't necessarily seeing really stick my foot in something right, you know, I did. I did that first Reformed with Ethan Hogg that was out last year, really you know, really moved with Paul Schrader, great director, you know, and Ethan Hogg a man the safe, free, small.
Kind of an artsy film. It was. It was a dramatic role.
We got some nominations, we got some looks, you know, but again it wouldn't be something that black people would go see, I don't think right away.
Uh so and.
Get certain times of black people said they're.
Not an less exactly, it gets so true. I'm gonna throw that out there.
Yes, that's how questions go maybe you know, yeah, yeah, No, it is a great film because again, dynamic actors in there. Uh and it's still you know, kind of uniquely done, very quiet movie. You know, not a lot of you know, all about the words, all about the emotion. I forgot. That's a style. It's called like transcendental or something like that. Some it's a it's a stylis movie shooting. But you know, that's that's That's pretty much what I would say bucket list. I'm looking for a character or a series or something I can stick my teeth into where people could see me be a little more dramatic in in my in my play.
You know, I.
Can't believe my very first question to you that I didn't ask and it looks like it's gonna be my last question to you.
How did you come up with your moniker? I do not know the story of how you became Cedric the entertainer.
Oh oh wow, Oh yeah, that's a that's a that's a crazy story that that story really kind of really kind of came from. I always say it was me trying to it's fairly certain difference. It was the idea that I didn't want to be. I got very popular in Saint Louis, right, a lot of people. I was doing comedy. People knew me. I would call into the radio, I would get booked, but I didn't have a lot of jokes.
I would, you know, I had, you know, ten minutes work for jokes.
And then so to get really paid, you have to do at least thirty minutes forty minutes on stage. So I would sing, I sing a whole Luther song, I'd do a poem, I'd do a dance routine. I'd do a whole bit about being on soul train, and I play like nine songs so I could do the different dances.
I would fill up my time.
And so one night it was a guy, you know, just kind of introducing everybody, and he kept saying this next comedian, this next comedian, and I was like, don't call me a comedian because I don't have enough jokes to be called a comedian.
Call me an entertainer. And he called me Cedric be entertainer. I went up.
I rocked it and then and when I came off, I had a standovation and he called me entertainer again, and I just kept it.
I was like, that's the name nice.
As a comedian. I've seen you do CrowdWork before.
Do you like doing crowd work or is it too much pressure toast?
I'm not that fast man.
I mean I could do it if it happens to be the situations, which yeah, yeah, when you're hosting, you gotta you gotta be like yo, like just kind of let the room like kind of come to you. But it's not a thing that I'm very comfortable with because it promotes people talking back, you know, it promotes and I am more of a I am more of a stake.
You don't have like five quips for a heckler just in case they want to.
For sure, you know, I'm ready now, like I keep I keep it locked.
But but the thing is is that you know, I much rather when I'm on stage, I much rather come there for the performance. So actually some of my opening acts I would hire opening acts that shooters. I call them shooters because they go out and make sure that audience is tightened up and in they place and go on no smoke.
You career opener to Asassiny and he would be man.
I got a dude named Malik, asked from Florida. He ain't no, you know you'll want no smoke with this dude.
He come out there, he is, he fast, and he's funny and he raw, and he's.
Gonna be People be like, I'm good man, never mind.
And so by the time I come on stage, everybody is pretty much there to understand that I'm here to tell you some jokes and perform for you like a grown up. And you're gonna sit in your chair, You're gonna be quiet.
That's a flipping box cars question.
I just I wanted to know because it is a fictional story, and you said it was interesting to listen to you earlier in this conversation talk about the lack of men in your life. So number one, I was curious because even though it's fictional, it seems like it is a lot of your grandfather.
And baby boys, right, yeah.
And I was just curious how you got all of that because you didn't know him, and it was it's really from your mother.
And then also since you and ask this for me.
Too as a man who was the man in your life, because said, when we look at you, when we talk to you, you sound like such a well rounded man in so many ways to have some of the women in your.
Life, you know.
Yeah, yeah, you know, I think that that's really the thing.
I kind of really feel it was a lot of kind of osmosis in a number of ways. You know, you know, because my my, my mother and my uncle would tell me the stories of my grandfather and then you start to emulate I think, you know, other people's fathers and the neighborhood.
You know, we were just kind of talking about that. When you see these young.
Folks out here that kind of grow up and everybody kind of like you know, on the Draco's and everybody got they pants down and they want to be gangsters. You know, you kind of see that when we grew up, our men in our neighborhood was people that was fathers.
They were the ones that was there.
They was like taking kids to the baseball field and you had to say yes, sir to.
Him, and you know you didn't call you ain't.
Call your daddy by your daddy friend by his first name. Like these kids they know people about Donell now you know what I'm saying, and say they don't even they don't call it man, mister nothing, and be like they you know, you you literally live in the world where these kind of these kind of uh you know, archaetypes don't really exist. So for me, I think that that's really you know, one of the things that I was kind of like, you know, kind of like spinning the story from is like this idea that I like to wear suits, this idea that I like to be respected and talk treat people with respect.
That I do think that I got.
A responsibility to others, you know, like I recognized that, and somehow, you know, my mother would say, that's who my grandfather was, Like he would do all these things.
He makes sure that.
Even though he was you know, in the underworld, and he was a gambler and a hustle a bootlegger, but he kind of did all these things because that was really what was available to him.
You know at the time, you know it's not true.
Like wait a minute, what's that true about baby boys?
That's all this all that stuff is in there.
The restaurant owner, he had the.
Restaurant, he'd go and take care of the people out in the field.
I say he was the first dude with a food truck.
That would be in my mind, like because he would he would take his restaurant, he'd make sandwiches and he'd go out to the fields and then people would pay a quarter for a sandwich and some water and he'd like make sure he eat and he he burned back out. That was that was all cash moves that he would do, like is and you know those kind of things and so uh you know. But he was also like a you know, extreme risk taker, which you know in the book you find out like he took big risks and you know these sometimes they don't go your way, you know, But that's that's the that's the life of any any of us that you try to go out and you stick stick your neck out for your own ideology, right, you recognize Dad, at some point in time, it might not go the way you think, and then you gotta you gotta deal with that.
Those circumstances consequences.
Wow, I want to ask you mentioned in earlier some conversations about your team and kind of deciding which projects to pick the team that you have.
Now, how long did it take to assemble them? I guess?
And who were who are like kind of your core people, you know, your manager player.
Yeah, I been really blessed. I've been really blessed, man.
I mean my core group of people with my guys that I met in college, man, like my my my manager and my partner.
You know.
My command production company is called A Bird and a Bear. That's me and my partner, Eric Rohan. He's my manager and my business partner. We called him Swanny Swan you know from the Warriors you broke back into the room. So yeah, we called him Swan back in the day. And so and I'm SETI Bear. So we are Bird and a Bear. So that's the name of our production company. But we've been together since again my college days. Uh, my tour manager and you know, uh creative tour consultant. He was, he was I went to junior high school with him. That's Kelvin Bland. So he a guy that been with me my whole career, like seeing me like kind of come up and just you know, and he started to learn how to do lighting and and learn how to make my shows more interesting and and you know, and those were the kind of things he got interested in and booking me and and so, uh that's it. And then I've been you know with my agency and my lawyers were probably a long time too, like from early on when I got my first deals.
Uh, you know, so I'm starting to make some changes there. But but then.
You know, for the most part, my team is solid, and I got a new publicist not too maybe about three years ago.
Uh so, but they've been great too.
But I know they came through a great recommendation and so it's the same the same guy that does Eddie Murphy.
He's my guy right now. So he's dope. Though.
Yeah, you know, I was an avid watcher of your millionaire days. Is game show hosting? Like is that as fun as it seems? Or like, do you have any other future plans for you know, I actually enjoyed it.
You know, there was a thing about doing you know, a millionaire where you are. You know that people were coming on here and they love these game shows and they really want to win, and it's a lot of fun to them. It's very arduous because you have to do you know, maybe you know, five to six shows in a day, like you shoot a lot. You know, it's a very aggressive you know, because we and that was the biggest thing about it. But for me, it allowed me to live in New York for like three months. So it was great because it was a totally different experience. I you know, I was able to come and live in the city and be there. So the only reason I didn't come back and do the second season is that they the next season is that they moved it too Connecticut, way up in Connecticut.
And I was like, that's that's not for me. Guys.
It was like they was near, but they show Connecticut.
They moved it to Connecticut. They don't know, to cut the budget or make it a little big.
State state like Maury was there and Jerry was there.
Oh wow, yeah, I knew for a second.
Tyler was there for a second, like he had a yeah.
ESPN, ESPN. But yeah, it was like that.
And it was very you know, very small town field, very outside the loop, you know, and you had to be there three to four months.
And I was just like, nah, you know.
No, no, if you living in New York doing that, then that's fun because you in the city, you get to pop off. You you finish your day and then you go and we would shoot like Monday through Thursday, so I would have Friday's awful lot of times about game show. Yeah, I'm not gonna be stuck in Bristol. You know, it's not gonna be my move like I would before we go with your barbecue man, you and Anthony Anderson, Yeah, what do you do?
You like cook a lot? What's just.
No, we just got the rubs right now, so we the sauces are coming though, and we we will because you know, Anthony's diabetic, so we got and make sure we're not gonna be over over the top with all our you know, sugars and all that stuff. But the idea really came from us.
You know.
We we all golf together, meet Anthony, George Lopez, don Cheto.
Chris Spencer, Jesus Christ group.
We all travel d l and we'll travel and go and then Anthony and I would often be the ones doing the cooking, grilling, you know, cooking and making the pool for everybody because we rent.
A house and hanging be a fun time.
Man.
So but you know, I grilled a little bit and cook a little bit. But what we really.
Loved about the space is that everybody was, you know, trying to do liquors and tequilas and all that, and what we wanted to do was use our celebrity for something we thought that really was like uplifting for the community and really all authentic to who we were in the sense that barbecueing and grilling and getting together is as black as they come, and even more so American as it comes. Like it's a this is where people fellowship. We I throw the meat on, you bring the tato salad. You somebody bring the mac and chee, and we got a meal and we're gonna play cards and we're gonna laugh, Drake, and we was like, Yo, we can capture this as a brand and we can capture that essence. That's what we really want to do, and that's what AC Barbecue about.
More than anything.
We we actually feature more pit masters than we grill ourselves. So we really go around and find like people that really.
Like we're like pull up, like that's the kind of thing.
We love the fact that you you really love it, like you know, like you throw a cool barbecue at your crib or at.
The season, you know, and that's it.
We come through pull up and like let's talk about what you're cooking. Let's talk about the you know, the relationship if you have to why you start cooking, and the stories, and then that's what we're doing. Then we you know, as Ac Barbecue, we out telling that story along with you know, introducing our products. And you know, we got we're in like twenty seven hundred walmarts right now. We got lows coming, we got home depot coming, We're doing tools, and we got spachelors and.
Tongs and all that coming. We got we got restaurants coming. We are here. We are here doing it.
So we actually got the opportunity to do some restaurants on college campuses. So these are things that we all got in development. So we're working hard at making sure.
That we out here you know, talking about you.
Know, something that really started from you know, our culture really is that that idea of taking whatever we got and throwing on some hot coals and making a meal out of it.
That goes as far back as slavery and beyond on the way the cook so you know, but it definitely culturally a thing. But we we love.
And we know that barbecue is different in different regions. And that's why we didn't want to be like, you know, you gotta do it our way. We like, we love the way you do it. We're gonna come and show and get that love. And so that's what our show is all about too.
So man, so uh mister Kyle's I thank you for coming on our show man talking to us. Uh about time, Like we've been here almost what are we six years now?
Almost seven?
We're not remembering?
Yeah, yeah, we're not. We're not gonna sun.
Because because you don't love.
That's a blessing man and podcast Land, you're damn right, we're old in podcast.
Yeah, thank you, o G. Thank you for everything you're doing for Rice race, relations with the neighborhood.
Since I say that because you're doing some introducing, some things, letting.
People know and stuff. I appreciate it.
Right that we use.
Yes, that's my favorite said, that's what I always talk about. That big deal.
It's so true.
We're talking about the town joke, y'all, y'all know we just we just talk. People don't use wash class wash.
Class wash clasts, watch, watch, thank you.
Any comment, Thank you, che I love all the stuff you do.
Thank you, brother man every birthday, Man, thank you, thank you, thank you for everything.
Man.
You one of my favorite comedians and just one of you know, my favorite entertainers period.
And uh he's got teased.
In high school, everybody told me I look like you.
You have this humor.
Yeah, he's funny like that.
Yes, oh my god, Jesus showcase check it out.
I'm a long fan. Brother, Just love, love everything you do.
Man.
All right, Well, want be half of pey Bill and birthday Steve and fontigelow and shout out to Britt and Jake, yeah, and and and the entire family at iHeart This is another quest Love Supreme extravaganza.
We'll see you on the next program. All right, Thank you, m M M much. Love Supreme is a production of iHeart Radio.
For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
