September 6, 2021 • 42 mins
Actor and comedian Mike Epps stops by GBR and discussed his early journey into comedy, film, growing up in Indiana, Friday, The Upshaws and much more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Get up, get the boys. It's back and rehoaded all
in your mind. Yeah, not deep throating. This is for
the streets, the reel, the railroaded, the distant franchise, the
truth escapegoating, and they ain't knowing we speak the truth,
so they ain't quoted because we wrote it. The North
South East coat is the gv MY for keeping your
head bobbing. It ain't no stopping and wants to be
(00:23):
dry to head by And then the system is so
corrupt they throw the rock out of their heads and
then blame it on us. Don't get it twisted on
code and me and dancing for no buttoment biscuits. It's
(00:43):
Willie d y'all scar facing the building. Collectively we are
the ghettold boys, reloaded with another episode of information and
instructions to help you get through this crazy, wild, beautiful world.
I guess today Mike Epps for something big Willie, Hey King,
how you doing? They an't good to see you, brother,
(01:04):
all right, So we got some house cleaning to do
real quick. Some scar face is in the building, but
he's having some issues right now. So but he'll he'll, he'll,
he'll join us momentarily now Man, you're back in your element.
You're back on stage, back doing what you do. I
feel it feels pretty good, you know. I guess because
(01:26):
of the pandemic. The people are so receptive to everything.
They like. They they're so excited to be out. So
you know, we we we had a show over the
Toyota Center last night. Man, and the people were just man,
I mean, they was laughing at some stuff. I'm like, Damn,
I know that wasn't funny, you know what I mean.
(01:50):
I know when my jokes ain't funny, and they was
laughing at some of that. Ship. Yeah. Now speaking of funny.
So you got this uh movie with uh, the Dion
Taylor movie right next door. It's Cat Williams in that movie.
Cat Williams is in the moment. Okay, shout out to
(02:10):
Deon Taylor out there, black filmmaker. Absolutely absolutely, Uh, Dion
is real good dude, Man, he's doing some great things. Uh.
And you guys, this is your second time working together.
This is the yeah we meet Yeah we didn't meet
the blacks. And then, um, this is actually the second
(02:31):
installment of that movie. This is like, uh, what what
would you say? Now? That was the prequel to house
next door because the original script was called house next door,
but but Dion, we decided to call it meet the Blacks,
so that we could do was second we called a
house next door. So he had all of this plan.
(02:52):
You know what I mean, what she did. I think
he did a great job. Yeah. Absolutely. Man. Recently, Cat
Williams was in the news, he was talking about cancel culture, right,
and he basically said that cancer culture. You know, uh,
it's non existent. He said that, you know, you're allowed
(03:13):
to say whatever it is that you want to say,
and people are allowed to not like whatever it is
that you have to say, right, and so if if
you can't, if you can't take that, if you can't
you know these words that you have. Nobody takes these
words away from you. You can choose to use them.
(03:35):
Are not Yeah, yeah what you think I mean? Do
you think, well, d that they using that as a
control tactic? No, you know what, I really do believe. Yes,
some people are absolutely like to be able to tell
you that, oh this is sensitive if you talk about this, this, this, this,
(03:56):
and and you're somebody that's that has a voice to
control your Absolutely absolutely, it's it's a control tactic for
for many people, but also for some people. You know,
I think it's a teachable moment because for to Cat
Williams point, uh, for a long time, Uh, you know,
(04:17):
this whole cancer culture thing has been rooted in minority
culture really generally. Generally it's uh minorities who uh subjects
subject to insults and slurs, right and so uh so
so now and insults your insults and slurs from people
(04:39):
of privilege and power. Right. So now it's like people
are saying, you know, it's time out for that. We're
gonna check you. You know, if you get out, get
out of pocket, you're gonna get checking and it's gonna
cost you a check. So so I think it's so
so I think it has some some validity to it,
you know because uh, for instance, I used to you
(05:00):
you know, and I think I can say this word
right now because of the context in which I'm saying it,
But I used to say the word retarded like it
was nothing. You know, we all say that, right, you know,
that's growing up, right. Well, anytime somebody say do something crazy,
then you retarded. Right. Well, I was talking to a
friend of mine one day and she said, you know,
you're not supposed to use that. You shouldn't use that word.
(05:22):
You know, well, it's offensive to people. You know, it's
and you have to think about that. You're like, I
don't mind being offensive to people who I don't like,
in people that I got something against. But if somebody
ain't did nothing to me and they say, you know
what a group of people they look, Man, we don't
like that word. That's offensive to us. I know you
don't understand it, but to us it's offensive. I don't
(05:43):
have to use it. It's not that important for me
to use the yeah, because you already know that it
hurts people exactly, exactly, and and and this is why, uh,
I think people have to even understand what they have
to understand about the N word. It doesn't matter that
you grew up using the word, you know, it doesn't
matter that, uh, you know that people around you have
(06:07):
used it and you've heard the word all your It's
offensive to millions and millions of people, And so why
you want to say the words so damn bad? You
don't get anything out of the word except I guess
your your your. I guess you might get a little
pride out of it. I mean, I think that's yeah. Yeah,
(06:30):
it's like it's like it's like it's like segue words
that that we're using the hood. We don't know we're
using them. Right. Um. I grew up in the house
with an uncle that was slow. That was you know,
um uh what do they call it? Man? He was uh. Well,
(06:54):
when we were growing up, bro, that was the word
that we know. That's not autistic, it's worse than that,
but it's um. And that was the word that we
used to describe my uncle ever since I was, you know,
two years old. He's retarded. Yeah, yeah for real. And
we we didn't we didn't see any harm in it.
(07:18):
And then, like I said, like Will said, when when
we when we got older, we realized that it was
a derogatory term towards someone who was not mentally uh
advanced ignorance something, you know what I mean, like, man,
shut your retarded ass up. You know, like it's offensive.
(07:38):
It's like saying, shut your nigga ass up, now shut
your chinaman? As why do we prosecuted as a as
a as a culture. I mean, this is what we
say to each other and we've been saying it. I
mean it's all broken English anyway, it's all a bunch
of rhetoric anyway, words that I mean, everybody was trying
(07:59):
to figure out where that word came from forever. I
hadn't heard about nine different uh terminologies are where the word?
Then word came from the way came from? Is that
is that in Africa? No, they said they got a
country and they said they got a spot in Africa.
(08:22):
I've seen that in the spelling bead. But they couldn't
it could it could have could uh came from Niger,
you know, energy, the Black River whever, But I know
it was the old mean as. Yeah, but where did
the white boy started calling us nick? Yeah, that's what
I'm saying. Where How did he come up with it
as as something disrespectful? I mean, he came over. It's
(08:48):
a lot of things that that are said by uh,
those different people that don't like different people that, um,
you know that's the most offensive thing you say about me,
then go ahead, you know, call me. But man if
I run through my motherfucking dictionary and ship, I can
(09:09):
call you. I didn't mean to say m infant, but
excuse me, but I'm just saying it's it's it's it's
it's kind of like playing that doesn't now call me nigger.
But every race inside of the race have racism against
each other. I think. I think Jews call each other words.
(09:30):
Italians probably call each other, yeah, but that's within their culture.
The problem I think that the thing that's problematic about
the N word is that it was a word that
was used to break us down, just to distraught, to
demean us. And we took the word and we used
the word and started using as a word of a
(09:53):
term of in debt for us. Those other words have
always been words that have been a as to these
particular cultures or whatever. So you're right, they do use
other racests. Do you have these terms that they use?
But they use it amongst themselves and they don't see
it publicly. Wow, we are public with it. And what
I'm saying, how was that I was on the golf course.
(10:16):
Was on the golf course that country club I'm talking
about an elite country club here in Houston. It's private,
you know, it's so private to the point where women
can't come on the course at all. Right, Okay, And
I was hitting the balls like I was really kicking,
but on the course, and um, the old white man said, man,
(10:38):
that nigger can't hit that ball right there in my face.
And I was already already shake you back. But but
but I'm not exactly sure. But it would have. I
(10:59):
would had to make some brol though. It's a moral
to get your case on the thought. Now with all
these careens running around, I'm saying, like something like that,
contact by it has to be some contact. But what what?
What ended? What ended the end the story for you?
(11:21):
I told him that I was offending, and he apologized,
and he said that you know Cardi B. And and
and my wife loves Cardig and they all used the
they used an inn word on the songs. And I apologize, Brad,
I didn't know it was that offensive. If you knew
it was that offensive, Cardi B had never been born,
he would have still used that still said hit that
(11:44):
he's probably been saying it. And then and then and then,
you know, sometimes they get so comfortable that they forget
they around us, and especially if they get the drink
and they'd say some ship and then call you the
next morning and upset. Sometimes I just say, and you
know the best way to heal this up, man is
writ me a little check mane pulled dot paper up. Man,
(12:16):
give me a little money, man. I'm trying to start
something up, man, so I can give back to the man. Man.
It was speaking of giving back. I know these segues.
Let's go to Naptown where it all began, and I
know that you are doing a lot of stuff in
the community, and you do a lot of giving back.
I'm always looking up and you're seeing you involved in
(12:37):
certain charitable events or whatever. Man, how does someone like
Mike Epps who grew up in Gary and Dana where
there's few opportunities as apples. I'm from Naptown. I'm from Naptown, Okay.
But everybody always get it all you know, we it's
(12:59):
in less Indiana. You're from Indiana, Indiana. I know that.
I said that. I said because every time I hear
Naptown Okay, right, No, that's all good. That's all I got.
I got love. I think people get it, but people
(13:20):
get confused sometimes. So it's it's it's people. Yeah, people
ask me all the time. I mean because because at
the end of the day, when if you're from a
state like Indiana, if you're in California and you running,
I run into Freddie Gibbs, he's from g I. It's
like looking at it's like we didn't forgot that we
a hundred miles from each other, you know what I
(13:42):
mean up the road because we were both from Indiana.
Like they don't even matter. You know, that's where the
claimed arrived from, right there, They from Gary and Indianapo's Indiana? Indiana?
Is that right? Is it? Is it a spooky uh
(14:02):
vibe up there? Like to stay there for like permanently
because I've been there, you know, nice, nice place to visit.
It wouldn't want to live that type type of thing. Well,
you know what, um over the years, it's gotten better
because and I always credited hip hop because hip hop
made uh that younger generation of clansmen huh they became Yeah,
(14:30):
because all of the guys that were clansmen, believe it
or not, their granddaughters are white and they got babies
by black people. I'm talking. Yeah, it's crazy. They didn't
had articles and all kinds of stuff up there where.
This guy disowned his daughter because she wouldn't have had
his granddaughter had a kid by a black kid. And
(14:54):
her Yeah, her dad, her granddaddy was a grand pool
by you know, what I mean. But but I mean,
it's it's just like anywhere else man. You know, you
you got a section of black people that live amongst
each other, and everything else is is ruled by that,
you know, and they keep reminding you, Mike Pence, all
(15:17):
of that. I mean, I wouldn't say that he was
a clansman, but in that town, you can tell that
there's certain the the white people in that town they
move like that, They move like you know, I don't
know a clansman personally, but you know what it is. No,
you know, some clansmen personally told you who they are.
(15:42):
That's right now. They know they might not know him
at all. They just programmed that, just like sometimes white
people look at you like their programmed too, to look
at you, like what are you doing around here? You
know what I mean? They just programmed, just like all
of them are the cops, ye say. I always say
that white people, all white people are deputized, deputized to
(16:08):
be police officers. The absolutely I'm calling the coups, Mike.
I still want to get back to like the psychology
of you getting out of Gary, Indiana. I mean in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana,
(16:35):
it is a very very tough, tall task. Right, How
real did you think your chances were? You know, you
wanted to be a comedian at what age? I mean,
I was telling jokes before I became a comedian. I
didn't know that I was doing it though. I was
just living my regular life, you know, wherever I was at,
you know, killing them boys in the hood. Yeah, and
(16:57):
at the end of the day, you know, I'm one.
That meant I grew up a skinny like fair skinny
kid and the ghetto. That ain't easy, you know what
I mean, Because because you gotta fight your way through everything.
So comedy became a way from me to I navigated
through the hood. I ended up navigating through jail. Wherever
(17:19):
I was at, I had a personality that you know
that lit up the room and I could survive through it,
you know. So it really was my survival that became
an art for me, you know what I mean. Like,
But how real did you think your chances were to
actually get out of that? But you've seen so many
people that did the exact same thing, that came exactly
(17:42):
from where you came from. But you found a way
to get out out get what inspired you? Like, really
to get out and make it. What made you say, man,
I'm gonna make it? I got it? I was, I was.
I had an imagination. And I tell kids all the
time and don't have an imagination. You can't dream. You can't.
(18:03):
You can't. You gotta be able to see some ship,
pre pre pre everything before everybody. It's gotta be in you.
And I had an imagination of me being something, you
know what I mean. I couldn't figure out what it was.
So when I found out it was comedy, I was like, Man,
I'm only something because I grew up watching kingpins and
(18:26):
drug dealers, and I'm like, damn, man, I didn't try
to sell dope and anything. I cannot become a kingpin
for nothing in the world. Like I'm serious. I was
the worst drug dealing in the world. I had everybody
in that, all the old g niggas. The only reason
why they didn't kill me is because they liked me.
They ushould tell me all time, boy, you better be
glad I like you. You know what I mean? Because Nick,
(18:48):
you even ran off of my money. I had a
gambling habit and I was selling dope. I was hustling backwards.
You know what I mean, I didn't shot dice with
these niggas and lost my money, the front man's money.
So the time I left in Annapolis man our old
couple of niggas, money and all kind of ship, I said,
I gotta go make it at something, you know. I
got on a bus in nineteen uh ninety one with
(19:13):
my sister. Gave me eighty five dollars book of food stamps.
Remember them food steps it was in the book had
blue fives. She gave me some food steps and I
had eighty five dollars and uh, and I bought me
a I bought me a bus ticket and my my
(19:35):
first baby mom and her lived in Atlanta. And I
called her. I said, Janet, you know every time you
come to Indianapolis, you say, you know, if you ever
want to move to Atlanta, come to Atlanta. Man. I
called her. I said, I want, I'm ready to come
to Atlanta. She said, Mike, some things didn't change. I
said what she said, I'm married now, and you know
(19:56):
I don't live by myself. Do you know that? I
told her okay, and I still got on the bus.
I got on the Greyhound bus and by the time
I got to Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the ground of niggas
that took my clock. I swear I'll never forget. I
had cross colored jeans and major damage. You remember cross
cut on the man. I had all this gear in
my bag by the time I got to chat A
(20:17):
look of the nicktas that took my look at that,
I said, I said the words yeah, but I forgot
ween on the corner. But I said, they took my bag. Man.
When I got and I had, I ain't gonna lie.
I had a thirty eight that was broke. It was
fucked up, and it's it's skilled and motherucker shot like it.
(20:39):
Click click pole click click Clickin was skipping on him
on the mother By the time I got and I
had to walk. By the time I got to Georgia,
I Carter, it was three o'clock in the morning. I said, Janet,
I'm in Atlanta and she said, what you bullshit? I said,
I'm in Atlanta. She said, where you at? I said,
I'm at the Greyhound bus that she said, Mike, I talked,
(21:00):
told you I'm married. I can't handle you know, I said, Janey,
I'm gonna stay in the greyhound bus station. But when
when you get up in the morning, if you come
and pick me up and take me to the Salvation Army,
I stay in the Salvation Army. I get a cot.
That's how serious I was about being somebody and changing
(21:20):
my life. She said, I'll be there in the morning.
She can't pick me up. Were riding. I had never
been out of my hometown other than going to the
joint on like the outside Westville stuff like that. When
I seen Atlanta and seen all them buildings, I said, damn,
you know, it was crazy to see that. It was
like a city to me because I had never seen
a city like the other in Chicago. That's a lie.
(21:42):
I've went to being in Chicago a million times, but
I was in Atlanta. Atlanta was I thought Atlanta was
Hollywood back in the day when it freak nicking them
and stuff like. People was moving to Atlanta like they
was going down there to blow up. I moved to
Atlanta instead of going to New York l a man,
I've seen this city, man, And we were right. And
she said, you know what, I can't take you down there.
(22:03):
She said, you can come and stay with me, but
you gotta stay in the basement. My husband go to work.
He worked second shift three to eleven. You can't come
out of the basement at the three. I'm down in
that basement like and Frank, you remember, And Frank was
with the Germans and shipping it. Man, I'm down in
the basement. Man. So he didn't know you was living
(22:24):
in the house now he was. Yeah, he was an
old g He was an old player. He worked for
the city, worked for the city of Landing, but he
was a hustler too. He was older, dude, you know
what I mean. Nope, didn't know that I was staying
in that house. I stayed and stayed down there for
about twenty days. Man. One day he didn't go to work.
I come up about I swear to God, I come
up out the out the basement with a bowl of
(22:46):
cereal and my drawers on this old niggers standing there
washing this is turned around and look his neigh was Sittney.
He turned around to me and said, think what you're
doing about? And man, I sit down and talk to him.
Told him who would because he called Janet. I said,
I'm Janet's nephew, and blah blah blah. He called her right,
he called because she worked for the city too. He
called her at the job. He said, who was his nigga?
(23:08):
And she told him and I sit down and told him.
I said, man, I had to leave my hometown. I said,
I told him, Mr Sydney, the streets wasn't for me.
Man I called three cases back to back. I called,
I called a dope case and called a case why
I was, Yeah, I on pro not on probation was
(23:32):
on bard. I called another case. I said, man, I
had to get the funk up out of that city
because they was spinning. Give me the bitch with crambine.
You know they got that three They called it a
bitch wood up there, three strikes. I said, I gotta
get the fun up out of here. And uh, I said,
down with him and talk to him. I lived with
him for a whole year. He got me a job
at the city and I start when that That's when
(23:56):
I when I first got to Atlanta, I went to
the Uptown Comedy Club. It was in Atlanta on Pea
Street Street. How long did it take you to go
there before? When you got to Atlanta? The next week
and when I walked in the club, Willie d Nigger,
I seen Chris Tucker, Bruce Bruce. It was a dude
named Chris I seen and them dudes have been on
(24:16):
death comedy jam. So when I seen him, I'm like
that I made it. I thought I was in Hollywood
because I seen Chris Tuck. This is the young Chris
did nothing but death jam. Don't none of them remember
me walking up to him. I walked up to every
last one of them, Nix, you know what I mean.
(24:39):
None of them remember that ship. But that's how I
made it. Man. And and I met T. K. Kirkland.
He said yeah, he said, yeah, homie, you ain't gonna
make it in Hollywood unless you moved to Hollywood. And
I was like, damn, so I'm in the wrong. Motherfucker's spoty.
He's like yeah, he said, oh, you can go to
New York and uh, you know, really really learned how
(25:01):
to do stand up with you know, because you're still
kind of green. Nick. I got on a bus the
next week with fifteen hundred dollars I have been working
at the city and got my text checked back. I
had three comics that wanted to go with me, and
I was the only one that got on. I got
on the bus again, went to New York. I end
up living in New York for ten years. God damn.
(25:23):
So how when you got to New York with which
don't go far anywhere, but especially in New York, how
did you make that happen? Man? I had T K.
Kirkland had a manager name Dave Kleiman, and and by
the way, shots at the T K. Kirkin who was
responsible for a whole lot of people getting on and
(25:44):
giving people guy it. He got banned back in the
day they said he stole Eddie Murphy's watched and ship
you heard they said he stole Eddie Murphy's watching. I
think he said he stole it. Yeah, yeah, But anyway,
they banned him on some bullshit. But for for the
most part, he was a solid dude and a nice guy.
(26:07):
Put put on a lot of young guys. And uh.
He had a manager named Dave Kleinman that was a
Jewish guy that managed Sandric Bullock and any Michael Hall
and all of them. He lived in New York. So, um,
that's who I was gonna contact when I got there.
And another for instance, where I went and just moved
somewhere and somebody told me that they ain't tell me
(26:28):
to come and nothing but see in my mind, listen
to this, Willie and Scarf, this is some crazy ship.
When I caught that last case, I called a case,
I called a case. While I was dealing with the case,
I end up doing two years in the county jail,
and they gave me time to serve on it. I
had an A dealing in a C possession. They dropped
(26:49):
the dealing because the dude who set me up was
a dope thing. They couldn't find him to get him
back in court to testify against me. So I end
up doing time serve on the class C. Did the
two years and got out. And that's when I left
the town. When I left the town and I got
away in my head because when I was sitting in
the county jail, I said, if they let me out
(27:11):
on bond, I'm going on the run. I'd already had
it in my mind. And I knew niggas that was federal,
federal future, this before and all that. Niggas told me
stories they was running. So I said, nigger, I'm running, nigga.
So when I got out and everything worked out, I said,
in my mind, I'm gonna play like I'm on the
run nigga, And that's how I lived my life. So
(27:34):
when I got to you know what I mean, When
I got to Port Authority, I had that fifteen hundred
dollars man I and I'm in New York and I'm
I'm boy. I walked up and I'm looking at Port,
the skyscrapers, people everywhere, bus it's moving. As soon as
I walked the Time Square, I ran into a slick
nigger that was playing that three card molly. Yeah he
(27:55):
didn't have three carne. Gave him some money. Man, I'm
sitting eating Corney Halls and ship ran into this slick nigga,
this nigga, and man, that nigga beat me out about
the little nigga ran. He I'll never forget he ran
and I couldn't catch you. Man, that nigga ran. But
it was New York City. Yeah, I couldn't catch him,
(28:17):
and I was running through people and everything. Little bit
him up for Puerto Rican motherfucker, and it was a
crowd of people. He let me win one time, and
I one and another girl that he was with walked
up and one I said, got me. But anyway, I
end up living that you're down to a stack. What
you do with this stack? How do you get some residents?
What happened they had on on the West Side Highway
(28:41):
in New York back in the nineties late eighties. They had,
uh a bunch of role hotels, you know what I mean,
and then the hotel's West Side Highway back in the day,
it was pimping over there. Man. It was prostitutes and uh,
transvestile all kind of shipped on that street. It was.
(29:03):
It was it was the meat pack that's crazy, you
said that, That's what it was. It was. It was
in that area down that warehouse area where Morvy is
and all that. And they had hotels where you can
pay for Man, they had a hotel where you can
pay for the hour and the down because you know,
they had prostitutes. So I found a hotel where I
paid like thirty five dollars a day and you know,
(29:27):
you shared a whole bath room with everybody in the hotel. Yeah,
it was some old gangster ships. I mean, you know
somethings you see needles and all that. I said, Man,
I'm That's how I knew I was on the mission. Man.
And my first baby, Mama, I just had my daughter
I told her, Man, I'm going to New York to
be funny. She said, NICKI you ain't that funny. You
(29:48):
just had a daughter nigger, and you know, and I
still tell my older daughter to this day. I said, baby,
I hate that I didn't grow up with you, But
if I had not a left, I wouldn't know you now.
I wouldn't know you now, and I wouldn't have made it.
And she don't understand. I can't even trade that ship
(30:08):
right now. Man, I don't. I can't make her. I
can't explain it to her, you know. But Man, I
ended up living in every borough up there. When I
got to New York, Man, I went to Russell Simmons office.
The next thought that everybody thought I was a maniact.
They was like, who the hell is this country? Because
I was country man, you know what I mean. My
(30:29):
clones wasn't. I wasn't just like New York. But when
I got up there, you know what I mean, because
they that's all he was coming. They were saying that
country boy and country because I was doing comedy stuff.
And uh, you know the whole time I was up there,
I was like, you know what I'm no, I'm in
New York. But I know some ship they don't know.
(30:49):
I just always felt that way, you know what I mean,
because they was laughing at me, you know, they was there.
I said, I know some slick ship, you know, even
though it's New York. I still I was like, they
don't know this country ship, you know what I mean.
I bought a Cadillac one time and a girl was
laughing at me. I said, what's you last? Year said
(31:10):
I didn't know you drove a cab. I said. It
offended me because yeah, because Cadillacs ain't chipped up there.
They their calves and shipped up there. You know, you
don't think it would have fixed up in New York.
They don't put through and bold mannaids on. You don't
even see manonnaires and mustards in New York, you know
what I mean. Man, You know the first time I
(31:39):
saw you, I saw you at Alice Club, just joking
in Houston, and you did the Richard Pride piece, that
piece right there. When I saw you do that, I said,
he gonna make it. He did, he got something. I
remember that in Richmond on Richmond, right, he gonna make it.
He got something. And so this is before Friday, of course,
(32:01):
and all of that stuff. And and I told I
wanted to meet meet you, yuh, and you know you
saw each other. Oh man, you let me. I'm a fan, man,
you know what. I'm a fan too right now. You
know what I'm I'm a fan too, man, because when
I saw you on that stage man hand doing doing
your thing like that, I said, Man, this dude he
got it. And I and I and I've seen a
(32:22):
lot of people do, Richard, but you did it the best.
Which brings me to this movie that needs to be
made that has that It is still like on the sheelf,
what's going on with the Richard Pryan movie. Well, you
know what Willie face. You know, I met with Scarf.
I mean I said I met with Scarce. I met
with Richard Pryor, uh probably about two about oh three
(32:48):
something like that, oh four, went up to his house,
Matt Witty and uh his wife really is the one
that saw me out, you know, and said that Richard
asked me to play his movie. But when I got
there to see Richard, Richard was like there because he
had multiple scrolls. Yeah he couldn't, he couldn't. He like
(33:11):
he understood us. Like we're sitting there talking, but all
the nerves in his that's what MS is. He couldn't
move nothing, so the motor skills. Yeah, but but you
could read the person's eyes, you know. Some of them
days and nig was looking at me like ni, I
don't want to be bothered. He could go home, you
know what I mean. And the lady didn't understand. I'm
(33:32):
like ship. But some of them days. So you was
around him several days. Oh man, I went up there
and seen it for a whole year. I used to
go sil Richard Pride for a year, but I was
it was sad because I didn't get the Richard that
I yeah, you know what I mean. And some days
he was like I would go up there and try
(33:52):
to make him laugh when I first met him, and
he'd just be looking at me, like he'd be looking
at me like that, ain't it? You know what I mean?
Like you gotta be yourself for me, you know what
I mean? Like because I didn't, I didn't understood. I
was so mesmerized that it was him, you know what
I mean. And then as I got natural, when I
(34:14):
was regularly felt like I was just going over my
uncle's house. You know what I mean? It was like, damn, yeah,
I'm just gonna go up to Uncle Richard's house. But
we had amazing ship around there. And then one day
one of the maze walked past some party and I said, damn,
that sounds like it's been tampered with. And the NIX said,
and what I said, She can't run it out the road?
(34:34):
She said, you made him? This was like six months. Man,
man is the story? Man? It wasn't laughing Manryan was
funny as hell. Bro, he was funny. Man wasn't I didn't.
I didn't even get my ass with the player Richard
Prior Records. That's how funny it was. What was the
first album you listened to that? Uh? Is crazy? That
(35:01):
was the one? Yeah? I think that was Craps? Remember
the Craps? I remember? Uh, how are you gonna get
a job with out here? Pressing? License? Was? One of
my favorite Richard Fride jokes was when he talked about
(35:24):
him and his wife having a domestic dispute and he
shot the car. He really did bought that car? Yeah,
he said, I bought a car and uh, she was
talking about leaving. I said, when you weren't leaving in
this he shot a car that's cars. Yeah. And in
(35:48):
the dog thing, I think he was Richard the first
one that that. I guess he probably wasn't the first one.
Dog and like a dog or whatever, like like like
bring a dog to life with speech. He was like
talking about the dog they used to chase him all
the time, named King. Remember that. It was like like yeah,
(36:09):
so so and he said, uh yeah, yeah, yeah, he said.
The dogs said you're Richard. You don't want to be
chasing you. Yeah, tomorrow your funny ship man was he
was running, Um, he's chasing the two dogs chasing after
the other dog. Dog looked at up and say that
(36:29):
ship and they said that ain't no goddamned dogs dog
in the world said like that jack some wineo that
took a squad on the side. Man, rich Man, I
can't wait to see this ship. I can't wait for
you to start, you know, cracking that up, man, because
that you the road, Richard Brown. When they actually they
(36:53):
do want to they're doing they're doing a nineteen eighties
series called show Time about the l a Lakers, about
Magic and Norm and all these dudes, and it's coming
on HBO. It's gonna be real controversial. And they got
me playing Richard Pride in it. Yeah, because yeah, because
the Richard was hanging around magic in them back in
(37:15):
the day in the eighties when all that, you know,
when she just called it's called showtime, yeah untitled. Yeah,
it's gonna be real controversy. Oh yeah, man. But but
the great Paul Mooney just died. Man. Man, that dude
was deep, wasn't he made? He was a real one.
Did you know him personal level? Oh? Yeah, man, he
(37:37):
was real. Give us a memorable Paul Mooney story that
nobody knows, but you Uh, when I first met Paul Mooney,
I was at the Last Factory in l A. And uh,
I went on stage and he was I knew he
was in there because they had shotted him out. And
I went on stage and when I got off stage
(37:59):
where he was sitting at he wasn't there no more.
So I thought he left because you know, I was
up there trying to show off on him the crowd.
I had the crowd going. I jumped out stage. I'm like, damn,
go they're quick, you know, because I wanted to see
what he thought. But but I didn't seem and uh.
I walked outside and he was standing over there talking
to somebody, and I walked past him, and I was
(38:21):
about to say something to me, but he was talking
and I didn't say nothing. And as soon as I
got a couple of steps away from me, he said, yeah,
you're you're down home funny nigger. That's what he said that, Yeah,
you're down home funny nigger. I was like, oh yeah,
I said, I appreciate that, you know what I mean. Yeah,
you went them down home funny niggers. I said, you know,
(38:42):
because because country man, you know what I mean. I'm
a country boy man hard you know what I mean.
My parents from the South. So that's what he said
to me, man, you know. And I never forgot that.
And then we ever since then we kicked it and
kicked and went out. When they told me I was
playing Richard pryor his wife, she didn't want me talking
to nobody. Listen, man, when the man died, nobody was
(39:07):
at the funeral. Nobody. Let me tell you what was
at the funeral, Monique George Lopez. These are people that
don't even know him. You would, I'm listening. She didn't
invite none of his Hollywood friends. So okay, So they
wasn't there, not because they didn't want to be that
(39:28):
it's just that, okay, that's like, that's like God forbid
something happening, something to me and my kids. They ain't
invited to my ship because my wife won't let him come.
That's what happened. Man. I met the mother like a
service and what's her name is? Uh? They didn't even
know she was there, dying a ross sitting in their
(39:52):
head with some black shot on with she just stood
up and started singing in front of the whole of
the guy just stood through them just so was like
they because we didn't know who she was that was
dying a ross. She snuck in there and started singing.
(40:13):
Security and people that man, when they got upon and
realized it was dying a ross, they backed up off
of her. Damn. His wife didn't even know that was her.
I'm telling you some real ship, man, And this is
the wife that wanted you to play this. This is
the wife that wanted you to play the role. Yeah,
that's that's the wife that wanted me to play the
ro And then wow, and now I know you gotta
(40:34):
you gotta break, but I wanted. I do want you
to touch real quick on the Upshaws. Yeah, that's a
funny series. I liked it. I liked the banner between
you and your daughter. Uh, and and and the ex
and all that stuff. That's the beautiful thing. How did
that come to be? Well, you know what, as you know,
(40:54):
we all grew up watching the Norman Lear TV shows,
Uh Good Time and uh, the Jeffersons and stuff. Man,
that's all error. That's the television that raised us. And
I've done sitcoms I've tried. I was on Uncle Buck,
I was on ABC and all that stuff, and those
(41:16):
outfits weren't for me. And I said, if I do
a sitcom, it's gotta be what I'm taylored from what
I grew up watching. That's my timing. That's our timing,
right there, Fred Sanford and right, that's that's the comedy.
You can see it. Yeah, you're very very natural in it.
(41:37):
I've seen comedians who are very very good comedians get
their own sitcoms, and you're like, you can tell it forced.
It looks forced. It does just that that Upshaws. You
got something that I appreciate that Ladies and gentlemen, Mike EPs, Man,
thank you for coming on show. You definitely gotta come back. Man.
(41:59):
We can talk y' y'all legends in the game again.
Like I said, Man, you brothers raised me. I had
I knew you before you could even begin to think
you knew me. Man, And thank you for everything y'all
have done for the community. Y'all raised black men out here,
and y'all don't get y'all just do. Man. I really
(42:20):
I hate it man, because we did. Man. We appreciate
it that y'all deserve more than y'all ever have. Man,
Love y'all brothers. Man appreciate. This episode was produced by
A King and brought to you by The Black Effect
Podcast Network and Heart Radio.
Get up, get the boys. It's back and rehoaded all
in your mind. Yeah, not deep throating. This is for
the streets, the reel, the railroaded, the distant franchise, the
truth escapegoating, and they ain't knowing we speak the truth,
so they ain't quoted because we wrote it. The North
South East coat is the gv MY for keeping your
head bobbing. It ain't no stopping and wants to be
(00:23):
dry to head by And then the system is so
corrupt they throw the rock out of their heads and
then blame it on us. Don't get it twisted on
code and me and dancing for no buttoment biscuits. It's
(00:43):
Willie d y'all scar facing the building. Collectively we are
the ghettold boys, reloaded with another episode of information and
instructions to help you get through this crazy, wild, beautiful world.
I guess today Mike Epps for something big Willie, Hey King,
how you doing? They an't good to see you, brother,
(01:04):
all right, So we got some house cleaning to do
real quick. Some scar face is in the building, but
he's having some issues right now. So but he'll he'll, he'll,
he'll join us momentarily now Man, you're back in your element.
You're back on stage, back doing what you do. I
feel it feels pretty good, you know. I guess because
(01:26):
of the pandemic. The people are so receptive to everything.
They like. They they're so excited to be out. So
you know, we we we had a show over the
Toyota Center last night. Man, and the people were just man,
I mean, they was laughing at some stuff. I'm like, Damn,
I know that wasn't funny, you know what I mean.
(01:50):
I know when my jokes ain't funny, and they was
laughing at some of that. Ship. Yeah. Now speaking of funny.
So you got this uh movie with uh, the Dion
Taylor movie right next door. It's Cat Williams in that movie.
Cat Williams is in the moment. Okay, shout out to
(02:10):
Deon Taylor out there, black filmmaker. Absolutely absolutely, Uh, Dion
is real good dude, Man, he's doing some great things. Uh.
And you guys, this is your second time working together.
This is the yeah we meet Yeah we didn't meet
the blacks. And then, um, this is actually the second
(02:31):
installment of that movie. This is like, uh, what what
would you say? Now? That was the prequel to house
next door because the original script was called house next door,
but but Dion, we decided to call it meet the Blacks,
so that we could do was second we called a
house next door. So he had all of this plan.
(02:52):
You know what I mean, what she did. I think
he did a great job. Yeah. Absolutely. Man. Recently, Cat
Williams was in the news, he was talking about cancel culture, right,
and he basically said that cancer culture. You know, uh,
it's non existent. He said that, you know, you're allowed
(03:13):
to say whatever it is that you want to say,
and people are allowed to not like whatever it is
that you have to say, right, and so if if
you can't, if you can't take that, if you can't
you know these words that you have. Nobody takes these
words away from you. You can choose to use them.
(03:35):
Are not Yeah, yeah what you think I mean? Do
you think, well, d that they using that as a
control tactic? No, you know what, I really do believe. Yes,
some people are absolutely like to be able to tell
you that, oh this is sensitive if you talk about this, this, this, this,
(03:56):
and and you're somebody that's that has a voice to
control your Absolutely absolutely, it's it's a control tactic for
for many people, but also for some people. You know,
I think it's a teachable moment because for to Cat
Williams point, uh, for a long time, Uh, you know,
(04:17):
this whole cancer culture thing has been rooted in minority
culture really generally. Generally it's uh minorities who uh subjects
subject to insults and slurs, right and so uh so
so now and insults your insults and slurs from people
(04:39):
of privilege and power. Right. So now it's like people
are saying, you know, it's time out for that. We're
gonna check you. You know, if you get out, get
out of pocket, you're gonna get checking and it's gonna
cost you a check. So so I think it's so
so I think it has some some validity to it,
you know because uh, for instance, I used to you
(05:00):
you know, and I think I can say this word
right now because of the context in which I'm saying it,
But I used to say the word retarded like it
was nothing. You know, we all say that, right, you know,
that's growing up, right. Well, anytime somebody say do something crazy,
then you retarded. Right. Well, I was talking to a
friend of mine one day and she said, you know,
you're not supposed to use that. You shouldn't use that word.
(05:22):
You know, well, it's offensive to people. You know, it's
and you have to think about that. You're like, I
don't mind being offensive to people who I don't like,
in people that I got something against. But if somebody
ain't did nothing to me and they say, you know
what a group of people they look, Man, we don't
like that word. That's offensive to us. I know you
don't understand it, but to us it's offensive. I don't
(05:43):
have to use it. It's not that important for me
to use the yeah, because you already know that it
hurts people exactly, exactly, and and and this is why, uh,
I think people have to even understand what they have
to understand about the N word. It doesn't matter that
you grew up using the word, you know, it doesn't
matter that, uh, you know that people around you have
(06:07):
used it and you've heard the word all your It's
offensive to millions and millions of people, And so why
you want to say the words so damn bad? You
don't get anything out of the word except I guess
your your your. I guess you might get a little
pride out of it. I mean, I think that's yeah. Yeah,
(06:30):
it's like it's like it's like it's like segue words
that that we're using the hood. We don't know we're
using them. Right. Um. I grew up in the house
with an uncle that was slow. That was you know,
um uh what do they call it? Man? He was uh. Well,
(06:54):
when we were growing up, bro, that was the word
that we know. That's not autistic, it's worse than that,
but it's um. And that was the word that we
used to describe my uncle ever since I was, you know,
two years old. He's retarded. Yeah, yeah for real. And
we we didn't we didn't see any harm in it.
(07:18):
And then, like I said, like Will said, when when
we when we got older, we realized that it was
a derogatory term towards someone who was not mentally uh
advanced ignorance something, you know what I mean, like, man,
shut your retarded ass up. You know, like it's offensive.
(07:38):
It's like saying, shut your nigga ass up, now shut
your chinaman? As why do we prosecuted as a as
a as a culture. I mean, this is what we
say to each other and we've been saying it. I
mean it's all broken English anyway, it's all a bunch
of rhetoric anyway, words that I mean, everybody was trying
(07:59):
to figure out where that word came from forever. I
hadn't heard about nine different uh terminologies are where the word?
Then word came from the way came from? Is that
is that in Africa? No, they said they got a
country and they said they got a spot in Africa.
(08:22):
I've seen that in the spelling bead. But they couldn't
it could it could have could uh came from Niger,
you know, energy, the Black River whever, But I know
it was the old mean as. Yeah, but where did
the white boy started calling us nick? Yeah, that's what
I'm saying. Where How did he come up with it
as as something disrespectful? I mean, he came over. It's
(08:48):
a lot of things that that are said by uh,
those different people that don't like different people that, um,
you know that's the most offensive thing you say about me,
then go ahead, you know, call me. But man if
I run through my motherfucking dictionary and ship, I can
(09:09):
call you. I didn't mean to say m infant, but
excuse me, but I'm just saying it's it's it's it's
it's kind of like playing that doesn't now call me nigger.
But every race inside of the race have racism against
each other. I think. I think Jews call each other words.
(09:30):
Italians probably call each other, yeah, but that's within their culture.
The problem I think that the thing that's problematic about
the N word is that it was a word that
was used to break us down, just to distraught, to
demean us. And we took the word and we used
the word and started using as a word of a
(09:53):
term of in debt for us. Those other words have
always been words that have been a as to these
particular cultures or whatever. So you're right, they do use
other racests. Do you have these terms that they use?
But they use it amongst themselves and they don't see
it publicly. Wow, we are public with it. And what
I'm saying, how was that I was on the golf course.
(10:16):
Was on the golf course that country club I'm talking
about an elite country club here in Houston. It's private,
you know, it's so private to the point where women
can't come on the course at all. Right, Okay, And
I was hitting the balls like I was really kicking,
but on the course, and um, the old white man said, man,
(10:38):
that nigger can't hit that ball right there in my face.
And I was already already shake you back. But but
but I'm not exactly sure. But it would have. I
(10:59):
would had to make some brol though. It's a moral
to get your case on the thought. Now with all
these careens running around, I'm saying, like something like that,
contact by it has to be some contact. But what what?
What ended? What ended the end the story for you?
(11:21):
I told him that I was offending, and he apologized,
and he said that you know Cardi B. And and
and my wife loves Cardig and they all used the
they used an inn word on the songs. And I apologize, Brad,
I didn't know it was that offensive. If you knew
it was that offensive, Cardi B had never been born,
he would have still used that still said hit that
(11:44):
he's probably been saying it. And then and then and then,
you know, sometimes they get so comfortable that they forget
they around us, and especially if they get the drink
and they'd say some ship and then call you the
next morning and upset. Sometimes I just say, and you
know the best way to heal this up, man is
writ me a little check mane pulled dot paper up. Man,
(12:16):
give me a little money, man. I'm trying to start
something up, man, so I can give back to the man. Man.
It was speaking of giving back. I know these segues.
Let's go to Naptown where it all began, and I
know that you are doing a lot of stuff in
the community, and you do a lot of giving back.
I'm always looking up and you're seeing you involved in
(12:37):
certain charitable events or whatever. Man, how does someone like
Mike Epps who grew up in Gary and Dana where
there's few opportunities as apples. I'm from Naptown. I'm from Naptown, Okay.
But everybody always get it all you know, we it's
(12:59):
in less Indiana. You're from Indiana, Indiana. I know that.
I said that. I said because every time I hear
Naptown Okay, right, No, that's all good. That's all I got.
I got love. I think people get it, but people
(13:20):
get confused sometimes. So it's it's it's people. Yeah, people
ask me all the time. I mean because because at
the end of the day, when if you're from a
state like Indiana, if you're in California and you running,
I run into Freddie Gibbs, he's from g I. It's
like looking at it's like we didn't forgot that we
a hundred miles from each other, you know what I
(13:42):
mean up the road because we were both from Indiana.
Like they don't even matter. You know, that's where the
claimed arrived from, right there, They from Gary and Indianapo's Indiana? Indiana?
Is that right? Is it? Is it a spooky uh
(14:02):
vibe up there? Like to stay there for like permanently
because I've been there, you know, nice, nice place to visit.
It wouldn't want to live that type type of thing. Well,
you know what, um over the years, it's gotten better
because and I always credited hip hop because hip hop
made uh that younger generation of clansmen huh they became Yeah,
(14:30):
because all of the guys that were clansmen, believe it
or not, their granddaughters are white and they got babies
by black people. I'm talking. Yeah, it's crazy. They didn't
had articles and all kinds of stuff up there where.
This guy disowned his daughter because she wouldn't have had
his granddaughter had a kid by a black kid. And
(14:54):
her Yeah, her dad, her granddaddy was a grand pool
by you know, what I mean. But but I mean,
it's it's just like anywhere else man. You know, you
you got a section of black people that live amongst
each other, and everything else is is ruled by that,
you know, and they keep reminding you, Mike Pence, all
(15:17):
of that. I mean, I wouldn't say that he was
a clansman, but in that town, you can tell that
there's certain the the white people in that town they
move like that, They move like you know, I don't
know a clansman personally, but you know what it is. No,
you know, some clansmen personally told you who they are.
(15:42):
That's right now. They know they might not know him
at all. They just programmed that, just like sometimes white
people look at you like their programmed too, to look
at you, like what are you doing around here? You
know what I mean? They just programmed, just like all
of them are the cops, ye say. I always say
that white people, all white people are deputized, deputized to
(16:08):
be police officers. The absolutely I'm calling the coups, Mike.
I still want to get back to like the psychology
of you getting out of Gary, Indiana. I mean in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana,
(16:35):
it is a very very tough, tall task. Right, How
real did you think your chances were? You know, you
wanted to be a comedian at what age? I mean,
I was telling jokes before I became a comedian. I
didn't know that I was doing it though. I was
just living my regular life, you know, wherever I was at,
you know, killing them boys in the hood. Yeah, and
(16:57):
at the end of the day, you know, I'm one.
That meant I grew up a skinny like fair skinny
kid and the ghetto. That ain't easy, you know what
I mean, Because because you gotta fight your way through everything.
So comedy became a way from me to I navigated
through the hood. I ended up navigating through jail. Wherever
(17:19):
I was at, I had a personality that you know
that lit up the room and I could survive through it,
you know. So it really was my survival that became
an art for me, you know what I mean. Like,
But how real did you think your chances were to
actually get out of that? But you've seen so many
people that did the exact same thing, that came exactly
(17:42):
from where you came from. But you found a way
to get out out get what inspired you? Like, really
to get out and make it. What made you say, man,
I'm gonna make it? I got it? I was, I was.
I had an imagination. And I tell kids all the
time and don't have an imagination. You can't dream. You can't.
(18:03):
You can't. You gotta be able to see some ship,
pre pre pre everything before everybody. It's gotta be in you.
And I had an imagination of me being something, you
know what I mean. I couldn't figure out what it was.
So when I found out it was comedy, I was like, Man,
I'm only something because I grew up watching kingpins and
(18:26):
drug dealers, and I'm like, damn, man, I didn't try
to sell dope and anything. I cannot become a kingpin
for nothing in the world. Like I'm serious. I was
the worst drug dealing in the world. I had everybody
in that, all the old g niggas. The only reason
why they didn't kill me is because they liked me.
They ushould tell me all time, boy, you better be
glad I like you. You know what I mean? Because Nick,
(18:48):
you even ran off of my money. I had a
gambling habit and I was selling dope. I was hustling backwards.
You know what I mean, I didn't shot dice with
these niggas and lost my money, the front man's money.
So the time I left in Annapolis man our old
couple of niggas, money and all kind of ship, I said,
I gotta go make it at something, you know. I
got on a bus in nineteen uh ninety one with
(19:13):
my sister. Gave me eighty five dollars book of food stamps.
Remember them food steps it was in the book had
blue fives. She gave me some food steps and I
had eighty five dollars and uh, and I bought me
a I bought me a bus ticket and my my
(19:35):
first baby mom and her lived in Atlanta. And I
called her. I said, Janet, you know every time you
come to Indianapolis, you say, you know, if you ever
want to move to Atlanta, come to Atlanta. Man. I
called her. I said, I want, I'm ready to come
to Atlanta. She said, Mike, some things didn't change. I
said what she said, I'm married now, and you know
(19:56):
I don't live by myself. Do you know that? I
told her okay, and I still got on the bus.
I got on the Greyhound bus and by the time
I got to Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the ground of niggas
that took my clock. I swear I'll never forget. I
had cross colored jeans and major damage. You remember cross
cut on the man. I had all this gear in
my bag by the time I got to chat A
(20:17):
look of the nicktas that took my look at that,
I said, I said the words yeah, but I forgot
ween on the corner. But I said, they took my bag. Man.
When I got and I had, I ain't gonna lie.
I had a thirty eight that was broke. It was
fucked up, and it's it's skilled and motherucker shot like it.
(20:39):
Click click pole click click Clickin was skipping on him
on the mother By the time I got and I
had to walk. By the time I got to Georgia,
I Carter, it was three o'clock in the morning. I said, Janet,
I'm in Atlanta and she said, what you bullshit? I said,
I'm in Atlanta. She said, where you at? I said,
I'm at the Greyhound bus that she said, Mike, I talked,
(21:00):
told you I'm married. I can't handle you know, I said, Janey,
I'm gonna stay in the greyhound bus station. But when
when you get up in the morning, if you come
and pick me up and take me to the Salvation Army,
I stay in the Salvation Army. I get a cot.
That's how serious I was about being somebody and changing
(21:20):
my life. She said, I'll be there in the morning.
She can't pick me up. Were riding. I had never
been out of my hometown other than going to the
joint on like the outside Westville stuff like that. When
I seen Atlanta and seen all them buildings, I said, damn,
you know, it was crazy to see that. It was
like a city to me because I had never seen
a city like the other in Chicago. That's a lie.
(21:42):
I've went to being in Chicago a million times, but
I was in Atlanta. Atlanta was I thought Atlanta was
Hollywood back in the day when it freak nicking them
and stuff like. People was moving to Atlanta like they
was going down there to blow up. I moved to
Atlanta instead of going to New York l a man,
I've seen this city, man, And we were right. And
she said, you know what, I can't take you down there.
(22:03):
She said, you can come and stay with me, but
you gotta stay in the basement. My husband go to work.
He worked second shift three to eleven. You can't come
out of the basement at the three. I'm down in
that basement like and Frank, you remember, And Frank was
with the Germans and shipping it. Man, I'm down in
the basement. Man. So he didn't know you was living
(22:24):
in the house now he was. Yeah, he was an
old g He was an old player. He worked for
the city, worked for the city of Landing, but he
was a hustler too. He was older, dude, you know
what I mean. Nope, didn't know that I was staying
in that house. I stayed and stayed down there for
about twenty days. Man. One day he didn't go to work.
I come up about I swear to God, I come
up out the out the basement with a bowl of
(22:46):
cereal and my drawers on this old niggers standing there
washing this is turned around and look his neigh was Sittney.
He turned around to me and said, think what you're
doing about? And man, I sit down and talk to him.
Told him who would because he called Janet. I said,
I'm Janet's nephew, and blah blah blah. He called her right,
he called because she worked for the city too. He
called her at the job. He said, who was his nigga?
(23:08):
And she told him and I sit down and told him.
I said, man, I had to leave my hometown. I said,
I told him, Mr Sydney, the streets wasn't for me.
Man I called three cases back to back. I called,
I called a dope case and called a case why
I was, Yeah, I on pro not on probation was
(23:32):
on bard. I called another case. I said, man, I
had to get the funk up out of that city
because they was spinning. Give me the bitch with crambine.
You know they got that three They called it a
bitch wood up there, three strikes. I said, I gotta
get the fun up out of here. And uh, I said,
down with him and talk to him. I lived with
him for a whole year. He got me a job
at the city and I start when that That's when
(23:56):
I when I first got to Atlanta, I went to
the Uptown Comedy Club. It was in Atlanta on Pea
Street Street. How long did it take you to go
there before? When you got to Atlanta? The next week
and when I walked in the club, Willie d Nigger,
I seen Chris Tucker, Bruce Bruce. It was a dude
named Chris I seen and them dudes have been on
(24:16):
death comedy jam. So when I seen him, I'm like
that I made it. I thought I was in Hollywood
because I seen Chris Tuck. This is the young Chris
did nothing but death jam. Don't none of them remember
me walking up to him. I walked up to every
last one of them, Nix, you know what I mean.
(24:39):
None of them remember that ship. But that's how I
made it. Man. And and I met T. K. Kirkland.
He said yeah, he said, yeah, homie, you ain't gonna
make it in Hollywood unless you moved to Hollywood. And
I was like, damn, so I'm in the wrong. Motherfucker's spoty.
He's like yeah, he said, oh, you can go to
New York and uh, you know, really really learned how
(25:01):
to do stand up with you know, because you're still
kind of green. Nick. I got on a bus the
next week with fifteen hundred dollars I have been working
at the city and got my text checked back. I
had three comics that wanted to go with me, and
I was the only one that got on. I got
on the bus again, went to New York. I end
up living in New York for ten years. God damn.
(25:23):
So how when you got to New York with which
don't go far anywhere, but especially in New York, how
did you make that happen? Man? I had T K.
Kirkland had a manager name Dave Kleiman, and and by
the way, shots at the T K. Kirkin who was
responsible for a whole lot of people getting on and
(25:44):
giving people guy it. He got banned back in the
day they said he stole Eddie Murphy's watched and ship
you heard they said he stole Eddie Murphy's watching. I
think he said he stole it. Yeah, yeah, But anyway,
they banned him on some bullshit. But for for the
most part, he was a solid dude and a nice guy.
(26:07):
Put put on a lot of young guys. And uh.
He had a manager named Dave Kleinman that was a
Jewish guy that managed Sandric Bullock and any Michael Hall
and all of them. He lived in New York. So, um,
that's who I was gonna contact when I got there.
And another for instance, where I went and just moved
somewhere and somebody told me that they ain't tell me
(26:28):
to come and nothing but see in my mind, listen
to this, Willie and Scarf, this is some crazy ship.
When I caught that last case, I called a case,
I called a case. While I was dealing with the case,
I end up doing two years in the county jail,
and they gave me time to serve on it. I
had an A dealing in a C possession. They dropped
(26:49):
the dealing because the dude who set me up was
a dope thing. They couldn't find him to get him
back in court to testify against me. So I end
up doing time serve on the class C. Did the
two years and got out. And that's when I left
the town. When I left the town and I got
away in my head because when I was sitting in
the county jail, I said, if they let me out
(27:11):
on bond, I'm going on the run. I'd already had
it in my mind. And I knew niggas that was federal,
federal future, this before and all that. Niggas told me
stories they was running. So I said, nigger, I'm running, nigga.
So when I got out and everything worked out, I said,
in my mind, I'm gonna play like I'm on the
run nigga, And that's how I lived my life. So
(27:34):
when I got to you know what I mean, When
I got to Port Authority, I had that fifteen hundred
dollars man I and I'm in New York and I'm
I'm boy. I walked up and I'm looking at Port,
the skyscrapers, people everywhere, bus it's moving. As soon as
I walked the Time Square, I ran into a slick
nigger that was playing that three card molly. Yeah he
(27:55):
didn't have three carne. Gave him some money. Man, I'm
sitting eating Corney Halls and ship ran into this slick nigga,
this nigga, and man, that nigga beat me out about
the little nigga ran. He I'll never forget he ran
and I couldn't catch you. Man, that nigga ran. But
it was New York City. Yeah, I couldn't catch him,
(28:17):
and I was running through people and everything. Little bit
him up for Puerto Rican motherfucker, and it was a
crowd of people. He let me win one time, and
I one and another girl that he was with walked
up and one I said, got me. But anyway, I
end up living that you're down to a stack. What
you do with this stack? How do you get some residents?
What happened they had on on the West Side Highway
(28:41):
in New York back in the nineties late eighties. They had,
uh a bunch of role hotels, you know what I mean,
and then the hotel's West Side Highway back in the day,
it was pimping over there. Man. It was prostitutes and uh,
transvestile all kind of shipped on that street. It was.
(29:03):
It was it was the meat pack that's crazy, you
said that, That's what it was. It was. It was
in that area down that warehouse area where Morvy is
and all that. And they had hotels where you can
pay for Man, they had a hotel where you can
pay for the hour and the down because you know,
they had prostitutes. So I found a hotel where I
paid like thirty five dollars a day and you know,
(29:27):
you shared a whole bath room with everybody in the hotel. Yeah,
it was some old gangster ships. I mean, you know
somethings you see needles and all that. I said, Man,
I'm That's how I knew I was on the mission. Man.
And my first baby, Mama, I just had my daughter
I told her, Man, I'm going to New York to
be funny. She said, NICKI you ain't that funny. You
(29:48):
just had a daughter nigger, and you know, and I
still tell my older daughter to this day. I said, baby,
I hate that I didn't grow up with you, But
if I had not a left, I wouldn't know you now.
I wouldn't know you now, and I wouldn't have made it.
And she don't understand. I can't even trade that ship
(30:08):
right now. Man, I don't. I can't make her. I
can't explain it to her, you know. But Man, I
ended up living in every borough up there. When I
got to New York, Man, I went to Russell Simmons office.
The next thought that everybody thought I was a maniact.
They was like, who the hell is this country? Because
I was country man, you know what I mean. My
(30:29):
clones wasn't. I wasn't just like New York. But when
I got up there, you know what I mean, because
they that's all he was coming. They were saying that
country boy and country because I was doing comedy stuff.
And uh, you know the whole time I was up there,
I was like, you know what I'm no, I'm in
New York. But I know some ship they don't know.
(30:49):
I just always felt that way, you know what I mean,
because they was laughing at me, you know, they was there.
I said, I know some slick ship, you know, even
though it's New York. I still I was like, they
don't know this country ship, you know what I mean.
I bought a Cadillac one time and a girl was
laughing at me. I said, what's you last? Year said
(31:10):
I didn't know you drove a cab. I said. It
offended me because yeah, because Cadillacs ain't chipped up there.
They their calves and shipped up there. You know, you
don't think it would have fixed up in New York.
They don't put through and bold mannaids on. You don't
even see manonnaires and mustards in New York, you know
what I mean. Man, You know the first time I
(31:39):
saw you, I saw you at Alice Club, just joking
in Houston, and you did the Richard Pride piece, that
piece right there. When I saw you do that, I said,
he gonna make it. He did, he got something. I
remember that in Richmond on Richmond, right, he gonna make it.
He got something. And so this is before Friday, of course,
(32:01):
and all of that stuff. And and I told I
wanted to meet meet you, yuh, and you know you
saw each other. Oh man, you let me. I'm a fan, man,
you know what. I'm a fan too right now. You
know what I'm I'm a fan too, man, because when
I saw you on that stage man hand doing doing
your thing like that, I said, Man, this dude he
got it. And I and I and I've seen a
(32:22):
lot of people do, Richard, but you did it the best.
Which brings me to this movie that needs to be
made that has that It is still like on the sheelf,
what's going on with the Richard Pryan movie. Well, you
know what Willie face. You know, I met with Scarf.
I mean I said I met with Scarce. I met
with Richard Pryor, uh probably about two about oh three
(32:48):
something like that, oh four, went up to his house,
Matt Witty and uh his wife really is the one
that saw me out, you know, and said that Richard
asked me to play his movie. But when I got
there to see Richard, Richard was like there because he
had multiple scrolls. Yeah he couldn't, he couldn't. He like
(33:11):
he understood us. Like we're sitting there talking, but all
the nerves in his that's what MS is. He couldn't
move nothing, so the motor skills. Yeah, but but you
could read the person's eyes, you know. Some of them
days and nig was looking at me like ni, I
don't want to be bothered. He could go home, you
know what I mean. And the lady didn't understand. I'm
(33:32):
like ship. But some of them days. So you was
around him several days. Oh man, I went up there
and seen it for a whole year. I used to
go sil Richard Pride for a year, but I was
it was sad because I didn't get the Richard that
I yeah, you know what I mean. And some days
he was like I would go up there and try
(33:52):
to make him laugh when I first met him, and
he'd just be looking at me, like he'd be looking
at me like that, ain't it? You know what I mean?
Like you gotta be yourself for me, you know what
I mean? Like because I didn't, I didn't understood. I
was so mesmerized that it was him, you know what
I mean. And then as I got natural, when I
(34:14):
was regularly felt like I was just going over my
uncle's house. You know what I mean? It was like, damn, yeah,
I'm just gonna go up to Uncle Richard's house. But
we had amazing ship around there. And then one day
one of the maze walked past some party and I said, damn,
that sounds like it's been tampered with. And the NIX said,
and what I said, She can't run it out the road?
(34:34):
She said, you made him? This was like six months. Man,
man is the story? Man? It wasn't laughing Manryan was
funny as hell. Bro, he was funny. Man wasn't I didn't.
I didn't even get my ass with the player Richard
Prior Records. That's how funny it was. What was the
first album you listened to that? Uh? Is crazy? That
(35:01):
was the one? Yeah? I think that was Craps? Remember
the Craps? I remember? Uh, how are you gonna get
a job with out here? Pressing? License? Was? One of
my favorite Richard Fride jokes was when he talked about
(35:24):
him and his wife having a domestic dispute and he
shot the car. He really did bought that car? Yeah,
he said, I bought a car and uh, she was
talking about leaving. I said, when you weren't leaving in
this he shot a car that's cars. Yeah. And in
(35:48):
the dog thing, I think he was Richard the first
one that that. I guess he probably wasn't the first one.
Dog and like a dog or whatever, like like like
bring a dog to life with speech. He was like
talking about the dog they used to chase him all
the time, named King. Remember that. It was like like yeah,
(36:09):
so so and he said, uh yeah, yeah, yeah, he said.
The dogs said you're Richard. You don't want to be
chasing you. Yeah, tomorrow your funny ship man was he
was running, Um, he's chasing the two dogs chasing after
the other dog. Dog looked at up and say that
(36:29):
ship and they said that ain't no goddamned dogs dog
in the world said like that jack some wineo that
took a squad on the side. Man, rich Man, I
can't wait to see this ship. I can't wait for
you to start, you know, cracking that up, man, because
that you the road, Richard Brown. When they actually they
(36:53):
do want to they're doing they're doing a nineteen eighties
series called show Time about the l a Lakers, about
Magic and Norm and all these dudes, and it's coming
on HBO. It's gonna be real controversial. And they got
me playing Richard Pride in it. Yeah, because yeah, because
the Richard was hanging around magic in them back in
(37:15):
the day in the eighties when all that, you know,
when she just called it's called showtime, yeah untitled. Yeah,
it's gonna be real controversy. Oh yeah, man. But but
the great Paul Mooney just died. Man. Man, that dude
was deep, wasn't he made? He was a real one.
Did you know him personal level? Oh? Yeah, man, he
(37:37):
was real. Give us a memorable Paul Mooney story that
nobody knows, but you Uh, when I first met Paul Mooney,
I was at the Last Factory in l A. And uh,
I went on stage and he was I knew he
was in there because they had shotted him out. And
I went on stage and when I got off stage
(37:59):
where he was sitting at he wasn't there no more.
So I thought he left because you know, I was
up there trying to show off on him the crowd.
I had the crowd going. I jumped out stage. I'm like, damn,
go they're quick, you know, because I wanted to see
what he thought. But but I didn't seem and uh.
I walked outside and he was standing over there talking
to somebody, and I walked past him, and I was
(38:21):
about to say something to me, but he was talking
and I didn't say nothing. And as soon as I
got a couple of steps away from me, he said, yeah,
you're you're down home funny nigger. That's what he said that, Yeah,
you're down home funny nigger. I was like, oh yeah,
I said, I appreciate that, you know what I mean. Yeah,
you went them down home funny niggers. I said, you know,
(38:42):
because because country man, you know what I mean. I'm
a country boy man hard you know what I mean.
My parents from the South. So that's what he said
to me, man, you know. And I never forgot that.
And then we ever since then we kicked it and
kicked and went out. When they told me I was
playing Richard pryor his wife, she didn't want me talking
to nobody. Listen, man, when the man died, nobody was
(39:07):
at the funeral. Nobody. Let me tell you what was
at the funeral, Monique George Lopez. These are people that
don't even know him. You would, I'm listening. She didn't
invite none of his Hollywood friends. So okay, So they
wasn't there, not because they didn't want to be that
(39:28):
it's just that, okay, that's like, that's like God forbid
something happening, something to me and my kids. They ain't
invited to my ship because my wife won't let him come.
That's what happened. Man. I met the mother like a
service and what's her name is? Uh? They didn't even
know she was there, dying a ross sitting in their
(39:52):
head with some black shot on with she just stood
up and started singing in front of the whole of
the guy just stood through them just so was like
they because we didn't know who she was that was
dying a ross. She snuck in there and started singing.
(40:13):
Security and people that man, when they got upon and
realized it was dying a ross, they backed up off
of her. Damn. His wife didn't even know that was her.
I'm telling you some real ship, man, And this is
the wife that wanted you to play this. This is
the wife that wanted you to play the role. Yeah,
that's that's the wife that wanted me to play the
ro And then wow, and now I know you gotta
(40:34):
you gotta break, but I wanted. I do want you
to touch real quick on the Upshaws. Yeah, that's a
funny series. I liked it. I liked the banner between
you and your daughter. Uh, and and and the ex
and all that stuff. That's the beautiful thing. How did
that come to be? Well, you know what, as you know,
(40:54):
we all grew up watching the Norman Lear TV shows,
Uh Good Time and uh, the Jeffersons and stuff. Man,
that's all error. That's the television that raised us. And
I've done sitcoms I've tried. I was on Uncle Buck,
I was on ABC and all that stuff, and those
(41:16):
outfits weren't for me. And I said, if I do
a sitcom, it's gotta be what I'm taylored from what
I grew up watching. That's my timing. That's our timing,
right there, Fred Sanford and right, that's that's the comedy.
You can see it. Yeah, you're very very natural in it.
(41:37):
I've seen comedians who are very very good comedians get
their own sitcoms, and you're like, you can tell it forced.
It looks forced. It does just that that Upshaws. You
got something that I appreciate that Ladies and gentlemen, Mike EPs, Man,
thank you for coming on show. You definitely gotta come back. Man.
(41:59):
We can talk y' y'all legends in the game again.
Like I said, Man, you brothers raised me. I had
I knew you before you could even begin to think
you knew me. Man, And thank you for everything y'all
have done for the community. Y'all raised black men out here,
and y'all don't get y'all just do. Man. I really
(42:20):
I hate it man, because we did. Man. We appreciate
it that y'all deserve more than y'all ever have. Man,
Love y'all brothers. Man appreciate. This episode was produced by
A King and brought to you by The Black Effect
Podcast Network and Heart Radio.
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