- I always feel like Steve Harvey just has like,
I don't know him, I've never met him,
but he just seems like the type of brother
that just travels with fabric.
(Cedric laughs)
And there's just some mother (bleep) in the next hotel room
who just, "Throw me together something in a 42" long."
And then he, "I'll be on the golf course,"
and he'll light a cigar. - Yeah.
- And then, there'll be a new suit in his hotel room
when he come back. - Yeah, exactly.
"Raphael, run out and get some buttons for me.
"I need a few more buttons."
(both laugh)
There's never enough buttons.
- This is another episode of "Stand-Up Playback".
30 years of bettering the game,
the pride of St. Louis, he is Ced the Entertainer.
- Yea yea, what's up, brother (chuckles)?
- Now, this just a random question,
do you decide when you're Ced the Entertainer
versus Cedric the Entertainer?
'Cause I notice you flip-flop it sometimes
depending on the network. - Yeah, yeah, you know,
it's dependent on the check, you know?
(Ron laughs) Definitely, the check signer
and the credit I get is do you get the whole name?
- 'Cause I seen you do some Black shit
and it's Ced the Entertainer.
But then, you know, 'cause right now,
you're on "The Neighborhood" on CBS.
You're doing the sitcom. - Yeah, that's Cedric.
- And it's Cedric (laughs). - Cedric the Entertainer.
And I've done some things on other networks
where I've just said the Et, I don't even give you
the full Entertainer at the end.
(both laughing)
- They can't even afford all the graphics, man.
Well- - Not the whole thing.
- I wanna tell you what an honor it is to sit down with you.
You know, you're one of the OGs in the game,
and that goes without saying.
Your pedigree, your resume runs as deep as Black comedy,
as far as I'm concerned, you know?
And that's from the Def Jam era
all the way up to where we are now.
And I think that something that people just don't notice
because you do it so easily
is that you don't have a career of three plus decades
without evolving, without being able
to have a sense of relatability
to the generation that's coming after you.
Was it deliberate in your intention,
in the persona that you created on stage,
to feel like the one Black relative
that everybody either knows or has?
There's a familiarity with you.
Even if someone doesn't know you,
they know someone like you.
How much of that was persona versus,
like, was that intentional
in the way you created your persona on stage?
- Yeah, it became intentional,
and it was because of, you know, I was always,
like most comedians, I was funny to my friends
and I was funny around.
But I came from an educational family,
my mother was a school teacher,
and my sister was a professor in college,
so everybody was into education.
And I was funny, but when I saw the late Robin Harris
for the first time is the first time I saw somebody
that I considered funny like that,
and he was relatable to me in the sense that
he performed like an uncle, like a cousin.
He wasn't, you know, Eddie Murphy had the leather suits
and he was a star.
You could just look at see he was
a star, and- - Yeah, it almost felt
like the jokes were being thrown away
the whole time. - Yeah, yeah, exactly.
And when I saw that you could actually do it
and make it as that energy, I locked into
that's how I feel.
And I'm able to perform best when I walk up
feeling like just like a guy talking to your friends.
And when I saw that style that he had,
that became the way that approach comedy, for sure.
- You have a White fan base that rocks with you hard,
but you ain't never altered or changed anything.
And I feel like part of the brilliance of what you do
is that it is a moment of discovery
for a White audience member,
but a moment of cultural confirmation
for a Black audience member.
- Yeah. - And like,
I just wish people understood how hard it is
to just do that, man.
Let's take it back to '93.
This is BET's "Comic View".
First off, let's just start with this outfit
before we even roll the reel. (Cedric laughs)
- Yeah! - What is, what's going on
with this chain, and what flea market
did you get it from? - Come on, man!
Chain, look, man, that chain was made.
It used to be hidden, so this is me, like,
I was like...
You know, BET, being on the show
before you got the "GrandStand", you were on this show.
And that gave you a little, just by being on the show,
I had TV plug, and I was able
to kind of make some money touring
because I was a comic that was on that season before
I even won a "GrandStand". - Yeah, "Comic View" would
change your life overnight.
This is before the internet. - Overnight.
- If promoters saw you on Tuesday, you was working
by Thursday night. - What?
And so, it was dude in St. Louis that made jewelry.
I knew him, he was kind of a friend.
(Ron laughs) And he made that chain for me,
the Entertainer, with diamonds,
and there was a blue diamond
(stammers) at the front. - I can't tell.
- You couldn't see it, it was on the far side.
- I can't tell. - It was a blue diamond
at the top.
And then, all- - This was before HD,
that blue diamond did not come up in the (laughs)...
- And I'm assuming they was diamonds.
I mean, you know, we did come to find out
the dude used to sell people fake jewelry years later.
But, that was my first chain, the Entertainer, man.
I loved that chain.
- Alright, this is Ced the Entertainer,
this is BET's "Comic View", 1993.
(audience laughs) - I came out
on that Barry White.
Y'all like that Barry, man? (audience cheers)
See, I like that old music, see, I like that music.
Back then, you understood the song.
Songs was like documentaries, like Al Green.
See, Al come on, yeah, (microphone thunks)
(hums sultry tune) (audience members cheer)
(rhythmic clapping)
♪ Love and happiness ♪
See, right there, that's what the song is about,
love and happiness. (audience laughs)
(both chuckle) And then, Al' tell you
♪ Wait a minute ♪ (audience cheers)
♪ Something going wrong ♪
What wrong, Al?
♪ Somebody's on the phone ♪ (audience cheers)
What time is it?
♪ Three o'clock in the morning ♪ (audience cheers)
♪ Well ♪
What they doing?
♪ Talkin' 'bout how she can make it right ♪
You know, you get to ask questions.
Al, what love?
♪ Love is ♪ (audience laughs)
♪ Walking together ♪
Al, is there something wrong with love?
♪ Ain't nothing wrong ♪ (Cedric laughs)
♪ With being in love with someone ♪
♪ Hey ♪ (audience laughs)
♪ Oh, hey ♪ (rhythmic clapping)
♪ Hey ♪
- How many songs- - (chuckles) Yeah?
- How many soul songs did you go through
before you found the right one for that joke to work?
- That song probably, that joke probably came
out of me hearing that song on the radio
and literally having that moment.
Like, "Yo, he literally explaining to me
"what I'm supposed to be doing right now.
(Ron chuckles) "I never really saw the song
"as instructional," you know?
So, and then that's what kind of lead
to the process of the joke.
It probably just me literally listening to that song one day
and hearing it for the first time as,
"Oh, this, he telling me what I'm supposed to be thinking.
"He guiding me through this whole song."
- Are you able to turn that part of your brain off
to still enjoy entertainment?
Or is it both parts running at the same time?
You can consume media and enjoy it,
but then you also have the analytical side of you
that's looking for the joke.
- Yeah, I think that that's definitely how I work
for the most part, is that I try to enjoy things,
but yeah, inside every moment is the joke
that's coming to you.
Like, you know, the blessing
when you find your sense of humor in your discovery,
you know, I think for most comedians,
that part of it is happening.
I don't like, tell a lot of, I'm not a constant joke teller,
but usually, something about a situation
is coming of as the humor.
And I could be watching it, and then find it
in my own point of view in there, going, "Oh, that's funny."
And then, I'll just take it and start massaging it
to what I feel is the joke in there.
- Cool.
Alright, let's keep rolling with our "Comic View".
- Black folk love to sing songs loud
and don't know the words, do we?
(audience laughs) We don't be knowing
any word, we just break out.
You know, "That's my jam."
♪ I get so wheat to my tees ♪
♪ In my dark, my day ♪ (audience laughs)
♪ My news, I'm with y'all and something tum over me ♪
♪ And my day, and my day ♪
That is my jam, girl!
That is
♪ La-da ♪
(audience laughing) (audience cheers)
You be thinking, "You don't know none of the word!"
(audience laughs)
See, there's Black singers with record deals
don't know they songs.
Y'all remember Jeffrey Osborne had that song out
a couple years ago, "The Woo Woo Song"?
(audience agrees) Did you ever trip out
the first part of that song?
Jeff didn't know the words.
Jeff up there talking about,
♪ When you want some love ♪ (audience laughs)
♪ Them them's there ♪
(audience cheers)
♪ You know he mem-mum right ♪ (audience laughs)
♪ Zem-me-me-mum where gather ♪
♪ Zem-me-me-mum ♪
♪ Look what we got ♪ (both laugh)
♪ Can you woo, woo, woo ♪ (audience cheers)
♪ Can you ♪
That's the only part Jeff knew,
that boy ain't know that song.
Yeah. - Where was this taped?
'Cause I'm seeing a lot of different fashion
in that audience out there.
- That's Compton, we're at like, the old Normandy Casino
where they would actually shoot the show
and just reset it up like a theater,
and you know, for the special.
It's very LA Proper, but you know,
I'm like really looking at the diversity
of the crowd back then.
This is what, maybe '93 or something
when it was done? - Yeah, this is '93.
Like, that's- - Yeah, and it's wild
to even think that it was that diverse of an audience, too.
I don't even really recall that.
- Yeah, that's the one thing I feel like
with Black comedy even today,
just with Black culture in general,
that there is a curiosity about, you know,
"What they talking 'bout over there?
"Ooh, let me see, what they listening to over there?
"Ooh, what they eating over there?
"Ooh, they be..." you know?
- Yeah. - So, I think there's always
going to be people that are curious about it,
especially when people are doing it, you know,
at the top of the game like they were at the time
at "Comic View".
Let's jump ahead to the year 2000.
This is "Walter Latham Presents: The Kings of Comedy"
directed by Spike Lee.
This, I think, goes back to what I was saying at the top,
just about your ability to be able
to capture the Black experience
and use it as a way to unify Black people.
Let's just watch a little bit of it first.
I got a million questions- - Alright.
- I probably can only ask two.
But this is "The Original Kings of Comedy"
from the year 2000.
- White people get the usher.
You know, they'll tell when somebody in they damn seats.
(audience laughs)
That's 'cause they live by a different creed
than we do in life.
White people hope things don't go wrong.
(audience laughs)
They will get the usher, because they hope
things don't happen.
They have high hopes, (audience laughs)
and if they were running a little late tonight,
they probably were thinking, "Oh my god,
"we're running a little late.
"Oh my goodness, I hope no one's in our chairs.
(men laugh)
"Man, I hope no one's in our seats,
"I don't want any problems." (audience laughs)
Bruhs, we don't never get the usher,
we don't need the usher, 'cause we don't live
by the hope creed.
Black people got a totally different creed we live by,
it's more confrontational, it's the wish factor.
(audience laughs) Black people don't hope,
we wish! - Wish!
- We wish a mother would be in our seat, man.
(audience cheers)
- We wish! (Cedric laughs)
- Woo!
- Now, that's the us right there, partner, four and five,
four and five, come on now. (audience laughs)
(men chuckle) I be having
a good year, though.
I was going through some things though,
I didn't realize to this year, dawg.
I got a little year older, now I'm a grown ass man.
- Pause right there. - Yeah, yeah.
- Does it bother you that so many people be running 'round
talking about, "I'm a grown ass man,"
and I don't feel like they understand
that this was the origin point of that statement?
- Yeah, you know, yeah,
you do throw stuff out there- - I know you can't get
no royalties from it, but I'm like,
"Yo, that's from Ced the Entertainer!"
- Man, you know, when Paris Hilton started registering stuff
like, "That's hot," and you know, and qualifying people
start registering catch phrases,
I'm like, "Dude, I got 50 million of 'em
"that should be getting checks for!"
- It's every time I hear it, I'm like,
"I wonder if they know where that came from?"
Real quick, how much was this suit that you wearing?
- You could tell by the amount of buttons
and how long it is that I'm definitely in the Steve clique
at this point.
(Ron laughs) It's me, Steve,
that's how it come off, that's how you name people.
There's Ced, Steve, and them.
I started doing the sleeveless joints
because I had so many buttons, I said,
"Look, Imma go with it."
So, I'm the first T.D. Jakes.
T.D. Jakes end up stealing this look right here,
you know what I'm saying? - True.
- Because this was my sleeveless suit, I called it,
because it was longer than a regular vest,
but it was a suit.
It had the lapel, it had everything.
And this was in my mind,
I designed these. - Mm-hm.
I love how you just picked your suit
regardless of what the background of the stage was gonna be.
You're just like, "I don't give a fuck if the stage is blue,
"I'm wearing blue also."
- You remember "Kings of Comedy", I had two suits,
and they both was blue. - Yeah (chuckles).
Alright, let's keep rolling with "Kings of Comedy".
- You done realize that, player.
When you realize you're a grown ass man,
just can't do little things no more.
Dawg, you a grown ass man, dawg, you don't play,
you don't play games with people, dawg.
You don't play.
You know Black people got all these little nicknames
and stuff, y'all hear 'em on the shout out.
You hear me calling on the radio doing the shout out,
talking 'bout, "I wanna give it up to my little homie,
"Lil' Pistol Starter, (audience laughs)
"my lil' dawg, Stomach Ache."
I met this brother the other day, brother named Daryl.
He gon' tell me er'body call him Delicious.
(audience laughs)
Talking 'bout, "Ced, you could just call me Delicious."
(both chuckle) (audience laughs)
Player, dawg!
I'm a grown ass man, dawg. (audience laughs)
Ain't getting ready to call no 'nother dude Delicious!
(both chuckle) (audience laughs)
What if them way down the street or something?
Delicious!
Yo, true. (all laugh)
Yo, D, hold up.
- Dude, the fact that that joke is 20 years old
and it still rides today. - Yeah.
- Like, syllable for syllable, still stands up.
- That's the thing that you try to look for in jokes.
Like especially when you trying to add your brand,
you look for things theoretically that you go like,
"This my unique point of view."
And then, hopefully, it's such a thing
about culture, people, whatever,
that in it, it has the ability to ride.
- What was that time like touring with "Kings of Comedy",
because, just in terms of fan interaction?
'Cause Black people show love in a number of different ways.
Like, I've opened for White comics
and they've had fans come up and bring 'em baked goods,
or weed brownies and stuff like that,
'cause there's always someone backstage like,
"You need to come to my carwash tomorrow."
Mother fucker, I flew. - Yes.
You know, like it's the people that bring you,
I always say this, like people, of course,
and especially at this time, way bigger dude, I'm like,
and people just wanna feed me er'where I go.
You know, you go anywhere south, we shot this in,
in Charlotte, North Carolina. - Charlotte, yeah.
- So, anywhere south, you know all the ladies gonna show up,
"I see you like to eat."
And bring you big troughs of food that, I'm like, you know,
"Babe, I can't take this on the airplane.
"You know I can't.
"I got this chain on as it is.
(Ron laughs) "There's no way I'm gonna get
"all this aluminum foil."
- Well, when I tell you we love you and we appreciate you,
I can't thank you enough
for just making a little bit of time
to come on the show. - Yeah.
- We look forward to the next comedy special
whenever it's safe
to get on stage again. - Yes sir.
I'm a big fan of yours
for the same very reason that you said.
You're just a solid dude, your comedy is always unique,
your perspective is always fun,
and you just bring your own grown-ness to it.
- Thank you, man. - And even on your advocacy,
you've been really powerful, and dope, and amazing
in these days with stuff that's going on.
All these things is what's needed all around,
and I think that this is a great way
to display our humor, and how it comes about,
and introducing people, newer generations,
to even guys like me,
and then, of course, the younger guys, too.
But, people who don't know me as a stand-up,
I had these kids come over, my kids' friends,
didn't know I was a stand-up.
They was like, "Yo, you know any famous comedians?"
And they was like, "Naw."
And then, they was like, "Aren't you friends
"with Lucky's dad?" - Teach.
- And then, they like, went through all the stuff
and realized like, "Oh, wow!"
- Yeah! - "I only know you
"as Lucky's dad.
"I never realized you the dude that's in the movies,"
and, "That's crazy!"
So, that was wild.
- It's almost like that Will Smith shit,
where you have to convince people he used to be a rapper.
- Yeah. - And like, you talk
to the young'uns, like, "He didn't rap."
I'm like, "Trust me, he was a rapper."
- Yeah, a popular rapper with big songs.
"What?"
"Yeah!" - Alright, man,
well dude, alright, well we gotta get you on TikTok
to fix that problem, so- - Oh yeah, that's,
see, that's my next move,
get on TikTok. (Ron laughs)
- Always evolving, man.
Well, brother, thank you so much for coming on,
son. - Right on.
Alright, man, salute to y'all.
Appreciate it, man. - Yep.
- I'll holla!