You used to be a chef.
I did, I did, I used to cook all the time.
Then I decided to stop cooking.
I started working for a company
called Frito Lay's Potato Chips,
you ever heard of that?
Yes.
I used to sell a bag and eat three bags.
And I used to come up short every month.
And I thought somebody was stealing from me,
but come to find out I was stealing from myself.
You know what I'm-
Eating your own supplies.
Eating my own supplies.
I thought they was free.
So, you were working,
and you were, like all right I'm tired of eating chips,
let me go do comedy professional.
Yeah, but everything I would do,
even when I was cooking,
I was always funny.
Not trying to be, just funny.
And then when I got with Frito Lay
I had this guy tell me, he says,
"You're funny, you need to go on TV."
You know, he was one of them good old boys,
went to Church every Sunday, wife baked cakes,
you know, that type of person.
And when I went on stage for the first time,
I knew that's where I should have been my whole entire life.
Where was that?
It was at the Comedy Act Theater in Atlanta, Georgia,
which was originally out in Los Angeles, California,
but they opened a club in Atlanta.
And when I went on stage,
I knew I should have been there my whole, entire life.
Did you have, like, a comedy role model
that you looked up to,
or were you, like, super into somebody when you--
You got to understand, so when I grew up, I was weird.
You know, I was a weird kid.
In the 70s I was listening to soft rock.
- Nice! - So people like,
"Why you listening to soft rock?"
'cause you know, when you in a black neighborhood,
a black kid listening to soft rock--
- It's that Phil Collins. - It made sense to me.
It made sense to me.
But then, I used to like Milton Berle.
So the kid like, "Why you like Milton Berle?"
Of course we all liked Richard Pryor.
We loved Richard Pryor, we loved Bill Cosby,
we loved Flip Wilson.
I really like Andy Griffith.
Oh, and I'm an Andy Griffith fan.
Girl, don't you say nothing about Andy Griffith.
It would be a fight,
in this studio, right now.
What you like about him? I will show out.
You created like your own characters for movies,
like Larry And The Cable Guy. Thank you, Big Shug.
And The Wash. The Wash, yeah, Dewayne.
Like what's your process for like creating
the character that's not yourself?
'cause I can't be nobody but myself.
- All they gotta do-- - But myself, at this point.
Just tell me, just do this, and I can do it.
So they told you what kind of person to be--
- Yeah, yeah. - Okay.
When we did The Wash, I was really nervous,
but I just wanted to impress everybody,
because I'm on the set with Snoop,
and I'm on the set with Dre, Eminem,
Shaq was on, Ludacris, which I know very well.
And it was just being me, you know a security guard
with in the water pants, socks showing,
you know what I'm saying.
But I think I'm a super cop, you know what I'm saying.
So when they say super cop, I nailed it, I knew what to do.
Exactly, like that's what I'm saying,
comedians know what to do.
We know what to do.
Leave us alone, anyway.
What was your favorite moment on that set,
if you can remember?
My favorite moment was in Snoop room,
in his dressing room.
- What was happening? - He had food catered everyday
Nice.
You know I'm talking candied yams, macaroni and cheese,
green beans, rice, fried chicken, pork chops.
Did Martha send it over?
So I was in Snoop room, everyday.
How is he so skinny?
He said, come and get some of this food.
And don't gain one pound, don't gain one pound.
Weed and food, so skinny, it don't make sense.
ou know Snoop smoke weed on the set.
- Oh, I'm sure. - Oh no, the whole time.
When he ran out, they had to stop,
he said, "I can't do no more until I get some more weed."
Oh my God, that's the life.
They went and got him another pound
and he came back and did his thing.
There's the Undercover Brother 2 coming out?
I would tell you about it,
but they told me don't talk about it
because I don't want to have to use
this karate move, you know--
To make everybody forget?
You know I throw karate,
I have to breathe for 45 minutes before I fight you.
Oh do you have a preference
between comedy and acting?
I feel like I know this answer.
You know comedy is first.
Come on now, you know I can do comedy laying down,
it don't matter.
I like acting, but it's a lot of work.
You know everybody's not--
It's a lot of hurry up and wait.
Everybody's not a Denzel Washington, you know.
Nobody is not a Ed Harris,
I think Ed Harris is one of the best actors
I've ever seen in my life.
If anybody not familiar with Ed Harris,
but he played the coach in Radio.
You know the movie Radio, with Cuba Gooding, Jr.
And I like Ed, and he played the general in The Rock.
He take you there, he makes you think he's that person,
and but you know Denzel will take you there.
But everybody is not a Denzel.
You know we just gotta do the best we can
with what we got, but comedy first.
So you as a comedian, you did Def Jam.
Oh Yeah.
- Showtime at the Apollo. - Yes Lord.
What was that like?
- You know, first off-- - What was Def Jam like?
Well let me tall you, Def Jam was easy,
but Apollo was kind of difficult,
'cause I actually did it like four times--
- What you mean by easy? - And got booed four times.
What you mean by easy, like those crowds or just like--
But you know when they hear you from the South,
you know you country brother, you know.
And I went out and gave it to them.
Oh, no, you can't talk to a brother like that.
But Apollo, they booed me like four times.
I did it with everybody.
But the last time I brought it to them,
I brought the noise the last time.
So wait, you did Apollo four times, and--
Yeah, I did, nobody know'd that so that's between me
and you, don't tell everybody.
Everybody that's listening, I did it 4 times.
But the fifth time?
Yeah the fifth time I got them.
- Is when? - Oh yeah, I got them.
What did you switch up?
But I had to because I was actually scared
to say something to them but that fifth time
I just went at them.
And they was like, Whoa.
So you think you got booed,
because you was scared the first four?
I know I was, I know I was, but that last time--
I mean, I'm scared now thinking about doing it.
I say anybody want to say anything,
anybody say anything, they like No, I got them.
A lot of people know you as the host of Comic View.
BET Comic View.
How did you get that gig?
They call me and said we want you to host.
I said you got 'em, you know what I'm saying.
That's the best way to get something.
I actually did it twice, I did it two years.
I did BET in New Orleans, the Pardi Gras
and then the next year I did Caliente.
Which means hot in Spanish.
So they had, I came back to help them,
you know Arnez J was doing it first,
they was like Bruce we need you back,
I say no problem.
A lot of folks got there start on Comic View.
It's a part of a lot of people's like comedy origin story.
All the hosts, DL Hughley, Don Curry,
people that on there like Sheryl Underwood,
who I love, and such a nice person.
Who were some of your favorites, when you were host.
Sommore was one of the hosts I really enjoyed a lot.
I enjoyed Gary Owens.
A lot of the acts I enjoyed, was seeing Katt Williams.
That's when he used to go by Katt in the Hat.
See people don't realize that he used to go
by Katt in the Hat.
We was on BET and he would have that long suit jacket on,
silver, like he was in a Gospel group.
You know how them Gospel groups be overdressed,
you know what I'm saying.
You know them Gospel groups be having on the shoes
with the tips on the front.
Yes, with the silver tips, yes.
I used to say you for Jesus,
but you got too much stuff on, you know.
Eye of the needle, they forget.
But, I've watched a lot of comedians
that have really have grown, came from Comic View.
And it worked for a lot of them, and it didn't.
But you had to work, you had to work it, you know.
And Katt Williams was one of them.
Myself, I really enjoyed myself,
because I was proud of myself.
Because I was really scared on there.
People didn't know, but once I get that mic, it's over.
Once I get that mic, and I pick on the audience it's done,
I got you.
What's your favorite memory from when you were a host?
On Comic View?
Or worse.
Oh my God, when I did New Orleans,
every girl down there wanted to marry me,
you know what I'm saying.
Like a straight up player from the Himalaya.
Did you marry one?
No, no, I could have twelve wives.
But my biggest moment and my best moment
for hosting Comic View was working with Mr. Reynaldo Rey.
Reynaldo Rey was a very smart person.
He came, he was my mentor, he gave me a lot of pointers
that really worked and helped me.
And he was just naturally smart.
People don't know, Reynaldo was a college professor,
you know he taught school.
- I didn't know that. - Yes, and he was genuine.
And even when I messed up, he said,
"What ya do that for?"
You know like a father figure.
And I was like okay, when I straighten,
okay's some people do that, do it like this
and I guarantee you it will work.
And every time I did it, it was like on the money.
So he was like my biggest inspiration on BET Comic View.
Speaking of mentors, you mentioned earlier,
that you trained Mike Epps.
What's up with that?
What does that mean?
Oh, Mike Epps was on the road with me,
and I used to take him on the road with me
and let him open up for me.
And showed him the ropes and teaching him a lot of things.
I made him audition for Friday's,
and he didn't want to, he was scared.
But I said they looking for someone like you, so go do it.
And he auditioned and he called me like three days later,
and said guess what.
You got the part, you know.
And he got the part, and he's been on his way ever since.
He opened up for me for like three years.
Wow.
Yeah, Mike Epps, that's my man.
And now I'm opening up for him, which is good, I'm not mad,
I enjoy working with Mike Epps, yeah.
Look we all help each other.
Absolutely.
Isn't that the point of being like good to everybody,
cause you, at one point you gonna run
into them again and all that.
It's just like back in the day, one hand grabs the other,
and that's what it should be.
Exactly!