-This is very exciting. I love this show.
This is a David Simon show. -Yeah, it is.
-You were in "The Wire," another David Simon show,
and you were fantastic in both.
Fantastic in that, you´re fantastic in this.
You have a theory that rappers make great actors for a reason.
-Yeah, because we´re great liars.
-Okay. [ Laughter ]
-Period. -All rappers are liars.
-With a straight face, too. -Okay, gotcha.
-Absolutely. The best liars.
-And what -- Where does the lying come from?
Is it essential to being a good rapper?
-You know, I think it´s people building themselves up
to a point where, you know, they´re gods.
-Uh-huh. -As a matter of fact,
I remember Kanye West saying, "I told you who I was."
-Yeah. -"I´m a god!"
-Right. -And that´s exactly what it was.
-So, wait. Are you telling me he might not actually be a god?
-No, Kanye´s a god. -Kanye is a god. Okay.
So that´s not lying. That´s the straight truth.
-Straight truth. -And you have
a very unique haircut in this show, as we can see.
-Ah, yeah. -Inspired by?
-Reverend Al Sharpton! Big up to Reverend Al.
-Okay. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Yes, sir. - So you are --
You are playing a pimp in the New York in the ´70s.
And was this your idea?
Did you say, "I want an Al Sharpton look?"
-Um, Kind of. -Yeah.
Well, you know, I didn´t actually
use the Al Sharpton reference, but it was kind of in that vein.
I really wanted Ron O´Neal, "Super Fly,"
but, you know, I needed somebody East Coast-based,
and Al Sharpton was the greatest target I could use right there.
-Oh, that´s fantastic.
And, obviously, you live in New York.
You´re from Staten Island. -Yeah.
-You grew up -- Did you -- Did you experience
that Times Square at all when you were young?
-Me and my dad, yeah.
He would take me there on Easter to Times Square.
I mean -- -So that doesn´t seem like
where you would take a child on Easter.
-You know what? You´re right.
But the way I remember it,
I just remember the bright lights, the big city,
the movie theater, how it actually looked like a theater,
where you could do a play or something at.
It was like, for a young guy, a young kid,
we didn´t see the underbelly of it.
We just saw the glamour and the glitz.
And that was the point. -That´s interesting,
because I think, the first time I came here, I wouldn´t have --
I didn´t notice the seediness at all, either.
You were so taken by the fact that it was New York City.
-Right. -When you say movie theaters --
So what were the things that you that your dad
would take you to see? Would you guys --
-Bruce Lee. -Okay.
-Bruce Lee movies. I´m a big Bruce fan.
Everybody that knows me knows I love Bruce.
[ Cheers and applause ]
And I remember "Godzilla vs. Megalon."
-Uh-huh. -Come on!
Godzilla fans in here? [ Cheers and applause ]
That´s what I´m saying. -And was your --
was your dad going because he knew you liked it,
or did he also like it?
-I believe he liked it,
but I think it was more of a show-off thing,
because we both had on, like, these denim one-piece suits.
-Uh-huh. -Really tacky.
-Really tacky? -Really tacky.
And I don´t know where he found one in my size,
but we were twins that day. -That´s great.
That´s really fun.
It´s Easter, let´s get in our denim and go see "Godzilla."
-Go see "Godzilla." [ Laughter ]
-Just as the Bible tells you. [ Laughing ]
So, this is the other great thing about New York.
And someone like you, you´re obviously
part of this New York social scene, New York celebrity.
And we´ve had so many people on this show since the election
that have admitted they crossed paths with Donald Trump.
-Yeah. -He was just here.
He was everywhere.
You actually got Donald Trump to record something for your album.
-Yes, yes. Thanks to Russell Simmons.
Russell is a friend of his, and Russell called in a favor.
´Cause I just wanted a bunch of different cameos on my album,
saying, you know, where is this album at.
´Cause it had really been four years
since I dropped my first album. -Yeah.
-So, you know, and Donald Trump dialed in
and did Russell a favor.
And, you know, him and Russell are really tight.
Then, I think Russell said, "I rebuke you, Satan,"
and that was the end of it.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-But this is -- this is --
If you were listening to a Method Man album,
you would actually hear this on one of the tracks.
-Hey, Method Man, this is Donald Trump,
and I´m in Palm Beach,
and we´re all waiting for your album.
Let´s get going, man.
Everybody´s waiting for this album.
-He´s even lying there. [ Laughter ]
-Yeah, that´s -- much like a rapper, he´s a liar.
-He´s a liar. He´s a liar.
[ Laughter, cheers, applause ]
-But you -- There was --
I do think there´s something to be said about
there is a similarity, I think, with Trump and rap,
and there was something about his style
that you were drawn to.
-Which style is that? -Well, just, like, excess.
-Oh, he doesn´t give a [bleep]
And he doesn´t give a [bleep]
Yeah. Pretty much.
And that is a credo in hip-hop, not to give a [bleep]
-If he -- If he could rhyme,
I think he´d have an excellent rap career.
-He doesn´t have the voice. His voice is annoying.
I think Melania would have a better career than him.
-Melania, yeah. -Yes.
Yes, you know we love white women.
-Yeah, that´s true. -Come on.
-Melania, at the very least, could stand in the back
in fatigues, just like one of those things.
-Pretty much. -Yeah.
-She´s cute. I can´t even front.
Melania´s a very cute lady. -Yeah, mm-hmm.