The Questlove Show - QLS Classic: Cedric The Entertainer

Episode Date: May 17, 2026

Recorded back in mid-2023, Cedric the Entertainer—the king of comedy whose career spans film, television, and hosting—added “novelist” to his already expansive résumé. That was a cause for discussion with Questlove and Team Supreme during the virtual interview days. In this funny and thoughtful episode of QLS, Cedric discusses his debut novel Flipping Boxcars, reflects on the journey that shaped his career, and shares the inspiration behind his latest creative pivot. Enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Our podcast is called, Hey Jonas. We've here, since everyone has a podcast, we wanted to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend, Nile Horn, is joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Niall. It was the same thing with slow hands. It's all hands.

Not about anything else really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Everyone sees me as a football player, but before anything else, I'm human. Every single day, I'm still learning how to live with problems, mistakes, relationships,

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And in late 2023, Questlove Supreme had Cedric the entertainer on. And this was like the prime Zoom days of QLS. And Seth was chilling in his car waiting for his wife at the salon. Classic setup. But he still gave us some jewels about his journey into comedy, the lessons that he learned and delving into his first novel, flipping boxcars. And I always love talking to comedians, and Team Supreme and I had a blast with us. So it became one of our top performing episodes of that year.

So I want you to enjoy it. Word, word. What's up, brother? What's going on? What's going on? How you doing? Good. I saw you guys the other night. That was lit. Oh, you was there? Yeah, yeah, in L.A. Yeah, that was hard. Okay. That was my first time I performed, man. I enjoyed that.

Oh, yeah. I did it in May with the tour we was on. I had actually did it one other time with me and George and all, but it's a great performance venue. Yeah, because it's rare to be in a venue, which there's not bouncing sound in all. Yeah. It's specific. Exactly. They did. We can introduce ourselves to Ced while we're in.

Yeah. I'm Laia. How are you doing? Laia. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was working.

Work them out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm Fonte, man.

We met a few times. We, uh, I think, I brought my family backstage when you guys went Raleigh. This was, uh, a couple years ago, uh, when you and Eddie and George, I was doing your tour. And, uh, you were sending me a little. I think you and Poo, y'all played. I think you and Poo was doing, just do something with sports together, something.

Oh, Poo, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We had one of those football things together we was all in. Yeah, like Sugar Steve just rolled a joint, though. What, Steve did? Yeah, we probably did. Yo, I just rolled 10 joints. It's his birthday, Steve.

It's his birthday, said. Let's go, Steve. Let's go, Steve. Let's go. Let's go. Nice to meet you. Yes, sir. Congratulations on your book, man.

It's nice to see all these St. Louis references in here. I got a mama from there. Oh, word. Okay, yeah, no doubt. I'm really happy with the way it turned down and everything. So super excited about it. It looked like it's going to be on somebody's stage or screen in a couple of years, maybe. Yeah, yeah, it's definitely got all the elements of being a great story.

Actually, it's kind of where I started it. I started writing a TV show idea. And then it, and then the book, opportunity he came, so dope, man. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, the summer is over. I hope you guys thrived and

did well. This is another episode of Questlove Supreme. I'm your host, Questlove. We have our team Supreme is with us. Take a little, bro. What's up, man? Oh, working, man. Working. How was your summer?

My summer was hot. I think I realized this summer my favorite season really is fall. I think I only like summer as a kid because there was no school. But summer as an adult, it's fucking hot. And you know, y'all can have this shit because I'm a fall guy. But I mean, but the summer it was good. I didn't get to cook as much as I wanted to.

It was just that hot. It was too crazy. But, uh, but no, we had a good time, man. Me and the family, too. You have an outdoor set up in your crib? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I got my, got my, uh, the big green egg.

I do it on that. And, um, you know, that's normally. where I do all my cooking outside, my grilling. But, you ain't no real griller if you ain't got that egg, I heard. That's like a thing. No, I mean, it's official, but, I mean, listen, I didn't see dudes get busy in a file cabinet before. So, you know what I mean?

If you got the skill to do it, you know what I mean? I want to talk barbecue. We'll get into it. I want to talk barbecue to see eggs. I know you and Anthony. Y'all got your thing, too. So, but yeah, man. Yeah, my summer was cool.

My summer was cool. Word up. That's right. Steve, you remember we used to put out the deluxe George Foreman grill on the patio. No, we had a real barbecue, but the foreman was handy. Definitely handy. I missed my former grill, man.

It's probably still on that patio. I've left the house like 16 years ago. I bet you're still out there. How's your summer, Steve? What's going on, bro? Man, just like Fonte's a lot of work, a lot of projects, got the record label nonstop, just did our 23rd record on JMI. And 23 records?

23 records, yeah. Last six or seven years. I love that label for real because you guys remember when it started right around the time Quest. Love Supreme started. Yeah. Ray Angry one was your first one, wasn't it? Was that the second one? Yeah.

It's like 10 Ray Angry albums later. Yeah. Well, he's our flagship artist for sure. Okay. And a lot of good stuff coming out. Yeah. Cool. Why?

Yeah. How goes it? It goes well, much like Fonte, it was a hot summer, especially because this is my first Perry summer. So that was an experience. Perry summer? Oh, fellas. So let me end it. Never tell you.

Paraminopause is the stuff that happens before menopause. It could pop off at like, you know, 35, starting to age of 35. Mine happened a little later. And that's just when you get all the heat from the menopause. All your things are still rolling, you know, your body's still doing things. Maybe not as often. And I'd be partying for 50 days without a situation. But yeah, if you look at me now, there's a glow.

So you're saying everyday summer for you. Every day, summer. Every day. Shout out to your bandmate Kamal who wanted to make that known to everyone yesterday. I'm still going to kick his ass. What did he do? Oh, no, he just didn't announce that I had my menopause fan in my hand. And I was like, it is.

But let me tell my story. No, no, no, no. He only knows that because I can attest that Kamal, Tariq, and maybe two other roots also had their fan. hands in there. There's a thing that you plug into your iPhone and it calls you off. And yeah, we're up there, man. This is this, this, this is the summer which I felt whatever the, the equivalent of preschool is to being a senior citizen, that was this summer. The force. This was not a music tour. This was, this was Camp Cool J. This is literally G.I. Jane.

Oh, please tell us something to me or just tell us something. No, like L.O. wasn't having it. Like, we've been, I probably lost an additional 15 pounds. Like, he has working out, lifting weights, like getting cupping every night and send us to the spot to get, yo, I need to all relax, man. Getting drips, oxygen tanks. Like, LL is, is, I mean, not like major pain level of drill sergeant, but like, he don't take that. I mean, he looks phenomenal, so you know there it's got to be a lot to make that happen. Well, yeah, it's definitely an osmosis effect that's been happening.

So, you know, four more gigs left. But I will say this is one of the hardest summers of my life. Like, and I had to do no running, none of that stuff. Like, I mean, you've seen the show. Yeah. You seen us injured. Like, you saw Thaddeus jumping one leg in a clutch. Yeah.

And it was the wet as I ever seen you. You got off stage. You was like, soaked. I was like, that's not like you. You do this like it's nothing. Three and a half hours. Well, you saw a short show. That was just like three hours on the nose,

but normally it's like three and a half hours. Back where I belong, sitting in the chair, talking and not moving is where I'm the happiest. So again, I will say that longtime listeners of the show should know how much we love focusing on career pivots. All of us have reached our pivot where we were one thing when the show first started. We're, you know, multi-hyphenated doing other things. And I will say that our guests this week is absolutely all about that. You know, as probably one of the biggest stand-ups in all of comedy. And he has pivot to become a fixture on.

He's television, film actor, stage. We know him first for comedy and then, you know, if you're fans who are comic view and death comedy jam and even the prime time Emmy Awards, you know our guests. But, you know, he's also executive-produced shows and created opportunities for so many other comedians and actors in his wake. But also, I will say that our guest tonight, he's sort of expanding his palo a little bit. And he is a novelist. And his first novel, flipping box cars, is currently out. And he's joined us to talk about his life, his career, and his many pivots.

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the one and only. You're ready for your next. Come in a. That's classic. That's what black people have. Wait, so this is what you don't know said. Okay, so without alienating my position with one of my jobs, with the roots now 15 years at that job,

we kind of have a short list of the types of a guest that get to the couch. But we have a top five list of people who are a snooze city. Like, like give a long. Like, when you see it on television, it's perfectly edited. It's nice. Yeah. But these are like 18 minute story, like the equivalent of me in real life on the show.

And it's to the point now where all three of your adlibs like literally your ad lives are triggered on my computer to the right and that's what I use to sometimes make fun of guest on the show. So, you know, if you happen to see us laughing from the couch and you didn't say anything funny. Yeah. Yeah, it's fun. No, that's one of my favorite bitch, man. I love that.

How are you doing, bro? I'm good, brother. doing everything as well, man. It was good. Wait, are you in the car right now? Yeah, man. I was actually out with my wife. What's that with every black guest that we had?

Hey, do their interview portion in the car. This is where it's soundproof and whatnot. Where are you calling us from? I'm actually at the nail shop. So my wife wanted me to come to the nail shop with her. And then I was like, oh, I was like, our anniversary was Sunday. So I've been like just anniversary and then up. with her. So each day, whatever she wants to do. And I was like, babe, I got this interview.

And she's like, come, it's going to be fast. And of course it's not. She ended up getting jailed, toes and dips, they dipping it. It's all, I said, I got to go to the car and do this interview. So it's long enough for you to do a podcast. Yeah. Yeah. If she getting jail on the toes and the hands, yeah, it's longer. Yeah. No, they're going to. Wait. Can I, can I ask you guys for advice? So at what point in the relationship, do you, realize that you shouldn't do too much at the beginning because then you'll have to maintain that level of excellence throughout the entire relationship. Like when February is working around,

do you all feel like the pressure of, oh God, now I've got to. Yeah, you can easily put yourself in bad, to your point, you can put yourself in bad situations. And depending on the person you,

you're dating, right? My wife is not really big on her birthday, but her anniversary, that means much to her. So anniversaries are things that I got to go hard on. Valentine's Day is something that she's just long as I pay attention and don't forget, we good. But like, you know, but like Thanksgiving, Christmas, anything to do with the kids. Like, the kids got to be like their birthdays and what we do to celebrate them. or I need to be very concerned about that as a man, which, you know, in most cases, I am not.

I'd be like, yeah, when was these little kids born again? Like, I don't know. Shit, okay. They are old and stuff now. I'm looking at them like, I don't know where your birthday is, bro. Yeah, I was about to say, after 23, my dad stopped acknowledging my birthday. So, yeah, yeah. It's like, bro, like, come on, man.

Come on, now, like, salute. Oh, yeah. I was doing my son like that. My man, happy birthday. bro, like, that's it, you know? You're no longer a little dude where I got to get the cake and throw the Lakers' birthday party for you and all that stuff, you know, like, you know.

How old are your kids now, man? Yeah, my son's going to be 23 in the end of September, and my daughter will be 20 in November, and I got an older daughter that's 34, and a granddaughter that's 7. Wow. Yeah. And you and your wife, y'all got 20 years in?

Is it 20 for you all? I'm, I know, yeah, 24, 24, yeah. That's beautiful. Congratulations. What's your secret? I'm always looking for advice. What's the secret to keeping in a lot? I mean, I mean, I mean, we really enjoy each other.

I think that was the main thing is to really kind of keep your wife as your girlfriend, you know, try to keep that part of it alive, you know, so that you don't get into playing those kind of traditional roles and get, you know, everybody just kind of like playing the game of marriage. So we still, like, date a lot and have fun together. and laugh a lot and have our own inside stuff. And it's important. Even when we was raising the kids, we still, like, you know, made it, you know,

made our relationship about us. And, you know, the parenting part of it was, again, a part of the overall system. But never was it all about like, oh, you know, we're just going to be mama and daddy and not, you ain't going to be my girl. You know what I'm saying? You got to be my girl, too.

So I think that's the key. That's what so. I've never had an in-depth conversation with any of the Kings of Comedy. And, you know, I've seen many, you know, like a documentary on like the comedy act theory and all those things. But I know that a lot of you've gotten your start out. I'm assuming like in the Midwest, then making a way out west.

So just in general, I want to know, like, where does your, where does humor play in your life? Like, were you always the class clown? Were you always making people laugh? Like, how, when were you? At what point on the timeline will you mark where your journey starts with comedy? I'm going to say, you know, probably that, you know, that seventh, seven grade lunchroom cafeteria, the area where we all kind of start to identify ourselves as a, you know, like your own personality, but, you know, you also got to stand up against, you know,

the larger group, right? And I came from a small town at that time. I used to live in a little small town called Carruthesville, Missouri, and moved to St. Louis. So I was like the kind of the new kid, but, you know, I lived in a household, well, my,

single parent household, me and my mom, but like my uncles and my cousins, they was funny. Like, I got, like, one uncle that just was one of these funny personalities, just always said funny things. And I think that that was, you know, that place where you see it. You see it, that environment where you, like, you know,

somebody that's always going to walk in the room and everybody can't wait until he'd get there because he's going to say something crazy and he had a hundred of them. And so I think that even my style of comedy is more like, you know, somebody you know, like somebody like more conversational in my delivery, more like an uncle or a cousin.

And then I had to learn how to put it on stage in a formulated pattern way. But I still still more or less write jokes and come with my jokes from a point of view of like slice of life, like what I'm, I would say in a circumstance. At this point in your career, how do you work stuff out? I mean, because you've done stadiums and stuff.

So you go to just kind of, you know, when you need to work your ideas out. Yeah, I got a couple of comedy clubs. I like to work out. Usually up north, like I'll go up to, you know, like Sacramento, you know, that kind of area. It's a little club outside of Oakland. That's one of my favorite clubs to go work out is in Pleasant. in California. So I would go there and just, you know, do multiple shows.

And that's usually where I'm trying to like write jokes and try new things out. But I'll also do it on the big stage. You know, I've kind of gotten to the point to where if I think I know what the joke is, I'll just do it, like right there in front of people. Like, just try it. Okay. Answer this question to me about L or how they would at least. So you're about maybe the six or seventh comedian,

that I've heard that will mention a place outside of Los Angeles is. Yeah. So, but the thing is that when I'm on, so I'm currently right now in, uh, on Sunset Boulevard, you know, the comedy store is always crowded and all the, the comedy clubs up here. Who's working out there if none of the heavy hitters that I know are working out in Los Angeles? Like I always hear like, oh, there's like, like, out the way. comedy club like a hundred miles away.

Is it that there's a fear that a writer or somebody's going to take your joke or whatever? Yeah, that's one thing in LA is there. There's a lot of comedians here trying to find themselves, get put on, of course, looking for discovery. And so that's where they kind of work out, you know, all the kind of guys that's trying to make it happen. And there's some people who, you know, definitely have, you know, like their brands already, you know, say like a D-Ray or somebody like that, they work out here and they have their own rooms

and that works, you know, for them. But, you know, most comedians, we try not to be inside that one. I try not even hear other people's material so that I don't even, you know, I'm not even get influenced by nothing. So I'll try to go like, you know, outside of L.A. And it's usually just better. The audiences are, you know, a little more regular people with jobs, you know, and it's kind of like the, to your point is that, that middle of.

America audience that you're looking for, but in California, where it's close to go to work. When you go to Hollywood, you got, you know, you got the people that want to be seen, trying to be seen, and it's that vibe, you know. So it's, it's like, you know, you got to almost wear a full Versace outfit to go and do shows. Like, you know, it's like, you got to be just as sharp as everybody who's coming out, you know, like it's a whole day. Look at this trip. So how is, how is, uh,

lost or Hollywood divided. Like I know how New York is where a lot of the alternative comedians are either Brooklyn only or maybe part of the village and then kind of the more established ones, you know, they'll go to the comedy cellar

in the West Village and kind of work their way up in Midtown Manhattan. And usually like the Vegas level comedians or whatever are just like kind of midtown to uptown. And then, I mean, at one point, I knew that there was a

place for black comedians to work out way uptown. I don't know if it's still that way now, but for those that are of the the comedy act theater set, like, they work out because I'd never see you guys at like, is it still kind of an apartheid in terms of? Yeah, a little bit. I mean, you know, it's definitely, you know, like chocolate Sundays, which is at,

you know, the laugh. factory and that's a Sunday night kind of thing. That's where the black comics go to work out in Hollywood at the laugh factory on Sunday nights. Comedy store usually I'll have a night or two where everybody kind of goes up and there and pop. So almost all the clubs got like a night where it's the black night the night where, you know, and if you want to work out with your people's, that's where you go. And then, you know, and then it's a few like in L.A. Like it's, it's, it's, It only used to be one down, like on Pico, near that, Roscoe's down. I can't think of the name of it right now.

I don't even know. It's hard for them to survive after COVID, too. Like, you know, that's one of the things because to your point, even the bigger comedians where people can draw a name and, you know, and these kind of locations can do well, they have them, they find themselves struggling just to keep it packed, you know. But, you know, again, there's a lot of comedians. And there's a lot of comedians that want to get on stage and work that are dope.

You know, so I think that, you know, those are the kind of spots that still need a lot of love and support. And usually I'll go by when somebody like, you know, whether a friend of mine want me to really come through, like, or something like that, I might pop up and say, I call mob on stage for a few minutes. But I don't really work out like that much that, like when I'm in L.A. because between the TV show and being a family man, when I go, I don't really want to just hang out and be like, you know, do it the old school way. I'd be wanting to go in, do my business and break out, you know. Is Jay Anthony Brown's place still open?

I've been meaning to check on that place. Yeah, I don't know. Again, that was a spot that was, again, had a lot of love, a lot of residential. I would think so, but I hadn't heard. I saw Jay not too long ago, and I didn't even ask him about the club. But it seems as though.

it's still alive because it's right near Snoop Dog's kind of big compound where everybody go and hang out. Yeah. Pride is like love. You feel it in your heart. IR. Radio. Canada's number one streaming app for radio and podcasts, including IHart Pride Canada, your favorite hits and must have party bangers. Plus personalized and curated playlists like back in the day pride.

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I love the sounds, the buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place soccer, football, at home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad. Connecting Force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernando Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots.

We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull. It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that?

Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people, like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges, I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer.

And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers is called, Hey Jonas. We've here since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far.

And now our good friend, Nile Horn is joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Nile. It was the same thing with Slow Hands. The old hands is not about anything else really, is it? You know, or taste so good can be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe.

Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Can I go back real quick? Because Amir talked about St. Louis, but I just, I really want to get into St. Louis a little bit because you said you're from, how do you pronounce it in Carthyr, I couldn't say it in the book. Carruthsville. Carruthsville. Yeah, Carruthersville.

So can you break down? What's the distance between Carruthersville and St. Louis and the differences? So Caruthesville is like a super small town. It's like, and it's probably four hours, three and a half hours from St. Louis and probably an hour and ten minutes from Memphis. So it's like going south. So you go down south from St. Louis and you go towards Arkansas and Tennessee and it's right in the boot hill. So it's a small town. probably 3,000 people.

So very different. Yeah, very different, very segregated, you know. You know, but it's on the river. It's on the Mississippi River. So where I, you know, where I prayed, when I framed the book in the 40s, the riverboat cities were very thriving because people traveled on the river a lot. And they would stop and they would eat and come to hang out. And so these were like really kind of bustling little small towns.

And so, you know, with a thriving downtown. and restaurants and all that stuff. So that's where I kind of, you know, tell that story around with my grandparents live there. But, you know, I grew up there as well. What was the impetus of starting or for you to go into storytelling and writing your first novel? Well, you know, for me, it really kind of stemmed from the idea that I was trying to, I was, first of all, I was trying to like just kind of had this connection to my family, right?

Like I grew up. My mother was a single parent and she raised me and my sister. And so I didn't really have my male figures around. I knew my dad, but he wasn't really in our life. And so oftentimes, you know, my mom would say,

you know, that's like my daddy would do that. My daddy would have done this. And he had passed before I was ever born. So, you know, and listening to stories about him, I started to wonder like, like what was my connection to somebody I never met before?

Like, what was that DNA that kind of led to me being very entrepreneurial, kind of a person that didn't want to work inside the lines. Like, even though I had my degree, I never wanted to have a job. Like, my mom used to be like, why don't you just work at that company? I was like, I don't want to go to work every day. That's not who I am. She was like, my dad, it was like my dad, you know.

So, you know, it was that kind of thought process. So I started to create the character based off me having these machinations of who he was. and then, and then, you know, I started to write a TV story about it. That kind of felt like Borwalk Empire. I always kind of loved that character, Chalky White. In a way the way, yeah, way my mom would describe it, but he was kind of the de facto mayor of the black side of town. He was the guy that you call to get things done and all that stuff.

He was plugged in with the sheriff. And so I basically put all that kind of stuff in the book and he told this fictional tale about who he is. Did the seed of the start for you in the pandemic? No, you know, actually it was a little bit before that. It was so interesting that, you know, because it was times when I was kind of transitioning from, you know, like, you know, movies. I was doing a lot of movies in the early 2000s, you know, and then my kids started to get to get older where they couldn't travel and they couldn't come with us because most of movies weren't doing them. in LA anymore. And so they were younger, they can come with me. But we would shoot movies in

Toronto and, you know, in Vancouver and in Ireland. And, you know, when they were younger, my family could come with me. Then they started to get their own schedules. And so I was trying to figure out, like, how I could still be a part of the family structure and be a part of life without giving that up. So I decided to do television. And that was when it was like, you know, it was kind of like, you know, considered a fallback. If you do television, you was, you weren't as hot as a movie star. And it's instantly with streaming and stuff that everybody had changed. You got Yellowstone.

You got movie stars coming to TV now. So, you know, but it's like, but at that time, it was like a real, you know, real hard move. And I had to make that kind of strategy. And I started to think about like stuff that my, will pop in my head. Like, what were my grandfather doing in this situation? And so I started writing the ideas down back then. And then, you know, the book kind of came. as I was trying to

kind of shape the show, then the opportunity for me to do the book because, you know, you know, the neighborhood was doing well and so then everybody started offering you all kinds of stuff and they're like,

you want to do a book? You know, I was like, yeah, but not a book about me being a stand-up and telling you my kind of dot-to-dot story. I got a whole other idea. And when I pitched it, they loved it, and that was it. So I was glad that it took it,

it took like a year and a half to really kind of shape it up, though. So let me ask because, you know, one, we had a pandemic. But what we're kind of going through right now as we speak is kind of pandemic 2.0 for anybody that's kind of a professional in the industry. Yeah. So let me ask you, is there ever? Okay. So let me, let me phrase it.

America Ferreira when she started her ugly Betty series she told me that she waited you know it was an instant hit out the box and she told me that she wanted to wait till the third season before she felt safe enough

to like put down on that house and really you know for it's a point where you go from like living in that little apartment that you lived in until you find that hit sitcom and then you really want to make sure that your contract and your money's right and all that stuff. So she said, okay, I'm going to wait until my third season. And, you know, she nominated for Emmy.

So it just seemed like, okay, blammo, instant hit. And then after season three, they were like, all right, well, that's it. You're done. Knowing what you've been through. And, you know, you're famous for the joke of you guys not getting the Kate, you know, other shows you've been on that got canceled without warning. Oh, yeah. no cake or anything. So now that you're on like an established network comedy show,

like do you always feel safe or is there a part of you that's always like, nope, let me have my plan B, C and D, like, just in case, you never know. Definitely. I learned that a long time ago because it's such a fickle business. Like none of us really saw like this strike coming, if you will, but you do recognize that, you know, ratings or what's hot or something new comes along. This town just really fickle like that. Like, you know, so whatever the latest craze is, they'll just figure out like,

oh, we're going to change to that now. And you'll be like, what happened? You know, so I'm definitely, I'm definitely far more cautious about, you know, like just being, you know, being super confident that whatever I'm working, even though it is working, that it's going to always work. You know, I mean, we've been ordered for the sixth season. So that's a real blessing. Yeah, for the neighborhood.

theoretically, I'd like to go to eight. You know, I like to go. Of course, syndicated purposes. Yeah. Yeah, but, you know, like shows like blackish and, you know, other kind of black shows of, that I feel like our Elka pedigree that's been on, like, major networks should have the opportunity to run all the way

out, like tell your full story, you know. And so, you know, and then, you know, but also like now as a producer, I'm creating, you know, spinoffs and in other versions. So again, that you have the show live beyond its, it's, it's years. And so these are the things that I try to like, like, even negotiate for while I know that my show is doing well. I'm like, hey, give me this spin off so that I can like turn my show into another show that can run another you know you know five six years that you know I can be eating off of and do something else too I see that with your sons the son exactly yeah so for me there's there's a myth in the music business where they say like all it takes is is one hit and you're set for life which is kind of a truth and a lie I mean in other words

like, uh, it'd have been true in 88. It ain't true today. Right. Yeah. Yeah. But,

you know, I'll say hip hop is definitely changed everyone's lifestyle goals. So in other words, if I were the, the writer, okay, so if I was,

uh, one of the writers of Queens under pressure at the time when vanilla, I sampled it and, you know, sold 10 billion copies. Um, you know,

that's a nice check that I'm going to get every year. And if I maintain my life. style, but if, you know, if I'm pursuing a $5 million lifestyle and I'm only getting a million dollar check, then like you're asked out. But the equivalent of that in the television world is when your show gets syndicated. Is that the goal, like, can one actually, like, for now, like, for any act or any actor, actress that is on a show that's syndicated and currently running right now, I'm certain And those checks are helping a lot while your current show is not on.

But is syndicated money still good money? No, not anymore. It's very much very parallel to, like you said, the music business. I mean, it used to be probably, and to some degree, one of the big reasons of why we're striking, too, is that, you know, new forms of media streaming, all these companies syndicated and streaming. Yeah, being mixed in together. they protect themselves, you know, like, I mean, CBS is a part of Paramount, Paramount Plus,

and then, of course, the whole, what used to be Viacom, all their channels. So they will syndicate to, yeah, they'll syndicate to themselves. And, of course, that'll ruin the money that used to be available, right? Who are you negotiating? Yeah. And it's internal and it's internal business. And they basically tell you that. These are internal numbers.

This is what we're doing to protect our assets. So that's the scary part said. I had just listened about that. And we were just talking about this before you came on. And we were talking about how like, so if you're on TV and you do syndication, because I think a lot of times we need to explain this to the people who actually watch TV. They don't know the intricacies of this language a lot of times. And so the TV versus I was just watching the actor from Breaking Bad saying that like he's on Netflix and Breaking Bad's on Netflix.

And that is zero money that he receives from that versus. Maybe if it was on an actual network on TV, it would be more. Yeah, yeah. Like, I mean, the opportunities, you know, we used to have this thing, like, where you go. And I say, like, most people would understand, like, the Channel 9s or Channel 13s in your local city. And you see something that come on after the evening news. You get to watch everybody, little Raymond or friends or all that. That's where the money is because you got to think it's one of those in every little town.

and they all got to buy it in a way as a part of a group or individual. And so it's being sold that many times, right? Every episode. And so that's when they're buying it. But like a Netflix will just take it. And then they're a technology company. So they're not a broadcast company.

So they don't have to even reveal what numbers they do. The algorithm. Because, yeah, it's like it's technology. I don't know. Like, I don't know. I don't know. Is one of the striking points to finally reveal that? Yeah.

Yes, that's one of the real kids to push towards it because really what happened is not even that we didn't know is that we need to be able to have the kind of, you know, transparency because what they did is now is they kind of take your intellectual property by not revealing it because they do do original programming because they do have people. create things for them. And then you don't have to basically tell me what it is, right? I can, I can pay you one time and you can have a hot show and I don't have to really ever reveal to you how hot that show was. Like, I don't have to ever say it was in, but I paid you. And, you know, and their thing is that usually they paid more than what people used to get paid. So that's how they won for so many years because they would pay you a larger premium. So to be on Netflix was that good bag, right? It was that fat bag and nobody really cared. Like, you know, if I would get 30,000 on a regular show, Netflix might give me 150. And you'd be like, give me that. Right. But they might

have made two million and you don't even know. Yeah. You never know. You never bothered to ask and it didn't really get, you know, it didn't get important until shows got bigger and bigger and you start to realize like, oh, that's really all we watching is Netflix a lot now, you know, and Prime and Hulu. We only watching these shows. Now, where's the money? That's why I think your pivot is more brilliant than it looks, right? Because not for nothing, do you feel like your business is changing

in a major way? I said to music people, I was like, we used to be like, wait until I get to TV and film, that's what the big money is. Everything is becoming the music business now. Yeah. Movie is, no, it's so true. I was going to say it looked like every business looked at the music industry and was like, yo, they don't pay nobody. Why should we?

Exactly. And that's it. And you think it was the digital, the digital platform that really changed the music business when, you know, when the streaming came and the Napster of it all, that people started to be there. And that changed the whole model. And that, in Netflix and Amazon basically changed the model for us. Like once they got really hot and locked in and then was able to create and become the it, then everybody else wanted to be them. So you think about it. Disney became Disney. Disney Plus, Paramount became Paramount Plus, the Peacock on NBC. Everybody took streamers so that they can do their model. They don't want to have to pay residuals. I was going to say, I just get really sad about watching it because I come from a business that used to be called Black Radio and nobody noticed when we kind of got eaten up by a thing called, Shh, podcast. So I watch y'all industry and I'm like, ooh, I mean, I watch our work because this is

something that I wanted to participate in as well. But it's a little scary. I'm glad that you have made this pivot to the novel. That's literally. Because you are on a hit show. And I've seen a few people in the comedy world. I'm bringing it back to clubbing and working out that, you know, you want to work out in the gym and work out new material.

But the more you're established on your comedy show, it's like the less that you are working out your material on stage. Does that worry you a little bit like, I mean, assuming that stand-up is your first love, even though you're doing these other things. But, I mean, if it were all up to you to choose one medium, would you just choose acting or stand-up or... You know, that's interesting.

I mean, I think stand-up is the freest. You know, I always say that, you know, I just, I did some shows this weekend. I went and did a casino in Oklahoma, and that's the really great thing about being a live performer is that we have so many, like, different space. You got comedy clubs. You got all these.

casinos across the country now, you know, the whole Indian casino run. You got the big casinos, you got, you know, big venues, you know, if I decide to do like a larger tour with some of my friends, like we did this summer with like straight jokes, no chases with me and Mike Evans and D.L. and D.C. Youngfly, we was able to go and do arenas. And it was fun. And we rocked it all the way until May and then went on a break because mainly the music acts killed the summer. We, you know, we learned. long time. If you stand up,

don't you go out there against Biont. You can't win against Biont. Beyonce, Taylor, and Drake are killing us, man. And the festivals. Yeah, and the festival. You don't. So we stopped out to it in May and we'll pick it back up in October,

late October, November. So, I mean, but that's kind of what we've learned as standups over the years. It's like, get out the way of them, uh, uh, the big music acts. They're going to murder you and murder every ticket in the area. And so, And so you like, all, cool.

But, but, you know, again, I was able to go and do a casino because it's kind of an enclosed audience. You know, you can go and the casino going to market to their people and they're going to say, hey, Sid, come in. And I'm able to go and do 2,000, 3,000 seats, you know, two nights in a row on my own. Like, so that's a beautiful thing, right? So I respect the stand up and I stay with it. You know, I've been my whole career, I've never really ever giving it up. You know, I've known comedians that, you know, you make it on television or you start making it in the movies and you kind of give up on it or you feel like you don't have to do it anymore. But it is the, it's the dojo.

It's the place where even if I'm going to write a movie or be in a movie, I like to go do stand up before I either start the movie because it helps you, it helps you kind of start your engine on your comedy vibration. Like, if I got a character or something I'm trying to do, I'd rather just go do some stand-up in a small place for a little bit just to get my energy going. So, like, all right, cool. When I come to set, I'm going to be funny as this character. Like, I know there's the hot 10, and sometimes there's the hot 20,

if Sepel asks you to do something or whatever. But when you are, like, are you the type of person that has to ramp your way up to, you know, 75, 90 or whatever the time is for like Netflix specials or HBO specials and whatnot. Is it, how hard is it ramping up to that, especially with, I guess I'm asking you if, are you operating in the same way that an MC operates? Like, you know, like obviously, you can take Fonte or even Tariq from the roots. both, you know, very capable, excellent MCs,

but this is kind of a new battleground, if you will, with new rules and emcees today don't relate to the, you know, or do they have the same process as yesterday's MC. Is it that way for the, for the comedy world, or is it still about, for you, a punchline? Chris Rock told me that he doesn't believe in a punchline anymore, which kind of shocked me. So.

Yeah, I mean, you know, it is, it is a little different. I definitely think that new comedy has kind of removed the idea of punchlines, you know, like people are more like into like trying to deliver, you know, I think, I think after Chappelle here, everybody just want to be prolific, man. Like everybody want to try to like try to deliver like they, you know, these brilliant swine of people. And that's just him. Like he got a totally different brand than everybody, right? And he read.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of people don't read and then they want to be at the top of my next saying smart stuff. But you know, like, you're like, bro, where do you get that, bro? So, but I think that the, I think that for, you know, for me, like the idea of, like, even thinking about delivering a special, like, I really, I'm probably one of the one comics that take a lot of time between my specials because I have material that I feel like makes a special, but, you know, I'm also not a person that's very interested in just

kind of throwing stuff out there. You know, I think people use it for a number of different reasons. One, you know, you might have the deal on the table, right? They might say, all, cool, we throw in a bag at you, put this special out, and you'll see people go do it just so they can get the money, right? And then you have people that really feel like they got something to say right now, and they'll put those specials out. But I think in the last couple years, you know, for me, it's all about, like, just making

sure that my material, my personality, what it is that I want to say is all in tune with the brand I built over 30 years. So I'm not going to just go out there and just take like little chance. I think y'all like that too as far as the roots go and as far as my opinion. Like y'all, y'all are curators of your brand like in a real way. We were watching on stage the other night. Me and my wife were saying the same things. Like nobody has the ability that are entertained like they do.

Like, you know, you'll see the new people like that, you know, kind of come out and maybe have a band on stage with them. But it's like the combination of musicality, real professionalism, and something you know you're going to get when you spend your money, right? I know it's going to be lit. I got it. Right. Now I know like going to Mastros or a quality restaurant where you know it's going to be good. I don't have to worry about it. Like it's good. So that's what I try to deliver when I'm, you know, when I'm doing specials or anything. So I'm never in a big hurry to just throw out anything. You're not putting any pressure on me whatsoever for my future in music and concerts.

He's saying do what you continue to do. Do what you continue to do. That's what I know. Yeah. Pride is like love. You feel it in your heart. IR. Radio. Canada's number one streaming app for radio and podcasts, including IHart Pride Canada,

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listen to American Football as part of the My Coutura Podcast Network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people. Like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer. And that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression.

I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called Hey Jonas. We've here since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far.

And now our good friend, Nile Horn, joining the show. How's it going, boys? Hey, Niall. It's the same thing with Slow Hands. Slow Hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done.

You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast. I'm really just shocked that no one's really done a concentrated study on how you, your whole click and Walter Latham. kind of built the brand and built you guys up. So can you just talk about that initial period of? As a matter of fact, is Walter still active in terms of throwing shows? Not that I know of.

I think that he tried to do some stuff on the internet not too long ago or try to like create some brand where he was like taking, you know, using like young comedians and kind of using his kings of comedy you know, pedigree to do things for people, but I think it all kind of burnt out, for my opinion, but you know, he was, he was a young, creative,

you know, show promoter at the time, and he was, he was just one of these guys that had, like, you know, he was aggressive and young and had good ideas and a lot of heart, and so he he would do all of us individually. He'd do, Steve, you know,

and, you know, these would be theater shows, you know, small theater, And he did Steve, and then he did Bernie. Then he did Steve and Bernie one time. He would do D.L. and I together. He was the one when I became the host of Comic View. D.L. used to be the host, and he put us together and called it, you know, the host of the BET or something like that and put us together.

And we were able to go out together and do these tours. So I think it's inside that space where he looked at his numbers and saw like all these guys were doing these numbers in these individual situations. what if I put them all together, I probably could do an arena. And so that's really how the Kings of Comedy came about. It was his idea. He kind of called us, put us together, put the tour together.

But I do think that in the process of that, he started to think he was the other king of comedy. And so it's like his own hubris kind of got in the way. And then, you know, it was after the show and the movie came out that, you know, it was so many little things that he just, was nobody wanted to be in business with him no more. So that was it, but he, you know. He didn't do the queen?

He didn't do the queens? He did do the queens. Oh, okay. You know, the kings, the kings and queens. But he had their kings and queens title. And then he did a few other ones. He did a couple of tours after, but nothing to the magnitude of the kings of comedy and the queens of comedy. Is that the original roster?

I just wanted to know. I always wanted to know, but the kings of comedy, was there ever somebody that was, that wanted it originally or that got three? wrapped off of the lid? No, deal was an addition. It started out just me, Steve, and Bernie. And then they added DL and then that became

the one that, you know, that really toured around and got hot. Yeah. So yeah, we started out just the three of us. We got Tori, got Tori with MC and had a night popping. Gotcha. When you're doing that, like who's determining like the order

of things and who's the or at least the curation of it all? it would be it's usually the comedians i mean on a tour like that we decide and it's and it's usually you know usually an honor or respecting you know depending on you know who's on the tour like usually people just kind of you know give props to you know whoever the og is and be like yo you go last if you want to uh but on our tour i remember like burney was the it dude like bernie was the dude but Bernie wanted, he called it the hammock. He didn't want to, he didn't want to go first and he didn't want to go last.

He went to laying the hammock. Yeah. Yeah. So, so. Last and first is, ah, the penultimate right before last, that's the sweet spot. Yeah, exactly. So, you know, even on the special, it looked like Bernie go last, but when we actually shot it, he was, he was in the hammock. He did not go last at night.

It was the, I went last, and he would, but on the special, the way to edit were. it was better for him to go last for the movie of it off. But he performed in his hammock. That's what he liked. He was like, that's why I want to be. And he had been out, you know, I got it. He had been out like Bernie that got hot before the rest of us. And he had did like big tours on his own.

And so when he decided to do the Kings, he was just like, look, man, I already been out, like as a big star, already touring. I like the idea of this. But, you know, again, we're doing 30, 40-minute sets. let me ride easy. So I got it. And so that became a thing that a lot of comics like to do to this day. Like you say,

Amir, like we all like to, we like to go in that spot right before last. It's just less pressure. You can kill it and you can be gone. Be like, yo, do something out. Right. And if you don't kill it,

then you know somebody else coming behind you and everybody can have a good time and they ain't going to blame you before the showbill. Yeah, they're going to blame you that the show was bum-ass or whatever. But so, you know, you, so, but, but it's usually a respect thing. It's usually the comics deciding where everybody wants to go according to who we feel, you know, deserves that reverence or whatever, you know. How involved were you guys working with Spike in filming that?

Was he kind of hands-on with you guys or did he just let you go out of? No, it was a, you know, it was a one we all made a choice that, you know, because we were trying to find somebody direct the movie. We had, it was our choice. We were all partners on the movie. And Spike, you know, came up, of course, presented the idea that he wanted to do it. And, I mean, he was the most expensive one to make our partner.

But we also knew that it was the best move to get a movie. It's, you know, the kind of creed that we wanted. And then, you know, he's Spike Lee. He really loved comedy. He loved the idea of being a, came. I think we did Radio City Music Hall. He came and watched this, came backstage, talked about it.

He just super hyped and we was like, yeah, this will be crazy if Spike does this movie. So, you know, and it just ended up being the right movie for us. And again, you know, we knew that when you bring Spike on, you know, he's going to cut it into the money, like all the money that we could have got for using, you know.

We could have used Billy Woodruff or somebody, you know. Not laughing that hard. Shows to Billy. Shut out. Philly's cool. Philly's cool. That's my guy right there. Hey, wait, I got to ask you,

because from a fan perspective for y'all, those fellas, two questions. Number one, I just got to know how you preserve Bernie in your heart. And also, like, the relationship with you and these men, like, how do y'all make sure that y'all continue to nurture it? Or do you know?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, I just did my golf tournament, my celebrity tournament, charity tournament last year. Both Steve and D.L. You know, of course, me and D.L. We probably, we see each other the most because our wives are friends, like real friends. So we see each other a lot, you know, go to dinner, hang out, you know.

And then we tour a lot of much, a lot too. Like all the kind of big arena tours I've been on DL, been a part of them. So, you know, we got that kind of brotherhood. And then B-Mack is just one of these guys, man, that, you know, whenever we, you know, we're always related to the Kings of Comedy. And so, you know, almost in any interview. you, every situation. He's going to come up and be a part of it.

But he, you know, kind of like what Quest was saying about, like certain jokes. So he just got so many cash phrases that all of us that they go to for regular, regular life. You know, if somebody say something off, you know, off-kilter, then we, you know, we're going to pull out of Bernieism. You know, it's like, they're just a part of like how we made up, especially by being with them so much on the tour, you know,

like he would he just have a hundred you know on a 50 yard line but it's first in gold you know you'd be like what you know what I'm saying so that means that's wherever I am in life I'm out here trying to win and I believe I can win at this point I'm on a 50 yard line

but for him it's first in gold and I was like digging I love that one right there like so you know that's be back that's his kind of language I want to ask you about two of my most favorite roles that you have done Gus pitch and Jazzy D.

Yeah. Gus Pitch was Italical recruiting. And Jazzy D was top five. Top five. It was top five. It was rock movie.

Both of, both of was like these sleeper movies, man, that I was always really, really good, you know, really blessed to be a part of these, like, moves like one. Gus Petch was like just a fun character because he was like,

yo, you get to be in a movie with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta, Jones and, you know, this is the character, you did, you did detective, and it was the Cohen brothers. Yeah, what was it like? What was it? Yes, please. Because that was a really, it was an unconventional film for what they normally kind of do. Yeah.

What were they like? They, you know, they're super artists. So, you know, and they're very eclectic and different. Of course, you know, Joel is, you know, probably a little bit more talkative. And then Ethan is kind of like, you know, laid back. And so, but they were both like, they both, like, really enjoyed what I was bringing to the character. So, like, once they kind of recognized, like, what I was going to do and what I was doing as a

character, then it was, like, really fun. They just kind of embraced so many things that, like, choices that I kind of wanted to make as the guy. But I think you had to kind of earn that with them, like, you know, because they are very specific to their vision, you know, that was the one thing. And I think that with that particular movie, to your point, it was a little outside their normal thing of what they were what they kind of normally do so they they they kind of trusted you know i think about even like what geoffrey rush did in that movie and all those kind

of things that and billy bob billy bob you know like all these kind of things they people did different little no character choices and i think they they they kind of opened up and like yeah you know what all right try it you know so i think and then uh and then with top five you know that was chris rock he was directing uh he had written a movie he was He was directing the film. And he, you know, he's a brother, right? Even, you know, he's my comedic brother. So we've been knowing each other many years and toured,

been on dates together. And when he told me what the character was, I was like, say less, man. Like, he was like, you know, it's the dude that, you know, that when we start coming up, the dude that it promised you all this stuff. And, you know, I'm sitting in a limo for you, don't worry about it. I got you in the dope hotel. You could.

This I do it. Trust me, I'm the man in Houston. And I was like, oh, I'll say less. If I ain't met this dude 130 times, I know exactly who he is. That whole scene came back to me, but Carly Redd and all the stuff. Yes, yes, yes. So. We're a little light tonight.

You're going to be walk up. Walk up, time. No, that person still exists. Yeah, me getting them hangars, that was like, that's like the real thing because you realize, like, people always still in the wooden hangars from a hotel. if they got good wooden hangars, you're like, oh, man,

they got the lock on them. Damn, they got the lock on them. Oh, you're the reason the hangers are two-piece now, Amir? Oh, dog,

I thought it was the only person that did that. All my good hangers at home? Yeah, man. The hotels in the world, boy. Yeah, yeah, man. The good hangars, you go in the hotel,

they got the good hangars? You're like, shit, they got the, they're about to get got. That's a rat. Yeah, I was going to,

well, I'm going to add on to what they said, you get character, actor roles, but you are not a character actor, like, everyone knows who you are. So how did you, how did you nuance that in starting? Your first movie was ride, was it not? Yeah, yeah, first movie was ride, you know, and I think, you know, that was the one thing. I think, like, even my stand-up early on, I used to do a lot of characters on stage,

like, you know, like, act out things fully. So in my mind, I just kind of transitioned. the idea that, you know, way I would write a joke, I would try to develop a character. So, you know, like, like, the old man in the barbershop. That was like a choice. Yeah, like Eddie was a choice. Like, they wanted me to play a different role. And I was like, no, I want to be the old man.

And I remember everybody was like, well, we want to cast a real old man. And I was like, well, just let me read it. Let me just show you what I'm going to do with it. But I had this guy, like, that there was a combination of a dude at my mom's church and somebody else. and it was this whole beat of like who this dude was. I knew exactly who he was. And so I got to the point I could do Eddie. I didn't even need dialogue.

Like you just give me your circumstances and Eddie just going to come out of me. Like I know the stuff you say and it was just that. And so the directors started seeing that and they was like, all right, cool. That was before we even shot. So when they gave me the character, that was great for me. And that was really one of those transitional spots because that kind of like, really like changed me from being just a character actor in the movie to people saying,

all right, cool, you can lead a movie. And so I started to get other little movie roles, Johnson Family and honeymooners and little things. But I love doing to your question, quest, I love like getting like just great little character roles that like show up in the movie with the right people, you know, and where you can just come in and steal scenes and then and this burnout. Like, those are fun to me. I think I always loved, like, like when Don Cito did Devil in the Blue Dress,

you know, we learned, yeah. Yeah, we learned this in Zelle, but mouse was our dude. And he was just, he wasn't all through the movie, but he was like, where mouse there? Give me more mouse. I want to stay that character. There has never been a moment, said, where you walked on the set and felt intimidated in that way?

No, I mean, you know, like, you know, like with that, that, that, that, that, the first, scene in Tarver Cruelty, I had to do a scene with George Clooney, like, the first day I got there. And, you know, it was one of those things, and knowing, like, he was Clooney at the time. And, you know, and you just kind of want to do the right thing. And you just, you know, so, but I never, I never really got small. I just was very careful, right? Like, you kind of, like, more careful, like, makes you know, you know, and I knew the Cohen

brothers was a big deal. And it's all these things where you just want to be, like, I don't want to be this guy to come in and act like these people not a big deal. And then you find out like, oh, that was offensive or whatever. So that's the young version. But, you know, I always kind of was confident in who I was and what I was coming there to do. So I just leaned into that more than anything. Did they know who?

Because as your fans, did they know who you were? I just always been curious about that. Like, you step on that Cohen brothers. Does George Clooney know? Like, I'm a king. Clooney did. But all I think the Coen brothers really knew. I think they knew, like, once they kind of got into casting,

and I had to kind of go there a couple of times and then they, you know, at a rehearsal, then they kind of realized like, oh, oh, you like really that dude. Yeah, like people will come see this movie for you like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but I don't think they knew that right away. Are you still in the occasional audition phase? Or is it I once said The Entertainer and you don't, here's the script, tell me if you're murdered or not?

No, I will. I will always, you know, I tell teams that sometimes people don't, they don't see me or, you know, see me in a certain role. So if I must audition, if it's something I like and I want to do and I must audition, I will. I definitely prefer to be offered, you know what I mean? You know, but it's certain roles like, it was a role that came up. I don't even know if they ever shot this project, but it was a role that came up and it was a cool,

like, you know, Apple TV series. And it was, it was something that I wanted to do was very liking into the character. in my book. And I don't think anybody would have saw me as this character, but I was already kind of on this journey. And when I saw the breakdown, I was like, yo, give me an audition. Like I want to go in and then I had a long, you know, because of that, I was able to go a long way with the directors

and the producers. But I'm not sure what direction it would. I've never seen the project come out. So, but I know I didn't get the role. But I did, I did open the conversation up. Once they saw like what I could do, then people start to be like it became a little more real by doing the audition.

So I wasn't afraid for that. Like those kind of things make sense. Was there a role that you passed up that you later had a regret about doing, i.e. Will Smith passing up on The Matrix. Matrix, yeah.

Oh, man. Let me see. Not necessarily. I know that I had the opportunity to do like Mike. that movie like Mike but it was also at the same time that I could do barbershop

and I felt like I made the better I did the right. Yeah, you made the right. I don't need. Was that Bawa? That was Bawa. That was the Bawao. Yeah, yeah. But I just remember one was a bigger money play and, you know, and my team was like, yo, you're going to get paid over here.

There's a big movie and then the other was a small movie and I was like, that became a franchise. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Smart move. So, I was trying to think of like ones where I didn't, where I kind of passed up that I didn't get, nothing really comes to mind that I was like,

yo, I'm, you know, I kind of regret. I didn't get that one. Man, talk about threats by the Jay-Z track. Like, what was that? You two have something in common, sort of in the, yeah, yeah, yeah. A six-degree to separation way with the threats to be. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, I was, you know, I'd seen Jay, like, you know, throughout my career many times. And so I just told him one time I was like, yo, but I'm in New York, I want to see you work. Can I come to the studio? Everybody told me about, you know, the Rain Man thing he does and how he just kind of writes and move, move, move,

and I just ask him, could I come to the studio? And he was like, yeah, no doubt. So I go one time. He's there. We in the studio. And everybody's just kind of hanging out. And he's like, I got to leave. I got to go and run some errand.

But I'm working on this threat situation. I'm working on this thing. And he was like his own. It's on like some mad to rapper type stuff. If you can just throw something out there, let me know. And so he literally left. I think he was ninth. And it was ninth.

Guru was there. And I just kind of like went in and just started freestyling it. And then he called me maybe a few months later. It was like, hey, man, you made the album. I was like, wow. He was like, yo, you made the album. I was like, oh, man, that was crazy. It was the black album.

So it made you feel like, yo, one, you're just a part of like, you know, super history. And so I was, I was really happy to be a part of that, you know. That kind of the same thing on the Nellyville, yeah, on country grandma. Yeah, I'm about to say. That was D-ray doing Bernie. Damn, I did not know that was D-Ray. Yeah, yeah, that's D-Rae doing Bernie back on the hood.

He's so tall. Oh, that wasn't Bernie Mac. No. All right, D-ray, you're talented. I ain't know. I mean, I do know. Yeah, yeah, no, he lived. Pride is like love.

You feel it in your heart. IAR Radio, Canada's number one streaming app for radio and podcasts, including IHart Pride Canada, your favorite hits and must have party bangers, plus personalized and curated playlists, like back in the day pride. Come together, celebrate love. Take pride with you, anytime, anywhere. Just ask your smart speaker to play IHartP Pride Canada. Stream us on your phone.

Or listen now at iHeartRadio.ca. I love the sounds. The buzzing from the stadium, the chanting from the fans, the announcers calling the place, soccer, football, at home. Why do I watch the World Cup? That's like asking me, why do I breed? I inherited that fandom from my mom. I like watching it with my dad.

It's a connecting force. From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is American Football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. We go beyond the game to the people and the stories that make it great. A soccer game is a festival. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I took an elbow to my head, which cracked my skull.

It is an American game. The Brazilians don't like hearing that, though. Are they the only ones that don't like that? Nobody likes that. As we get ready for the Men's World Cup this summer, listen to American Football as part of the MyCultura podcast network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, I'm Hoda Kotby, host of the podcast, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. Together, we're going to have meaningful conversations with the world's most fascinating people, like when actress Olivia Munn shared how she overcame fierce health challenges. I've gone through breast cancer and then helped my mother through breast cancer, and that was more difficult. There's a lot of people who understand postpartner depression. I was not prepared for postpartum anxiety. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadie.

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called Hey Jonas. We've here, since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend, Nile Horn, is joining the show. How's it going, boys?

Hey, Niall. It's the same thing with Slow Hands. Slow Hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can be about food. You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on that. iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcast.

Seeing you at this stage in your life, is there any, is there anything that you have yet to achieve that you have, like, as a bucket list? Do you feel like now is the time for you to just get your bucket list on and start green lighting your own projects or whatnot? Like, what do you? Yeah, that's kind of really the space I'm in. Now, you know, of course, like, the strike really, really teaches you that, too. Like, you can't always kind of like, you know, expect that you'll have time or that everything that you want to do will just show up when you need to. And so, you know, I felt like, you know, I definitely want to get back into the movie space,

like in the starring role parts, you know, like you're looking for those. So I started to write movies that, you know, that I feel like makes sense for me. And then. Drama and comedy said? Yeah, exactly. I think more so to your question, question. is that it is dramas that I feel like people hadn't necessarily seen me really stick my foot in something, right? You know, I did, I did the, uh, that first reformed with, uh, Ethan

Hawk that was out last year, really, you know, really moved with Paul Schrader, great director, you know, and Ethan Hogg, Amanda Safe Free, a small kind of an artsy film. It was a dramatic role. We got some nominations. We got some looks, you know, but again, it wasn't, be something that black people would go see. I don't think right away. Certain kinds of black people said he are not a monolith. Exactly. It's just so true. I'm going to throw that out there.

Yeah, you know. That's our quest go. Maybe, you know. I would see it. Yeah. I would see it. Yeah. No, it's a great film because, again,

dynamic actors in there. And it's, you know, kind of uniquely done. Very quiet movie, you know, not a lot of, you know, all about the work. all about the emotion. I forgot that's a style that's called like Transcendental or something like that.

It's a stylish movie shooting. But, you know, that's pretty much what I would say Buckley is. I'm looking for a character or a series or something I can stick my teeth into where people can see me be a little more dramatic in my play, you know? I want to see that. I can't believe my very first question to you

that I didn't ask, and it looks like it's going to be my last question to you. How did you come up with your moniker? I do not know the story of how you became Cedric the entertainer. Oh, wow. Oh, yeah. That's a crazy story. That story really kind of, really kind of came from,

I always say it was me trying to, it's fairly serendipities. It was the idea that I didn't want to be, I got very popular in St. Louis, right? A lot of people, I was doing comedy. People knew me. I would call into the radio. I would get booked.

But I didn't have a lot of jokes. I would, you know, I had, you know, 10 minutes worth of jokes. And then so to get really paid, you have to do at least 30 minutes, 40 minutes on stage. So I would sing a whole Luther song. I'd do a poem. I'd do a dance routine. I'd do a whole bit about being on Soul Train. And I play like nine songs so I could do the different dances.

I would fill up my time. And so one night, it was a guy, you know, just kind of introducing everybody. He kept saying, this next comedian, this next comedian. And I was like, don't call me a comedian because I don't have enough jokes to be called a comedian. Call me an entertainer. And he called me, Cedric D. Entertainer.

I went up, I rocked it. And then when I came off, I had a stand ovation. And he called me Cedric D. Entertainer again. And I just kept it. I was like, that's the name. Nice. As a comedian, I've seen you do crowd work before. Do you like doing crowd work, or is it too much press?

to think on your toes that fast? I'm not that fast, man. I mean, I could do it if it happens to be the... Well, I'm in hosting situations, which... Yeah, yeah. Yeah, when you're hosting, you got to be like, yo, like, just kind of let the room, like, kind of come to you. But it's not a thing I'm very comfortable with

because it promotes people talking back. You know, it promotes, and I am more of a... I am more of a stage performer. You don't have, like, five-quipped performer. quips for a heckler just in case they want to. For sure. You know, I'm ready now. Like, I keep, I keep it locked.

But, but the thing is, is that, you know, I much rather, when I'm on stage, I much rather come there for the performance. So actually, some of my opening acts, I would hire opening acts that are shooters. I call them shooters because they go out and make sure that audience is tucked up and in their place, they go on no smoke. Yo, I never thought of that. That's a career. You get an opener to assassinate any would be.

Oh, man, I got a dude named Malikas from Florida. He ain't, no, you don't know smoke with this dude. He comes out there. He fast and he's funny and he's raw and he's going to be, and people be like, yeah, I'm good, man, never mind. And so by the time I come on stage, everybody is pretty much there to understand that I'm here to tell you some jokes and perform for you like a grown-up

And you're going to sit in your chair and you're going to be quiet. Can I ask a flipping box cards question? I just, I wanted to know because it is a fictional story. And you said it was interesting to listen to you earlier in this conversation, talk about the lack of men in your life. So number one, I was curious because even though it's fictional, it seems like it is a lot of your grandfather and baby boys, right? Yeah, yeah.

And I was just curious how you got all of that because you didn't know him. And it's really from your mother? And then also since you, And as it is for me, too, as a man, who was a man in your life? Because, say, when we look at you, when we talk to you, you sound like such a well-rounded man in so many ways to have so many women in your life, you know? Yeah. Yeah, you know, I think that that's really the thing. I kind of really feel it was a lot of kind of osmosis in a number of ways, you know?

You know, because my mother and my uncle would tell me the stories of my grandfather. father and then you start to emulate. I think, you know, other people's fathers and the neighborhood. You know, we were just kind of talking about that. When you see these young folks out here that kind of grow up and everybody kind of like, you know, on the Dracos and everybody got their pants down and they want to be gangsters, you know, you kind of see that when we grew up, our men in our neighborhood was people that was fathers.

The ones that was there, they was like taking kids to the baseball field. you had to say yes, sir, to him. And, you know, you didn't call, you didn't call your daddy by, your daddy friend by his first name. Like, these kids, they know people by Donnell now, you know what I'm saying? True. They don't even call that man Mr. Nothing. That'd be like, you know, you literally even live in the world where these kind of,

these kind of, you know, archetypes don't really exist. So for me, I think that that's really, you know, one of the things that I was kind of like, you know, kind of like spinning the story from. It's like this idea that I like to wear suits, this idea that I like to be respected and treat people with respect. That I do think that I got a responsibility to others. You know, like I recognize that.

And somehow, you know, my mother would say that's who my grandfather was. Like, he would do all these things. He makes sure even though he was in the underworld and he was a gambler and a hustler and a bootlegger, but he kind of did all these things because that was really what was available to him. you know, at the time, you know. It was not true. I'm like, wait a minute.

There was not true about baby boys. That's all this stuff. All that stuff is in there. The restaurant owner, he had the restaurant. He'd go and take care of the people out in the field. I'd say he was the first dude with a food truck. That would be in my mind because, you know, like, because he would. He would take his restaurant.

He'd make sandwiches and he'd go out to the fields. And then people would pay a quarter for a sandwich and some water. And he'd like make sure he'd eat and then he burned back out. That was all. all cash moves that he would do. Like, you know, those kind of things. And so, you know, but he was also like a, you know, extreme risk taker, which, you know, in the book you find out, like he took big risk.

And, you know, these sometimes they don't go your way, you know. But that's, that's the, that's the life of any, any of us that you try to go out and you stick, stick your neck out for your own ideology, right? You recognize that at some point in time, it might not go the way you think. And then you got to, you got to deal with that. Those circumstances, consequences. Wow. I want to ask you, you were mentioning earlier some of the conversation about your team

and kind of deciding which projects to pick. The team that you have now, how long did it take to assemble them, I guess? And, like, who were, like, kind of your core people, you know, your manager, plus? I've been really blessed, man. I mean, my core group of people with my guys that I met in college, man, Like my manager and my partner, you know, my production company is called a bird and a bear. That's me and my partner, Eric Rohn. He's my manager and my business partner.

We called him Swanee, Swan, you know, from the Warriors. You're from back in the middle of the swamp. Yeah, we called him Swan back in the day. And so, and I'm a set he bear. So we're a bird and a bear. So that's the name of our production company. But we've been together since, again, my college days, my tool manager, and, you know, creative tour consultant.

He was, I went to junior high school with him. That's Kelvin Bland. So he got to been with me my whole career, like seeing me like kind of come up and just, you know, and he started to learn how to do lighting and learn how to make my shows more interesting.

And, you know, and those were the kind of things he got interested in and booking me. And so that's it. And then I've been, you know, with my agency and my lawyers were probably a long time, too, like from early on, when I got my first deals, you know, so I'm,

I'm starting to make some changes there, but, but then, you know, for the most part, my team is solid. And then I, I got a new publicist not to, maybe about three years ago. So, but they've been great, too, but I, you know, they came through a great recommendation. And so it's the same guy that does Eddie Murphy. He's my guy right now.

So he's dope. Yeah. You know, I was an avid watcher of your, your millionaire days. Is game show hosting, is that as fun as it seems, or like, do you have any other future plans for? You know, I actually enjoyed it.

You know, there was a thing about doing, you know, a millionaire where you are, you know that people are coming on here and they love these game shows and they really want to win. And it's a lot of fun to them. It's very arduous because you have to do, you know, maybe, you know,

five and six shows in a day. Like, you shoot a lot. You know, it's very aggressive, you know, because we, and that was the biggest thing about it. But for me, it allowed me to live in New York for like three months. So it was great because it was a totally different experience. I, you know, I was able to come and live in the city and be there. So the only reason I didn't come back and do with the second season is that they,

the next season is that they moved into Connecticut, way up in Connecticut. And I was like, that's, that's not for me, guys. It was like They showed up in Connecticut They moved it to Connecticut They don't know to cut the budget Or make it a little more It's a big talk show state

Right? The big talk show state Like Mori was there And Jerry was there And wow yeah I knew for a second Tyler was there For a second

Like he had a I mean ESPN Yeah ESPN yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah it was like that

And it was very You know A very small town field Very outside the loop you know, and you had to be there three to four months. And I was just like, you know, no, no. If you're living in New York doing that, then that's fun.

Because you're in the city, you get to pop off, you finish your day, and then you go. And we would shoot like Monday through Thursday, so I would have Fridays off a lot of time. Oh, yeah. Ain't nowhere to go. Game show. Yeah, I'm not going to be stuck in Bristol. You know, that's not going to be my move. Like, yeah. I want to ask you,

before we go with your barbecue, man, you and Anthony Anderson. Yeah. What do you, do you like cook a lot? What's just something like that? Is it sugar-free? No. We just got the rubs right now.

Okay. So we're, the sauces are coming though, and we have, we will. Because, you know, Anthony's diabetic. That's why I ask, yeah. And make sure we're not going to be over, over the top with all our, you know, sugars and all that stuff. But the idea really came from us, you know, we, we all golfed together,

me, Anthony, George Lopez, Don. Chito, Chris Spencer. Jesus Christ. We all travel, D.L. And we're traveling and going. Anthony and I would often be the ones doing the cooking, grilling, you know, cooking and making a food for everybody because we rent a house and hang. It would be a fun time, man.

But, you know, I grill a little bit and cook a little bit. But what we really loved about the space is that everybody was, you know, trying to do liquors and tequila and all that. And what we wanted to do was use our celebrity for something we thought that really was like uplifting for the community. and really authentic to who we were in the sense that barbecuing and grilling and grilling and getting together is as black as they come and even more so American as it come.

Like this is where people fellowship, I throw the meat on, you bring the tater salad, you somebody bring the mac of cheese, and we got a meal and we're going to play cards and we're going to laugh and we're going to drink. And we was like, yo, we can capture this as a brand. and we can capture that essence, that's what we really want to do. And that's what AC barbecue about more than anything.

We actually feature more pit masters than we grill ourselves. So we really go around and find, like, people that really cook. On the show. Like, we pull up. Like, that's the kind of thing. We love the fact that you really love it. Like, you know, you throw a cool barbecue at your crib or opening season. You know, and that's it.

We come through, pull up, and like, let's talk about. what you're cooking. Let's talk about the, you know, the relationship you have to why you start cooking and in the stories. And then that's what we do. And then we, you know, as AC barbecue, we out telling that story along with, you know, introducing our products. And, you know, we got, we're in like 2700 Walmarts right now. We got Lowe's coming. We got Home Depot coming. Lowe's at Home Depot. That's that. We're doing tools and we got spatulas and tombs and all that come in. We got restaurants coming. We out here.

We out here throwing it. So we actually got the opportunity to do some restaurants on college campuses. So these are things that we all got in development. So we working hard at making sure that we are here talking about, you know, something that really started from, you know, our culture really is that idea of taking whatever we got and throwing on some hot coals and making a meal out of it. That goes as far back as slavery and beyond on the way to cook. So, you know, but it definitely

culturally a thing, but we, we love, and we know that barbecue is different in different regions, and that's why we didn't want to be like, you know, you gotta do it our way. We like, we love the way you do it. We're going to come and show and get at love. And so that's what our show is all about, too. So, man.

So, Mr. Kyle's, I thank you for coming on our show, man, talking to us. About time, like, we've been here almost, what are we six years now? Almost seven. Why don't I have a hard time remembering our... Yeah, yeah, we not... Yeah, we're not gonna'

seven. What did you say, Steve? Because you don't love us. That's a blessing, man. And podcast land, you damn right. We old in podcast lane. This is great. Yeah, all right, man.

That's what you. Yeah, thank you, O.G. Thank you for everything you're doing for Roy's race relations with the neighborhood. I want to say that because y'all doing some interesting. introducing some things, letting people know and stuff. I appreciate.

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that we use cows. Yes. That's my favorite, said. I always talk about that. That is such a big deal. It's so true. We're talking about the towel joke, y'all.

Y'all know we just found out that white people don't use wash cloths. Yeah, wash cloth. Watch cloth. Yeah. Watch cloth. Thank you. Steve. Any comment?

Thank you, Shed. I love all the stuff you do. Thank you. My brother, man. Steve has been a birthday, fan. Thank you. Nice. Thank you for everything, man.

You're one of my favorite comedians and just one of, you know, my favorite entertainers, period. And I always got teased in high school. Everybody told me I looked like you. You have this humor. Full circle moment. Yeah. He's funny like that.

There's no. Yes. Oh, my God. Sherman Showcase. Check it out, said. I'm a long-time fan, brother. Just love, love everything you do, man. All right.

No, dog. No job, man. Yeah. All right. Well, on behalf of a lot of life. I'm Pay Bill and Birthday Steve and Fon Tigolo and shout out

to Britt and Jake Wow to the King. Yeah, and the entire family at IHeart. This is another Questlove Supreme extravaganza and we'll see you on the next Groverning. All right, thank you.

Yeah, man. Oh, huh. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. For more podcasts from IHeart Radio, visit the IHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. It's that time to put on your jersey and wave your flag, whoever you root for.

Why do I watch the walk up? That's like asking me, why do I breed? And it's beautiful. The guys are young and cute and fit. It's not just a game. It's your culture. I like watching it with my dad. It's a connecting force.

From Futuro Studios, I'm Fernanda Chavari, and this is a... American football, a show about soccer culture in the U.S. and its underdog roots. Listen to American football on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Joy is essential and it's also elusive, but now there's a new and exciting way to start your journey toward a more joyful existence. Joy 101. It's a new podcast hosted by me, Hoda Kotby. If you're craving inspiration to maximize your joy, tune into these candid, lifting and moving on-air chats. Open your free IHeart Radio app.

Search Joy 101 and listen now. Joy 101 with Hoda Kotfi is presented by CVS. All right, listen up. The Jonas Brothers here. Our podcast is called, Hey Jonas. We've here since everyone has a podcast, we want it to as well. And we've had some incredible guests so far. And now our good friend, Nile Horn, is joining the show.

How's it going, boys? Hey, Niall. It was the same thing with Slow Hands. Slow Hands is not about anything else, really, is it? You know, or taste so good can't be about... You do the same, Nick, with some of the stuff that you've done. You too, Joe. Drop what you're doing and listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you listen to your podcasts. Everyone sees me as a football player, but before anything else, I'm human. Every single day, I'm still learning how to live with problems, mistakes, relationships, emotions ever since I was born. This isn't a normal podcast. Everything here is spontaneous, real, and genuine. Just honest, conversations about what it means to be. alive. I'm Javier El Chichariot-O-R-Nandes and listen to Learning to Be Human on I-Hard Radio,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.