Nine years ago, one of my co-workers called me in a panic. “What are you doing tonight?” he wanted to know. “I have an extra ticket for the "Kings of Comedy" show. You want it? You don't even have to pay me for it; just meet me up there."

I was trying to be "up under" this female at the time, so I declined the ticket.

"Ray, come on,” my friend insisted. “I just don't want to see this ticket go to waste. I'll drop it by your house."

Again, I declined.

Well, you all know what happened next. "The Original Kings of Comedy" turned out to be a monumental black film, all the stars going on to become legends. And, of course, I got stood up by the female.

On Saturday, Cedric the Entertainer, one of the original “Kings,” is returning to the Qcity, at the Bojangles Coliseum. I jumped at the chance to interview him. He talked about everything from the state of comedy to Tyler Perry.

***

Q. You were a substitute high school teacher, and you played a teacher on TV. Which did you find hardest?
Being a real substitute teacher. It was tough, 'cause I was doing it in the 80's, at the height of Reaganomics. All the crack had started to come into the hood, a lot of kids had turned into drug dealing, so it was hard to keep focus. I mean, you were trying to teach them the importance of an education, but there were kids in the school with three to four cars already, the latest 8-Ball jackets, so it was tough for them to remain focused on their education.

Q. What do remember most about performing on "Showtime at the Apollo" for the first time?
Well, when you see it on television, it looks like this really huge place, and the audience seems really intimidating. And I remember just getting there and realizing how small it really is. I got there expecting some huge auditorium and thinking. "I performed in places like this in high school!" And then the intimidation of the New York audience, knowing that, if you don't really get (your routine) going or get it moving real fast, they will boo you. So just having that feeling… can you keep them from booing you… can you get through your set.

Q. What was your experience working on the Broadway play "American Buffalo?"
I was looking to expand my brand into more dramatic roles. I ran into the director
of the play in Los Angeles. We talked, and he thought it would be an interesting choice to have me be a part of the production. I'd never done Broadway, so I thought it would be pretty interesting to do, and went ahead and did it. We had a great cast (Haley Joel Osmet and John Leguizamo) and we had a great run. Unfortunately, it was during the time of the great economic downturn was going on, and one of our backers wasn't able to keep it going. I had a ball, though. I got great reviews, and I'm looking forward to the chance to do Broadway again

Q. You've just finished a project called "Caught on Tape." What's that all about?
Stickee Fingaz, from Onyx, he's producing and directing. I call it a rap opera, or
"Rap-era,” if you will, where everybody kind of rhymes there lines. He got a lot of celebrities to come out and be a part of it. It was a fun little project to do. We've done a few movies together and he's a real good dude. This is his first time directing a movie and we all wanted to come out and be a part of it and show him some love.

Q. What do you think about Steve Harvey’s new job?
I think it's great! He's always been a reporter, to a certain degree, in his comedy. I’m excited for him. Any time we can get some more black faces anywhere...

Q. If you could cast “Harlem Knights 2,” who would you put in it?
Oh, man. That's crazy (LOL). Well, Eddie (Murphy) would probably be in Richard Pryor’s role, and you'd have to throw Steve in there, myself. Martin Lawrence would have to be in it, Mike Epps. Lill’ young Kevin Hart would have to be in it. Tracey Morgan would have to be in there doing something crazy. That would be a fun movie!

Q. A lot of people are divided on what Tyler Perry has done. Either he's done a really good job portraying black life or he perpetuates stereotypes and exploits us. What do you think?
I think he took a unique brand and it got into pop culture. And when something gets into pop culture, it does feel like it's either being watered down or that it's not necessarily ours anymore. Before that, when he would just have a play coming to town, people just looked at it like it was just fun and entertainment. You never looked at it like. ‘Oh, he's exploiting images.’ It was entertainment. It was funny That's all that people cared about. It wasn't, ‘Why the black grandma gotta have on a Mu-Mu?’ I would liken it to the "Barbershop" movies. Everybody knows that you're free to say whatever it is that you want to say, no matter how controversial it may be. Once that got out into pop culture, it became, ‘You shouldn't let them know that this is how we talk!’ I think that Tyler Perry doesn't have to worry about that. I mean, he's unique in that he can write what it is that he wants to say, he can produce what it is that he wants to say, he can finance what it is that he wants to say, and then he can (distribute) what it is that he wants to say. So anybody that has something to say against that ain’t really saying much
unless they can do the same thing. Anybody who is really griping isn't in the position
to do any of that. Even a lot of people with "star status" have to partner up with film companies, writers. And then you get all of these mixed versions of what it is you were originally trying to say. The studio has an image that they want to sell, and it might not go with the joke you were tying to tell in the first place. Or they made it politically correct because they have a deal with this company or association and they might be mad if you said this or that. After while, as an artist, you gotta be in a place where you're free to do art, so that's why I give Tyler Perry big-ups more than anything.

Q. Do you think there will ever be anything that announces the force of black comedy like "The Original Kings of Comedy" did? Do you think something like that can or will happen again?
I don't know. I definitely think it was a unique place and time. I mean, you would have to count things like "Def Comedy Jam" blowing onto the scene as one of the early entrances of the black comedy movement..

Q. When Def Jam started, that was their mission, and they knocked it out of the park. As the show went on, it got weak. A lot of what you've been hearing over the past few years has been people on stage cursing. You guys brought it back to the real essence, like Pryor did, or even Dick Gregory or Eddie Murphy or Robin Harris. Do you see that happening again?
I can't really see that, which is really unfortunate. I mean, we birthed a lot of
"Test Tube Babies" (laughs), and at this point, it's like, everyone is manufactured from that instant fame scenario like you explained. A lot of the guys that are really funny haven't even hit their stride yet, like Kevin Hart or Mike Epps, they haven't really got their shine. But they're good, and they're funny, and they work hard on their craft and they try to get the job done, like my opening acts, J.J and Malik. But I don't know if there is a venue that's gonna pop out into pop culture and make people say. ‘Hey, this is fly, and it's fresh, and I've never seen this before!’ It just seems that it would have to be a very odd space for that to happen again. It would have to come in a different format for that to happen again. It can't just be one guy standing with a mic.

Ray Anderson is a freelance writer who lives in Charlotte.
 

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