Nick Cannon talks DJing & Valentine’s Day in Chicago

Nick Cannon is a busy man. To say the least.

The actor-producer-record exec-TV star-you-name-it not only hosts “America’s Got Talent” and a morning radio show in New York, he’s chairman of the Teen Nick network; is CEO of his production company, Ncredible, and his own record label, Can I Ball Records; produces about eight TV shows; and owns high school magazine Celebrity High. Oh yeah, and he’s married to Mariah Carey.

Cannon, who lives in New York and L.A., estimates that he sleeps two hours a night. Three on a good night.

At 10 p.m. Saturday Cannon will DJ–name: DJ Sexyfingerz–for the third time at Underground ($20 cover; RSVP to rsvp@rockitranch.com). On his way from the Def Jam offices to the MTV building in Times Square, Cannon, 29, talked about his DJ skills and his Valentine’s Day weekend plans with his wife, who performs Saturday and Sunday at Chicago Theatre.

I’ll name a list of elements in a possible Valentine’s Day celebration. You tell me what you will or won’t be including: Fireplace. Bearskin rug. Chocolate sauce. Edible underwear. A donkey.

Wow. None of those except maybe the chocolate sauce. [Laughs]

That’s the only one? No chance of the others?

No donkeys! Unless we’re putting luggage on his back to walk to the cars with. But the donkey cannot be in the room.

What do you really have planned for Valentine’s Day this weekend? I saw you were shopping for sweets.

Just really hangin’ out. Obviously we gonna be in the Chi. Just spending time with each other, spending that whole day just havin’ fun. We kind of cherish that time when we don’t have to do anything and don’t have to work, so that’s probably what it’ll be about.

What are some spots in Chicago you’re hoping to check out?

I mean, probably mostly the hotel room. The Pier’s always a great place to go, so if it’s not too cold we might venture down there.

Last Valentine’s Day you guys started a fire in your hotel room.

Yeah, she saved my life.

How did she put it out?

There was a bunch of vases with water in it and roses and she just thought extremely fast, ripped all the roses out of the vases and just started throwing the water on the fire.

That must’ve been surreal.

Yeah, I was just screamin’ like a little bitch while she was being the hero.

What did she say to you afterwards?

I mean, nothin’. I was too busy giving her props for saving my life that she was just like, “I had to think fast.”

What can people expect from your DJ set at Underground Saturday?

I like to bring the fun, you know what I mean. The hottest new records. I like to throw some stuff in there that’ll make people smile or giggle and stuff like that. It’ll be some throwback stuff, just keeping the BPM’s goin’, keeping people dancing.

Be honest: How many Mariah Carey songs do you put into a set?

At least three. [Laughs] If she shows up it’ll probably be more. But she’s got some bangers. “Obsessed” is a smash, the new “Up Out My Face” is a smash, and then the classic “Fantasy.” So I always gotta play that. I think every DJ plays those.

Do you expect that she’ll swing by after the show?

You never know. It always depends how she’s feeling after the show. The most important thing is her voice, so we never going to jeopardize that. But sometimes if she knows I’m going to DJ she come in there and keep an eye on me.

I hear you and your wife are trying to conceive, which is awesome. Do you have any suggestions for setting the mood?

[Laughs] Uh, not really. That’s funny that people just make stuff up like say we’re trying to conceive. That was news to me. I also heard I was adopting a Haitian kid too. Stuff like that is funny. We just leaving that type of stuff up to God and when the time is right.

Some articles are, like, you guys are hiding in a bunker just getting down to it.

[Laughs] Yeah, that’s definitely buggin’ me out. People just make up stuff like that.

So that’s not the goal.

Yeah, nah. We don’t need to try. When it’s right, it’ll be right.

What advice do you have for guys who are dating older women?

Uh, don’t think about it. I’ve kind of always been a dude that was just attracted to people more mature than I was. You gotta be a person who understands a female if you goin’ to venture to someone who’s probably a little more mature than you. Guys already got so much goin’ up against us with women being smarter than us. So you gotta be ready for it.

So when you say “don’t think about it,” you mean most people shouldn’t do it?

No, if you put too much thought into it you’re going to screw it up.

Because women are already five steps ahead of us.

Exactly. So if you try to analyze it then you’re really going to set yourself up. So go with the flow, enjoy yourself. Age ain’t nothin’ but a number.

What’s been the most surreal moment on “America’s Got Talent” so far?

Probably somebody eating light bulbs and blood gushing out of their mouth. That was disgusting; I don’t ever need to experience that again.

What’s going through your head when that happens and you have to comment?

Usually if it’s going through my head I say it, but it’s like, “What the hell is wrong with these people?”

Is that still an example of a talent?

It’s something! It’s entertaining to some people. [Laughs] So I can’t knock their hustle. If they want to eat light bulbs and make themselves bleed, hats off to ‘em. Bite away.

Source: Metromix Chicago