It’s Showtime: Nick Cannon Prepares For Another Delivery!

In the truest sense of the word, Nick Cannon is a modern-day renaissance man. It really should come as no surprise that the new father is geared up to give birth to a new project. On Saturday, May 14, Showtime is airing Nick Cannon: Mr. Showbiz, the fun-loving performer’s first-ever, standup comedy special.

Cannon has a rousing weekend planned, which includes the excitement he and his wife, Mariah Carey, feel at possibly having their two-week-old twins, son Moroccan and daughter Monroe, finally come home either Sunday or Monday. The host of television’s America’s Got Talent took a moment to chat with EBONY.com

So you’re going back to your standup roots in comedy. What took you so long? I’ve been putting it off for a while. I never stopped doing it. I’ve always done it but never shined light on it. I’ve had a lot of successful side tracks in my career with movies, television, producing and also with my personal life. They all over shadowed my true love which is stand-up comedy. I’ve been doing it for almost 20 years consistently.

Do you have any magic when coming up with material? It’s about my life really and my opinion and perspective of what is going on in the world. It’s not hard. It’s just who I am.

That’s relatively simple. How do you know the material is going to make people laugh? It’s just having that fruition and from doing it so long. I pick topics I can be honest about. It’s stuff that people say you shouldn’t talk about, but those are always the funniest things. It’s whatever I am testing out with friends or on the morning radio show everyday. I have a few outlets where I try stuff out. Even on Twitter. You test stuff out and see what happens

You’re really doing your own tweets? Oh, absolutely!

Describe your style of comedy? It’s a lot of self-deprecating humor. I don’t take myself seriously at all. I make fun of myself so I can make fun of everyone else.

Who has influenced you as a comedian? If I had to pick someone, I would say Eddie Murphy. I watched him and said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I don’t think there is anyone who has done it greater. Then I’m influenced by my peers such as Dave Chappelle. I looked up to Damon Wayans and Chris Rock. I’ve also done my research and I know everything about Dick Gregory all the way to Red Foxx, George Carlin, of course Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby.

Will you do a clean show or sprinkle in a few choice words for a little seasoning? I definitely might sprinkle some things in there. I’m a guy who is family friendly, but I’m also a 30-year-old man. I talk about everything but I do it in a way that’s not too offensive.

When did you know you wanted to be a comedian? I was watching Delirious at 10 years old. I memorized every joke Eddie Murphy told and was going to school the next day and telling them and also getting in trouble for telling the jokes in church. I was mimicking and imitating all of the characters from In Living Color. That’s when  I just knew this is what I wanted to do.

Great comedians make it look easy, but many will tell you it’s no joke. Is it a difficult form to master? Absolutely. It’s so subjective. You’re being judged instantly when you step on that stage. You better know what you’re doing. The audience can smell blood. If you’re not giving them what they need, it’s all down hill from there. Master your craft before you step up there.

You constantly brushed up on your comedic chops with Wild ‘n Out. Was that a first with that style of comedy? It was definitely joning and improv as well. We created our own style of freestyle comedy. It was like the hip-hop version of improv comedy. We touched  on stuff that had never been done before.

On Monday, May 16 you’re also releasing a standup comedy album on iTunes. Tell me more. It’ll be extra stuff from the Showtime special. This will be the first part of the album. Later in the year I’ll release the music that goes along with it. It’ll be Mr. Showbiz Sings the Hits.

Does this mean you’ll be performing your classics like “Gigolo”? (He laughs) I’ll be doing new records. I have a new record out now called Famous with Akon. I worked with everyone from Flo-Rida to T-Pain to Snoop Dogg to Wyclef to Cee-Lo. So it’s a good project.

Are you rapping and deejaying on it? Yeah, definitely me deejaying and rocking the spot. People will love it.

You’re a modern-day renaissance man. Is there one thing you enjoy doing in entertainment more than the others? If I could only do one thing in entertainment, it would be standup. I love stand up. It allows me the freedom to create something from nothing. It’s therapeutic and a raw form of entertainment. It’s what I started doing. It’s the foundation of who I am.

You’re also a damn good actor. Didn’t you make history at the Cannes Film Festival by being the first Black to win the Breakthrough Actor Award? That’s a great honor. It’s good they recognized that. Acting is something I’ll continue to do for the rest of my life. It has to be the right thing. I can’t do anything at this point. I’m working on a very special project. My dream project is about Arthur Ashe. I’ve always wanted to do it.  A movie must be really meaningful. I’d also love to do another story about Pee Wee Kirkland. These are people throughout history and I  really want to take time to be a part of their story. I can’t just do any old project. These are in the works. I’m getting it all together. I’m excited. It’s a wonderful time in my life.

Source: Ebony