Cedric The Entertainer: Are You Not Entertained?

Think the hip hop game is in shambles? You aint seen nuthin till youve truly analyzed whats happening in comedy right now. Cats arent bold anymore. Cats arent innovative. Cats arent coming up with new ways to clown George W. Bush. Keep it 100: When was the last time you watched Def Comedy Jam and laughed so hard that your insides were hurting? Its been a minute, right?

Its been a second for Cedric the Entertainer, too. Even if they have a fresh take on it, begins the veteran comedian out of St. Louis, you dont really see someone with what youd call breakout potential. With that being said, there are still a lot of people that are really good and are funny to watch on stage.

Now, the main reason were taking Ceds word on that is because we know hes going to be on stage this spring and summer. There are talks about another Kings of Comedy movie coming together, so Ceddies getting right for the role. Well just call all the other stuff hes attached to these days Street Kings, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the Beyonce-starred Cadillac Records - mere stretching. Hell, if hes gonna be one of the few comics to put the funny game on his back, he might as well be in good shape.

HHDX: Street Kings was a real dramatic turn for you. Were you excited to get it?
Cedric: I definitely looked forward to being in that movie, especially with so many great actors. You got the feel of it reading this script. Also, it was this grimy, L.A. crime drama. Cops were bad. I was like, Ah, this would be a good look for me. This would be something thats a lil different and kinda unexpected. To play the street hustler dude, I thought was a fun role to do. And I got killed in the movie.

DX: Can you get used to a dramatic set?
C: Definitely. Im doing Cadillac Records right now with Jeffrey Wright and Adrien Brody. These guys are very [intense]. They know their characters history. In between, theyll be talking about it. Theyll be like, You know, in 1949 Ill be like, Yeah, thats good. I kinda studied my character and get the nuances I want to play. Then Im like, Im done. These guys are dot to dot: The hair is all wrong! Jeffrey will be like, Until I change my hair, Im not doing the scene! You wonder why these guys are so dope when you see them in the movie. I think its important for me to learn this, especially with the opportunity of doing more dramatic roles and stuff. Im just kinda watching how these guys work. With each stroke, they try to figure out what their characters are going through, just fine-lining it. On film it shows up. It really does. The most minute thing will show up and youre like, Whoa, that was perfect. You gotta give that some props.

DX: Arent you working on Ice Age 3?
C: No, Im doing Madagascar 2. That sounds funny, right? Were doing Cadillac Records right now, too. Im having fun directing my first movie. Its an independent comedy called Chicago Pulaski Jones. Its a dance movie mixed with kung-fu. Its crazy. Ive got Kel Mitchell. Hes the lead. I got a lil cameo in it. I got a lot of cool, young actors and were having fun with it. Its basically about this guy whos a hip hop dancer from Chicago. They have their own special kind of dance called juking. This guy comes to a fictional Hollywood called Hollybank to avenge his uncles death from this crazy gang, villain dude thats taking over the city. He cant fight unless he hears music. He creates this thing called dance-fu. Were having a great time with it. Its just some stuff thats totally out the box. With the success of all these dance movies, it parodies all the Step Up and Bringin Down the House movies. We dancin and fightin and doin flips. I got some cool stunt choreography.

DX: Youre also attached to a remake of Back to School. Where is that?
C:Its still a lil bit away. Its a movie that was with the old MGM, before they sold to Sony and took it back. They started developing a script for it. It was moving in the right direction. And then, that [merger] process happened and it was put on the backburner. Its not really moving forward at this point. I got a call on it. A couple of producers are thinking about picking it up and figuring out how to get it made. Right now, its more or less on the backburner.

DX: Are you nervous about recreating a movie that so many people grew up on?
C: Its one of those films that people love. Its got this cult following. It is what it is. And it seems like with remakes lately, they just dont win out. I think you either have to take a totally different idea and try to do it in the spirit of that movie and create something totally different or if you just try to do a modern version, it just hasnt been working out, film-wise. I feel that way with The Honeymooners. I feel it was a good movie but we missed trying to capture [everything]. Im not real sure about it. I thought we had a real good take on [Back to School]. It was fun. It was modern. I was a guy who owned a store with commodes and stuff and, basically, turned it into like a Home Depot. I became successful, but my son didnt really want to be in the business. He goes to school. It was this whole self-made millionaire situation.

DX: Whats going on with Cadillac Records?
C: I play a guy named Willie Dixon. He was a bass player, and he wrote a lot of those big blues songs. He was actually one of the main guys. At the end of his career, they sued the record label and got a lot of his publishing back. A lot of those songs like The Rolling Stones - which The Rolling Stones named themselves after- and a lot of those songs that big bands had remade, [he got recouped for them so] he ended up dying a pretty rich man. But because they were Mississippi men doing the blues early in their career, they were paid in Cadillacs. Thats the whole thing. The guy would give them a lil bit of money and buy them new Cadillacs. As long as you looked good and had a couple of thousand dollars in your pocket, thats what they wanted. Blues was rock n roll but countrywith harmonicas. He was one of the success stories. As he matured, he was able to understand about his publishings a lil before he died. He knew that he couldnt just say that he wanted to keep his own publishing so he told the record company that he owed [money] to these gangsters and he made up this name. He made up this publishing company and let his record label think these gangsters owned him. They never challenged it.

DX: Thats pretty slick.
C: Yeah, it was. They just werent letting people keep their records. Mos Def is playing Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry was the other one that came on to this record label and changed the music landscape again for these guys. Jeffrey Wright is playing Muddy Waters. Adrien Brody is Leonard Chess. Beyonce is in the movie as Etta James. Were having a great time with it, too.

DX: Did he play delta blues?
C: He played bass, the upright bass. That was his thing. He did stuff like Hoochie Coochie Man and Backdoor Man and Im a Man. You had a lot to prove back then. All right, brutha.

DX: Ced, who are some of the younger comedians that excite you right now?
C: I mean, obviously, Katt Williams is hot. Its a few people. I mean, the young cat who opens up for me. His name is JJ, Jeremiah Williamson. Hes out of Mississippi but he lives in Atlanta. Hes very funny guy. Rodney Perry [is funny]. There are a few guys that got some pop, some flair, and theyre trying to make a name for themselves. Its definitely different, even watching this season of Def Comedy Jam. I think comedy has changed so much that it feels the same, like with the subject matter and what people are talking about.

DX: You still like to get on stage?
C: I still do it. I definitely consider it a young mans sport. Its some talk of us doing a Kings of Comedy 2. Im getting ready to go out and do some club work and try to write some new material to at least be ready if the deal comes down. I gotta be ready to throw some bombs out there, you know? Imma start in April, doing some club dates around the country. I call them the gym. I gotta get back in the gym, throw some punches. Ill go to Columbus, Ohio and if it dont work out, nobody will hear about it. People in Columbus will be like, He didnt do that good here. Folks be like, Nobody believe yall. Shut up!