Both Cedric Yarbrough and Regina King are no strangers to the entertainment world. King has been blessing TV screens since the days of 227, while Cedric has provided us with side-splitting humor in such projects as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Reno 911. The two join forces on The Boondocks to play some key characters on the show (Huey, Riley, Tom, and Stinkmeaner), resulting in 30 minutes of laugh-till-you-cry jokes. With their impeccable delivery and knack for improv, these two take the show to higher levels. King and Yarbrough recently sat down with HipHopDX to talk about why the new season blows season one out the water, juggling the voices of multiple animated characters, and why BET is being used as a scapegoat…

DX: Cedric, you play Tom slightly awkward and uptight lawyer … he’s pretty much the stereotypically un-cool black guy…is there anyone you base the voice of Tom off of?
Cedric Yarbrough: Umm…I didn’t really base him off of any one particular person. My idea of Tom is one of those type of African American males who isn’t necessarily into Hip Hop; he likes Aaron Neville and Dionne Warwick, you know? He’s kind of that kind of era and likes that type of music…he likes Hall & Oates…

DX: Hey…easy! I like Hall & Oates too, I’m only 24!
CY: [Laughs] Yeah, but that’s all he listens to. He's not into T.I and Lil' Wayne…

DX: You also lend your voice to other characters, right?
CY: Right, I do Colonel H. Stinkmeaner, that’s the other major feature character I do on the show…and then there’s also a bunch of smaller characters here and there. But Stinkmeaner is the major one…

DX: Regina, you are the voice of both of the main characters, Huey and Riley. How did that come about? Was it originally intended to be that way in the beginning?
Regina King: Actually, no. I auditioned for Riley and I got the part. Then a few months had passed by and they still hadn’t found the voice for Huey. So I went back in and tried for Huey and I got it. So that’s how it ended up being both boys.

DX: I’ve always been really impressed with how you juggle the two characters of Riley and Huey and manage to subtly differentiate they way each of them sound. I assumed it would be so easy for you to confuse the voices or the tones or the attitudes…
RK: And that happens sometimes, it really does. One of the things that happened when I went back in to audition for Huey, my agent said “Well, I don’t know how they’re gonna feel about that” and I was like “Well tell em…ummm...tell them that sometimes when kids are close in age like that, they sound alike! Tell em that.” [Laughs] Aaron [McGruder] and I actually sat down before they made the final decision and Aaron was like, “I like the fact that they sound similar sometimes because that’s true to life.” My sister and I are four and a half years apart. And if she answers the phone or I answer the phone, you can’t tell which one it is. So, for me, as the actor playing both boys…it comes down to the fact that there are things that Riley would say that Huey wont say and vice versa. So when I’m adlibbing I have to really be in the right mind frame. Sometimes I’ll be doing Huey, and I’ll say something and think, “That was a lil' too Riley,” and I’ll have to go back and do it again. So I have to really tune my ear.

DX: I know that The Boondocks’ writing crew are some really funny guys as well as the actors..how much of the dialogue is improv?
CY: Well, most of it is scripted. You know, we have great writers and Aaron tells us some stuff, and of course all of the other writers come up with some great dialogue too, but if needed, Aaron has basically hired a bunch of actors that can improvise. A lot of us have improv backgrounds like myself and Gary Anthony Williams…John Witherspoon is a great improviser as well. Aaron isn’t afraid to change the script…he’ll let us go from time to time and say, “You know what? Let me see what you think of this or what you would like to do. You’ve lived with these characters for quite awhile so what do you think he would say here?” That part of it is really great because a lot of projects that actors get, [directors] don’t trust their actors to know exactly what their doing. So it’s really cool to go from the top of your head and it’s also great to work with other actors who can set you up for jokes…and then to see it when it’s actually animated is pretty cool…

DX: How do you feel about the criticism of the show and its use of the word "nigga"? Do you think people need to just ease up and move on, or do you think it’s a genuine cause for concern?
RK: It’s definitely a word that’s offensive to some and not to others. I kind of look at it as…the more we continue to have a dialogue about a word is the more you glorify the word …those who do like the word couldn’t really care less and won't entertain conversations about whether the use of the word should be or not be…
CY: I think the concern and the criticisms are fair. A lot of people…well, most people are offended by that word and…well…I’m offended by that word…

DX: Really?
CY: Yeah, I’m offended by that word as well, but I'm offended by the context of the way the word is used. In the way we use it, I’m not necessarily offended. However, if someone wanted to call me that in a particular situation, I may be offended by it. But the way that we use it, we use it in a very satirical way and I think it’s also true the way people really say it. It’s a word that people say.

DX: So it's basically the debate of "n-i-g-g-e-r" vs. "n-i-g-g-a"?
CY: nigger vs. nigga? [Laughs]

DX: [Laughs] Yeah…
CY: People make that distinction but…these characters come from the city and from a particular way of life...so that’s where they are…and we’re only trying to be real and true to the situation. Even if it is an animated series, people speak that way. A lot of people use the word so I understand the criticism, but I also think we use the word in a responsible way. It’s used as a social commentary. I think it’s used as a mirror to reflect how people talk.

DX: On a similar topic…Regina, as a black woman whose movie acting has played a large role in the Hip Hop culture, how do you feel about the backlash against BET for airing so-called misogynistic material?
RK: Well…I mean, I don’t think all the blame can go on BET. As a parent, we have to take a lot of the responsibility on ourselves on how much idle time we allow our children to be in front of the TV unsupervised and watching whatever they’re watching. And if you are allowing them to watch whatever they want, you should be able to sit with them and talk to them, and ask them what their thoughts are as they’re watching them. My son plays tennis, he plays Pop Warner, and he plays flag football so there’s as little time as possible for an idle mind. They say an idle mind is the Devil's playground. So he doesn’t have to opportunity to be just sitting in front of the TV and digesting hours upon hours of bad TV. You can’t just put it on BET. I mean seriously, I'd say 80% of what’s on TV anywhere isn’t really great TV.

DX: That’s true…so getting back to the show, do you have a favorite episode or character?
CY: Ummm…my favorite episode?...hmmm… Well…we have one coming up that’s pretty damn good. It’s a Halloween episode: "The Return of Stinkmeaner." Stinkmeaner comes back from the dead and he possesses Tom’s body. [Laughs] It was kinda fun to do both characters at the same time and Ghostface Killah is guest-starring in the show and its gonna be a great, really really cool Halloween special, so I'm really excited for that one.
RK: You know, it’s hard to narrow it down to a favorite episode…and as far as the characters go it switches for me. One week I might be lovin' Uncle Ruckus and then another week im lovin' Grandpa. It really depends. I have the opportunity to work with a cast of actors that are amazing …like…sometimes I feel like, "Oh gosh I hope I can step up to the plate." I’ll come into the studio and hear something that the other actors did on an episode and be like, “Oh know he didn’t just say that!” [Laughs] I can't say who’s my favorite. They’re all really great and from the time of the pilot till now, everyone has really made those characters who they are…there’s so much of a difference from reading it on the paper and what you see on TV.

DX: What can we expect from Season Two of The Boondocks?
RK: I think this season is even better than the last. The stories are more developed; everybody is melted into their character even more so we have a quicker pace than last season…which in comedy is always better. A lot more guest appearances too. Last season everybody wanted to be on the show. Unfortunately because of the timing we can only put out about 15 episodes a season. I know the studio would have liked more but the crew would die if we did more than 15. We would love to do more just so we could accommodate all of the entertainers who wanted to be on the show…and believe me, nobody’s getting a lot of money to be on the show so for them to wanna be on the show, they really just wanna be a part of it.
CY: [The] second season has stepped up so far from the first. Aaron and I were talking about the first season the other night and he told me he can’t really look at the first season anymore. In the second season, the animation is great, the music is great, the scripts are way better so…

DX: That’s a huge statement. I thought the first season was fantastic…
CY: The first season was amazing. I can look at the first season…that’s Aaron who can’t…I’m very proud of the first season though. The Martin Luther King Jr. episode stands out for me…and the trial of R.Kelly too. I thought that was done really really well…

DX: I loved the R. Kelly episode. Do you think R. Kelly will get a better trial in real life than he did on the show?
CY: [Laughs]…You never know…I hope so. I hope the prosecuting attorney doesn’t have a white wife. [Laughs] Tom didn’t do well with that one…Its hilarious how Kelly’s trial has still yet to come.

DX: Oh, I know. He’s about to go on tour! He’s havin a good ol’ time.
CY: I know! He has new chapters of Locked In The Closet, or whatever it was called…Trapped In The Closet. He’s still had a lot of success….you know I heard that the R. Kelly camp got a hold of that episode…apparently they enjoyed it. Word on the street is that they liked it.

DX: Both you and Regina currently act on screen and as character voices. Which is harder? Animated voiceovers or on-screen acting? Which do you prefer?
RK: Probably the on screen acting because so often you can watch a movie and see a performance and think, “Oh my God that was over the top!” And its easy to be too big; it’s all about the subtleness when you’re in front of the camera. Whereas off-camera, you can just be as ridiculous as possible. You make faces, you get out certain sounds that you would never make in front of the camera...[laughs)…so I would say in front of the camera is still more difficult…
CY: Well, it’s funny that you asked that because voice over-acting is a completely different type of acting. You can show up wearing pajamas with cornflakes on your face and nobody cares…but the type of performance is very focused. It’s hard to describe because it’s so above your voice in terms of your inflections and what you do…it’s so specific. The type of acting we do on Reno 911 is specific too but it’s a lil' bit broader. I try to come up with everything on my own for Reno, but Aaron helps me out and Rodney helps me out with The Boondocks so…it’s a toss up. They’re both difficult, but they’re both extremely fun. I got some pretty damn cool jobs!