Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with comedian, actor and writer :
TOMMY DAVIDSON
Here's what we got into:
• Tommy first meeting Talib when he was 15 during the filming of Strictly Business.
• What it was about Strictly Business that made Tommy chose it for his first movie.
• The network of underground clubs in New York during the early 90's where legends were born.
• Diddy being assigned as Tommy's assistant during the time of shooting Strictly Business.
• Tommy getting Diddy out of jail when he was arrested after an altercation over parking.
• Love for rapper Heavy D and the unique personality that he brought to the culture.
• How his fatherly perspective has evolved over all the years of raising six kids.
• Processing the reality of his mother dropping him in the trash when he was a baby.
• Being raised by a white mother who was intent on connecting him with his black identity.
• Tommy not recognizing his brother was gay until he was 24 years old.
• How Tommy acquired his legendary talent of parodying famous singers.
• Meeting Martin Lawrence, Sinbad and Dave Chappelle at a club in D.C..
• His take on Dave Chappelle's bravery to tackle such a polarizing topic in 'The Closer'.
• Paul Mooney's connection to In Living Color's Homey D. Clown.
• Tommy's move to the epicenter of a new renaissance of black comics in LA.
• When he was chosen to do a set in between Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.
• Likening Keenen Ivory Wayans to Professor Xavier with his vision for greatness.
• Tommy's portrayal of Cream Corn in the film 'Black Dynamite'.
• The future of 'The Proud Family'.
TIME STAMPS:
3:02 -- Tommy and Talib reflect on their first meeting at a club during the shooting for the film Strictly Business when Kweli was just 15 years old. They go on to discuss several of the notable emcees of the time that were in attendance, his asking Tommy to do his Sugar Ray Leonard impersonation from In Living Color and the network of underground clubs in NY during the early 90's where so many future legends would perform before having been signed. Tommy also goes on to bless us with a brief beatbox session of several hip hop classics.
8:05 -- Talib explains to Tommy how his character in Strictly Business gave him someone he could really relate to during that time. They go on to discuss the club scene from the movie, the dancers of the era like Buddha Stretch, Henry Link and Peter Paul that had an appearance and the all-star cameos throughout the movie. Tommy also gets into how taking the role was a conscious decision for him while he had plenty of options for his first role in a movie, freshly off making his mark in the industry starring in In Living Color.
11:41 -- Tommy tells about how Diddy was assigned as his personal assistant during the time of shooting Strictly Business. He gets into Diddy telling him he should cut his hair as well as him bringing Tommy to all clubs where the best rappers of the time were hanging and performing at. Tommy also illustrates the story of his getting Diddy out of jail when he was arrested after an altercation over a parking space and they discuss the The "B.I.G. Mack" marketing campaign back in the day along with one of Talib's earliest jobs working for Diddy in the mid-90's.
17:11 -- Tommy speaks on his love for rapper Heavy D, the unique personality that he brought to the culture, his success crossing over into the mainstream and Hev's time as the A&R for Uptown Records. Tommy also talks about his six kids born of different generations and his latest addition to the family. He notes the valuable advice he received from his aunt about parenthood and how his fatherly perspective has evolved over all the years, dating back to those times when he was a starving artist and had to compromise time spent with them.
22:27 -- Tommy talks about his unique life story of being adopted by a white family after he was dropped into a trash can at 18 months by a mother who suffered from addiction. He gets into his growing up with anger issues, not having a full understanding of why and his being ridiculed by some of his peers for being raised by a white family. He also tells how he got some closure after meeting his birth mother and details a bitter-sweet moment when she attended one of his shows.
27:55 -- Tommy is asked about his growing up with his brother Michael who was gay and how that impacted his childhood. He gets into the love he had for his brother, Tommy finding it difficult to process why he was so different, not understanding why Michael wouldn't stick up for him and not realizing his brother was gay until he was much older. Tommy also talks about his mother's strict rules of no racial slurs or gay slander allowed in their home as well as how social media has so many living in their own proverbial bubbles outside of reality.
35:21 -- Tommy expands more on his being raised by a white mother who was deeply progressive and intent on making sure her son was in touch with his black identity. Her giving him a biography of Malcolm X and introducing him to many aspects of black culture. They go on to discuss how diverse Tommy's neighborhood was growing up, how the history of intolerance in America goes well beyond just race and the TV show 'Just US' is brought up as well as meeting actor Sterling K. Brown.
43:25 -- Tommy's legendary talent of parodying singers is explored as they talk about how vocalist Al Jarreau impacted him growing up, being one of his mother's favorites. Tommy goes on talk about recognizing Jamie Foxx's singing abilities before he was brought on to In Living Color, the long history of singers parodying other singers and how these were his go-to bits during those early performances a raunchy strip club in D.C. when he would dive into his best Lou Rawls, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder.
48:21 -- Tommy is asked about the night he first met Martin Lawrence, Sinbad and Dave Chappelle at a club in D.C. with Sinbad fresh off his win on Star Search. He talks about Martin's attire that night and how it was Tommy's first night performing at a real comedy club, most of his sets previously being at concerts. Tommy goes on to tell Talib how much he regrets sleeping on him as well as his catalogue over all these years and now finding himself to be a real fan of his work.
54:55 -- Tommy's first comedy special 'Takin' It to D.C.' is brought up. They discuss a few of the notable bits from that set and the concept of comedians not being bound to reality, which leads to talk about Dave Chappelle's 'The Closer'. Tommy gives his take on Dave's bravery to tackle such a polarizing topic, how dangerous a mob mentality can be and they discuss the notion of "people united will never be defeated". Jasmin also goes on to tell a joke about Caitlyn Jenner and Tommy gives us one involving a crazy naked black dude, Mother Teresa and a big ass knife.
1:04:50 -- The socially conscious aspects of Tommy's comedy are discussed as they go on to talk about how In Living Color's character Homey D. Clown was essentially Paul Mooney's personality in clown form and the personification of justified anger coming from the black experience. Tommy is also asked about his move to LA in the mid-80's with his then-manager Sinclair Jones during a time in Hollywood that he describes was the epicenter of a new renaissance of black comics that would later become icons of the industry.
1:11:07 -- Tommy is asked about what he was feeling the night when he was chosen to perform a set at LA's Comedy Store in between Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. He talks about all the trials and tribulations he went through over the last three years that finally led to that big moment and why he was so confident at that time, Tommy feeling he had fully earned that spot. He talks about how his manager pushed him to give his best every night on stage and Jasmin also relates some of her own experiences performing at the Comedy Store.
1:20:34 -- Tommy's time on In Living Color is brought up again. He talks about how lucky he and the rest of the cast were to have found themselves together at the time and likens Keenen Ivory Wayans to Professor Xavier who with his vision and knowledge of comedy structure was able to recruit some of the best comics on the LA scene which resulted in one of the best sketch comedy shows ever. Talib goes on to tell him about his favorite character being Tommy's portrayal of Cream Corn in the film 'Black Dynamite' and Jasmin asks Tommy about the future of 'The Proud Family'.
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