[laughs]

"No, he's not a octopus, Dad." That's my pops, though.

I learned a lot from my dad, man.

I learned a lot of parenting from watching my dad.

I actually created something.

There's a bunch of men here with women now.

I created something called Daddy Day.

[laughs]

Or what, where does this come from?

It's the company You know, when you, when you tell me this room and you say that I have 44 people in this room, and these are all people that have taken on an amazing task with me, and they act as amazing partners.

Um, some people go, "Oh man, that's cool.

That's good for you and everybody in this room." I'm the guy that goes, "Well, what do they do? I wanna know what you guys do." And then when I find out what you do, I'm gonna go and look those things up, and I wanna know, "Oh, shit.

Well, how did they get into that? How did these people get together? How did they meet? More importantly, why, why are they all so keen on doing amazing shit? What..." I, I, I don't like not knowing.

I don't like the thought or feeling of being content with not understanding or not wanting.

So when I see what other people can do, what can be obtained from a thought, from a want, from a feel, it makes me go, "Well, I got the same thoughts and the same feelings and the same wants.

[laughs]

Or like, 'cause th- so many people do have that ambition to be like, "I can't wait to leave that behind because I don't even wanna like show up to my coffee shop job or whatever."

Sure.

I, I, I, I mean, the, uh, the, a lot of the real life thing that I associate with the real life stuff, like isn't necessarily career-based or anything like that.

It's just like, I wanna watch HBO with my wife and like take the dog out.

Like, I like her a lot, that's why we got married and we have like a nice home life together.

In addition to that, I really, really love creating music.

I love the 30 minutes or so we play a show at night, and I also am like real-- like it's, there's...

I know there's no like you can answer all of that and be like, "Yeah, it's all cool." Um, but what, what do you think that your own personal enjoyment is derived the most out of?

Okay

... of making you guys understand.

72 Hours is a movie that brings the generation of old with the generation of new, and it's funny because it actually tackles real things that we're dealing with in real time.

So this guy who's battling with finding out if he still understands this generation of today has to then go service his need by going on a bachelor party due to the fact of-

Yeah.

Um, you know what I think deserves a sequel? And we, we couldn't figure it out, but it was such a good movie because of the company I was in, was The Upside, uh, with Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, myself.

But the story of Dell and the relationship between my character and Bryan Cranston's character, it ended on such a high and such a positive-

I

like the song.

By the way, they can't see the song.

Off the dribble.

You never gonna see those shoes, by the way.

Those are runway editions.

Go ahead,

He's going to

Go, go get Al.

[laughs] "Go get Al and tell him [laughs] come here 'cause they jumping me." The guy's friend came out, 'cause my dad, he was fucked up.

My dad wouldn't get out the property.

So then the guy and his friend just threw my dad in the van, and my dad was like, "We going back.

Kev, get me, get me out of here." I couldn't even drive.

My dad was so discombobulated.

I'm a little kid, I'm 12.

[laughs] That's right.

Hitting 260

... a serious ball right now, man, and I don't even have the strength 'cause I'm not using my hips properly.

So once all that plays into, to, like, real, real play, I'll be a 300 plus driver.

I'll probably be, I'll probably be scratched in the next, like, seven months.

Who knows? I don't know.

I think-

So you just, what, kind of go for it?

Well, sometimes you're having a good time, so you just feed into the group chat and act as if you're somebody, and then the group chat can turn left.

So what was it like when they when they pitched this? You think, wait,

I am still the young guy.

You know, it came from me realizing where I am in today's time.

That's where the whole concept for the movie kind of started.

It's like, how do I how do I put myself in a position where, you know, I can be around a younger generation, engage with them, but also kind of poke fun of a lot of the things that are happening in real time with me.

Like there is a. out of touch component there is a you know losing sight of what is the now and who is the now so fighting to find that and stay with that or stay true to it uh that's the that's the fight of so many people in this position you know the older generation of funny now merging with the new i think it's uh it's a really strong idea and concept but these guys deliver in a major way

and you get to wear sunglasses indoors for i do that all the time everybody knows i've done

It's a thing.

Yeah.

And I, and I dared to say it but I will, uh, new amazing talent like Marcelo and, uh, a list of others in the movie.

I mean, we have a very, very young, energetic cast.

Um, Marcelo-

In there.

I don't, I don't think SNL does a, does him enough justice.

You know, I think he got to cut loose in the movie in a different way.

Uh, and, uh, uh, the world, the world is in for a treat, man.

Does that feel like that was a moment that there is a massive awakening or were you already kind of working with some of

this? No, I had a, I was always a transparent and authentic person, but.

Yeah, yeah.

you definitely change.

You definitely change.

And by the way, still changing.

I'm not sitting in front of you as an unflawed man.

Sponsored by Chumba Casino.

Yep.

And I think, I think voicing the frustration and mirroring that with humor while at the same time being very transparent about your, like- ... world of parenting and, and your growth within it is special.

And I mean, look, there's a, there's a stigma on Black fathers and, you know, the lack thereof, and I think it's important to highlight the good fathers, right? So that that stigma eventually gets erased and you motivate other good fathers to be better fathers, and those that may not be will wanna be, right? Because they'll hear more people voicing, uh, the, the amazing side of parenting and, and all things good attached to it.

And to do that, you also have to be honest, and that's where the, the kids make me angry.

That's where that component comes in.

Because you're, you're not gonna go through parenting and be happy the entire way.

You will get to your tipping point.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So the, the bad version of my mom I never got to see because my mom flipped- ... flipped her life and went in the direction of spiritual, uh, you know, God-fearing and energy towards self and self-improvement.

And from the age, like, four on, there was no relationship with my dad.

There was no...

I never saw another man with my mom.

Like, all I saw was my mom go to work, come home, tend to me, my brother, and whatever my needs or our needs were.

I never saw anything else.

Yeah.

What triggered in you, Kevin, that said, "Hey, I wanna run my own show, my own tour"?

You know, when I ...

I think the, the beauty of what comedians do is understanding that you can be in charge of your own enterprise if you, if you want to, you know? It's a, it's a job.

You get out of what you put into it.

So as many shows as you wanna do, you can.

I said to myself, "I don't wanna continue to be a work-for-hire." When I started to gain a high level of success, I said, "How do I put myself in a position of comfort by building something that can last with or without me having to be in front of it full steam ahead?" And I said, "I think the best way to do that is to understand the business of the world of comedy in full." And that business has so many tiers to it.

It's a business of writing.

You look good

[laughs]

...

the, the, the ship in the bottle.

Like, I'm going to appreciate humor.

I don't get affected by the attempt of humor.

I get it, right? In this case, like, do more, it's my production.

We're live.

Earn what your music deserves on the Beam, the only chart that writes checks.

[laughs]

...

the, the ship in the bottle.

Like, I'm going to appreciate humor.

I don't get affected by the attempt of humor.

I get it, right? In this case, like, do more.

It's my production.

He's the youngest ho- now he's the youngest person to host the BET, whereas you were the youngest at-

No

... hate or space of hate.

Your attempt is to get a laugh.

All right? Is it a good attempt? We'll see.

Maybe they receive it, maybe they don't.

But my, my want is laughter.

That's my reason for saying all things that are being said.

Mm.

He's been working out

...

He does it, and Joel Embiid used to do it, so I stopped, I stopped talking to Joel in public, too.

Like, and that...

It's not, it's not even that they pick me up.

It's, in other words, if somebody picking you up and you can't do about it.

Like [laughs], like so even when I'm like, "Yo, man, chill.

BPS.

So when and why did you get into acting?

When and why did I get into acting? Um, early in my career, I think I was probably, like, 22, doing stand-up comedy, and at that time I didn't know the, the doors to stand-up comedy could open.

And the acting opportunities kinda came out of nowhere, but they came from the performance of me on stage, right? So it was like, "Oh man, this guy's funny.

He would be good for such and such, such and such." So Paper Soldiers, uh, you know, Dame Dash at this time was really bit by the movie bug and wanted to create and do films.

This was in the beginning.

And he had a dope opportunity where he wanted to, like, put some comedians in a movie, and there was a premise that was serious that he wanted to change to something funny.

And they said, "We wanna go and go with you as the guy." Low budget film, but it was a dope [censored], a dope [censored] idea, and at the time, what else am I doing to say no? So, um, that opportunity is what led to other opportunities, 'cause that's where I got my tape.

How much of your path do you attribute to, to that moment and also Shaquille O'Neal?

Yeah.

But I, I understand your reason for it, and just the idea of the dunk in general.

Like, it's, uh ...

It needs to be ...

It needs some energy behind it, and I think the, the youth and the new generation that are still embracing the dunk properly, for you to give them a space to, like, "Oh, this is where you're gonna shine, this is where you're gonna go and possibly grow," opportunities come from that, man.

And, and, you know, who knows? I think the world of brand partnership, brand deals, et cetera, that can come from that, uh, that's the opportunity.

So I hope they see the light that I see at the end of that tunnel, but it's all branded off of the dunk.

How do you handle that? And does it frustrate you, and do you wanna respond when you hear people-

So congratulations to you and your

family.

Thank you, man.

Honestly, you were telling me about it years ago.

And I wasn't ready.

I wasn't ready at that time.

And this is when you were in the early stages of it, but you understood the business and you saw different pipelines of success way before anybody else did.

Just give me a

What drew you to this script? Was it, was it a, uh, something based on a video game which you have a little bit of familiarity with? Or was it just like, "I wanna be an action star," because you really pull it off in this film.

Uh, Eli.

I'll, I'll give Eli the credit where credit is due.

A, a conversation, uh, of course, was brought to my attention about, "Hey, there's interest, Kevin, in you for Borderlands.

Um, you know, they're interested in you for the role of Roland.

Eli, the director, he's, like, deep in and he wants to talk to you." And Eli gave me his pitch and his reason for it, and I was sold on the pitch.

And after the pitch and after reading the script, that's when I went and then played the game.

It was, you've like all-

What do you hope your legacy in comedy is?

What do I hope my legacy in comedy is? That's a great question.

Um, I don't think it's for me to, to, to define, right? Like, I think, um, it's my job to do the work and have a crazy resume and a crazy book with amazing chapters of success, ups, downs, failures, wins.

Um, and then when it's all said and done, you can throw all of this shit on the table, and you can cipher through it and go, "Oh my God, I forgot he did.

Holy shit, that's right, he did do this.

Oh my God," like, "This is crazy," from a catalog.

Like, I thought about it the other day.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You have to do the real work.

So within distribution, you gotta go, and you gotta go talk and meet and shake the hands and build the relationships, right? Um, the work that you're looking for is a response of when people feel the, the, the reason for your, your implementation in the space.

Like when, when the partners meet you and they say, "Oh, he's not here for fiction, he's here for real.

This is not fake.

Yeah, we will support and we will back and we will suggest this to the new customer when they walk in." Try Kevin Hart's Tequila, it's really good.

Because Kevin came in here and Kevin sat in front of us, and Kevin made us understand not only why we should taste it, but why we should back and support it.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

These are independent companies that are bucking the trend, and our model has been, let's be that independent-spirited business.

Let's make those bold, calculated decisions in real time, and be really fast and agile in terms of how we operate in the market day to day.

But let's partner with the best large corporate in the business, being Proximal and Juan Domingo Beckmann from the Beckmann Corporation, and let's bring some real scale to the table.

So that, that, that, that muscularity of the Proximal, Proximal machine, and the agility of us in the market every day leading on, on what consumers see, that's been, um...

It's been a very successful partnership for us, and it's helped us buck that trend.

Mm-hmm.

Is there spaces for me to amplify partnerships or relationships? If I'm on tour, can I position or present certain relationships or partnerships that I have to be visible while I'm doing the things that I'm doing? Hey, man, I'm golfing.

Yeah

... to going home, nicest guy in the world.

But I'm, I'm talking, I'm talking a different gear.

A different gear with funny.

There's nobody, nobody close.

No, nobody close.

He, Will would show up, like, everything was a bit, so you, you gotta figure out that he's in a bit.

[laughs]