All language subtitles for Hart To Heart s01e07 Nick Cannon.eng

* *

Today's episode features a man,

a myth, a legend,

a rebel, a PK.

That's slang
for "preacher's kid."

I'm talking about actor,
writer, director, producer,

-uh...
-NICK CANNON: Rapper!

I wasn't gonna put it in there,
but if you want me to, rapper.

-Nick Cannon,
ladies and gentlemen. -Yeah!

-How are you, sir?
-Man, I don't want to hear that fake shit, man.

I don't... We ain't got time
for all of that, man.

-What do you mean, man?
-Come on, man.

Brother, welcome to my...
This is my area, man.

-Th-This is you?
-Yeah, this my area.

This what you... It's nice.

-You in my wine cellar, bro.
-This is nice.

-It's suede and wood and...
-You like that?

-Rich.
-Nick, I'm-a drink some wine. Are you gonna have some wine?

You know I don't drink, man.
But I...

Whatever you tell me to do,
man. I'll be...

If you don't drink, I don't
want you here to lose your mind

-on my account.
-I mean, I was like... Whatever, man.

-I'm-I'm following you.
-I have a... I have a sommelier.

What the f... What is that?

-Huh?
-Can we talk like we normally talk?

After you address the fact
that I have a sommelier.

(laughs): What is a...?
That's-- 'cause I was gonna say,

-what, uh, is a somm...?
-You want to know what it is, right?

-No.
-Uh, D-DLynn?

-Yeah, hey, brother.
How you doing, man? -I don't... I mean,

-I got some of the...
-I got a sommelier. -Mr. Hart. Mr. Cannon.

-NICK: What does that mean?
-Nick, take a glass of wine.

-I will! I...
-KEVIN: Give Nick a glass of wine.

I don't drink, though.
This is...

-What is this today?
-This is bad. (chuckles)

2017 North Coast Syrah.

(whoops)
Not a North Coast Syrah!

Are you just really just trying
to show me how rich you are?

-No.
-Is that what this is about? (laughing)

-Like, is this what we doing?
-No.

-H-How much
is that bottle of wine? -None of your business, Nick.

But you can't get it
in the States.

-I bet. Sure. Of course.
-May I?

Give him a... Give him
a little bit. It's wine.

-You got to let me know
how much it cost. -KEVIN: Right there.

-That's good. That's good.
-That's good.

-It's grapes. It's wine, man.
-DLYNN: Enjoy.

-I'm not an adult
like that, man. -KEVIN: Thank you, man.

-I don't know
what this stuff tastes like. -KEVIN: Brother,

-it's wine.
-You ain't got no Capri Suns or...?

-No, I ain't got
no Capri Suns, man. -All right.

It's wine. Some of the best
conversations in life

-happen over a glass of wine.
-I'm not at that level yet.

-My mama still drink box wine.
-What?

-Okay, well, that's...
-(laughs) That's-that's my level of wine.

That just mean that you living
where you're supposed to live.

-Cheers, man.
To a great conversation. -Yeah. Yeah.

-Great dialogue. That's...
-Real conversation.

No, Nick. Fake.

I mean, 'cause I don't know,
like, how far...

-Like, we talk every day.
-We talking.

We're gonna talk how we talk.
We're just giving people

-a chance to see it, that's all.
-All right.

-We gonna talk
like we really talk? -Hmm?

-Or we gonna... Okay.
-Deadass.

How we... How we really talk.

That's what makes
this show good, man.

It's the, uh,
it's the versions...

A'ight, that's what the...
That's what the... Okay.

-That's your first.
That's how... -(laughing)

I want to let...
I want to let you guys know:

he's not playing
when he says he doesn't drink.

-Like, that's-that's really...
-Why do y'all drink this shit?

(both laugh)

-Force of habit.
-Uh, here's where I want to start, man.

I want to start on, of course,
our beginning. Right?

-Man. Yeah.
-I think before we get into, uh,

the depth
behind the conversation,

I want people to understand
how far we go back, man.

And you're-you're talking
about, of course,

the early stages
of stand-up comedy...

-Yeah.
-...uh, for both of us.

But, more importantly,
I'm gonna go back

to the beginning
of "Wild 'N Out."

You know,
when you and I got a chance

-to really mend that friendship
that was already there. -Facts.

Man, I will tell you.
I mean, I don't even know

if you remember this. I remember
it was some random-ass party.

Uh, I had heard about you
for a long time, and I...

And, "There's this cat
on the East Coast. Funny dude."

Like, and he was coming out,

and, you know how it is, it was
the days of the holding deals.

-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
-You know what I mean? And if that was...

When you were a comedian,
that was...

-It was a big deal.
-You got a holding deal, you made it.

-The biggest deal ever. Mm-hmm.
-That's when... Yeah. Uh...

And someone at a network
was like,

"Yeah, this guy, Kevin Hart,
he's really funny."

And then we met at a party,
and you was, like...

Even back then, you was, like,
the humblest, coolest dude.

And I'm like, man, I've been...
You know, we on the ground.

We still... This stand-up days,

and, like, I don't even think...

I'm early Nickelodeon stuff.

I don't even know
if I was on Nickelodeon yet.

And you're like, "Man, we the
youngest guys out here doing it.

We got an opportunity.
We should link up."

I'm like, "Yeah, whatever."

And literally,
I learned so much from you

in the stand-up game
'cause you took it...

Like, from that night,
we would pull up,

and whether we was going
to the Comedy Union,

-to all those different spots...
-Mm-hmm.

And I would just watch you work,
man.

And you had... You got, like...

There's
an East Coast comedy approach,

and then there's
a West Coast comedy approach.

East Coast comedy approach,
you go up

-five, six times a night.
-It's a grind.

-It's seven...
It's seven days a week. -Yeah.

Out here, it's kind of...
You know, it's more like,

oh, you get up somewhere.
Somebody else

might have a room
on Wednesday night.

Somebody got a room
on Thursday night.

It's real casual.
But you're grinding.

The way I watched you
build jokes and work, man.

I was like, "Man, I got to...

If I want to be funny,
I got to be like that dude."

I'll tell you this before
we get into "Wild 'N Out,"

before we get into you,
the Bay Area competition,

you know, the-the real arrival
of Nick Cannon,

uh, and that-that young...
that young energy

that was attached
to stardom quickly.

-Yeah.
-I'm-a tell you, dude, there was a...

There was a high...
a high amount of envy

-that I had for you.
-(chuckles) I... It's still there.

-Don't you tell 'em different.
-Yeah, I can't. I'm not...

-I'm not gonna say it's gone.
-You still hate me.

-I did say it
as if it's gone. Like, I did... -(laughing)

I did say it as if it's no more.

No, there was
a high amount of envy

early on in our careers

because I remember
you were clicking so fast.

-Right, right.
-Like, it was...

-You were putting
the beats together so quick. -Yeah.

And I-I will never forget
the "Drumline" opportunity

-and the movie
and when you were casted in it. -Yeah.

-Yeah.
-KEVIN: Where-where every young...

This is every young, Black actor

-in Hollywood at the time.
-Everybody.

-Rappers, too. Everybody.
-I mean, everybody.

-This was... This was the role
of a lifetime for so many. -Yeah.

And I remember
when you got the part

-and there was no animosity.
There was no... -Yeah.

There was no ill will like,

"Damn, I can't believe
I didn't get it.

-Damn, it went
to Nick Cannon. Ugh!" -Yeah. (laughs)

Like, there was... It was like,
"That's a good dude, man."

-Yeah. Nah.
-"That's a good dude."

-That's real.
-"He deserved it."

And you-you not only
rocked that opportunity

but, as others came,

you know,
we developed a great energy.

-Yeah.
-And-and it's always been that-that yin and yang.

It's interesting, too,
'cause, I mean,

when you talk about that...
'Cause clearly,

I'm not a competitive person
by any means,

but I also understand
what you're talking about

out here when you're like,
"I want to get that spot,

-that grind."
-Mm-hmm.

And that's why,
even when we were younger,

like, I never saw anything
as, like...

Like, we joke around
with, like, the hate and all,

but I've always been
nothing but proud of you

because, one, it's enough for us
all to get out-out of here.

But more than anything,
like, I think--

we talked about this
back in the day--

when we would watch cats
that we, you know, looked up to,

whether it's the Eddies
or the Keenens and stuff,

we-we saw
a cool little blueprint like,

-"Oh, Kev does
this shit amazing. Nick does..." -Mm-hmm.

You know what I mean?
And, so, it was always because

we were clicking
on so many different levels

that all I could do
is learn from you.

All I could do
is want to move that way.

So even when it come... came to,
like, auditioning and even...

One, I never booked shit
from auditions.

I was always like,
"Yo, I got to make my own."

Like, just that stand-up hustle
was like,

"I got to write my own shit.
I got to produce my own shit."

So when shit would come across

where people actually wanted
to give it to me,

I was, like...

-Blown away.
-Yeah. So...

-You're taken aback by it.
-Yeah, but even...

And that's
when we see each other out here,

and we all on the same grind.

We all on the same hustle.

I think that's
what people within the game

appreciate and understand.

And I think people...
There's a... I don't know

if it's our generation
or different generations.

There's always, like,
a-a energy of, like,

comedians were super competitive
or did...

Like, "Oh, I don't want
that person to get that.

Oh, I should've got it.
I'm funnier than..."

-I don't ever feel that.
-It's crabs in a barrel.

Yeah. I don't feel
like we have that, though.

-No. We never...
-I seen the older cats have that.

And then even people who are not
really intrinsic into it

who maybe want
to be a part of it.

But cats who are out here
really getting it?

They know that grind
of writing jokes, telling...

It's 3:00, 4:00 in the morning,
trying to figure out

what your set is gonna be
for tomorrow, like...

Well, you're-you're experiencing
it at a different level

because you act now as a...

as a springboard
to the higher levels of success.

Whether you realize it or not,

-the-the gateway
of Nick Cannon... -Right.

I'm talking about "Wild 'N Out."

-I'm talking
about what that now is, right? -Right. I hear you. Yeah.

Right? Like, you know,
you're-you're a portal.

-You-You go through this thing,
through this machine. -Right.

And the now want
is the next level of success,

because there have been people
that have used that platform

-and that it's been
monumental for. -Yeah, man.

I... And it's funny, like,

'cause I don't like
to think of it like that,

'cause you remember when we
was there, when we started it.

I mean, you was in the, uh...

-You did me the favor.
-In the beginning.

-In the beginning stages.
-(laughs) Yeah.

When we were... When...
First of all,

we used to just be at places
like the Comedy Union

and different clubs where
they in the Valley and stuff.

And we'd just be talking shit,

-being silly
like we-we always are. -Mm-hmm.

And I remember at some point,
it was like,

"Yo, Nick, you on now.
Won't you put some of us on?"

I was like, "A'ight, well..."
Rented out the Comedy Union,

-got some cameras together...
-Don't speed past that,

'cause that's a... that's
a real important fact, man,

-that-that most don't know.
-Good.

It was... It was a real...
It was a real ask

-of, "Yo, man,
you out getting it." -Yeah.

-(laughs) Right.
-"You out here getting it."

-Like, you got
the real pressure. -Right, right.

-I stayed away
from the pressure. -(laughs) Right.

I-I didn't... Y-You...
Nobody saw me.

I would... I would come in,
and I'm there for a minute,

-and I'm out.
-Yeah.

You got the pressure.

I don't even want
to call it pressure.

-Let's just call it an ask.
-"We saw you

-from here as a kid with us,
and now you on." -And-and...

-"And we know you."
-Right.

-"And you eating."
-Yeah.

"I don't like you eating, man.
Come on, Nick."

-W-Well, we... Yeah.
-"Let us... Let us eat, too."

-Yeah.
-And you didn't just hear that and walk away from that.

You-you responded. You was like,
"All right. All right, cool."

So,
this-this "Wild 'N Out" thing

-was then birthed, right?
-Yeah. Right.

It was then birthed. Who-who
was a part of the creative

in the beginning stages
of "Wild 'N Out"?

NICK: Man, I mean,
same guys we still rock with

to this... to this day.

Uh, Nile Evans, Chris Spencer.

Uh... I remember just... Even...

We just got a room
of all of us together.

Uh, i-it was like, "Yo, we just
gonna do the stuff that we do."

We all would do
little stupid improv games.

We'd all be rapping, and so
I was like, "How does..."

And-and inspired by everything

from, you know,
"Uptown Comedy Club"

-that we would see.
-Mm-hmm.

Uh, "Apollo Comedy Hour,"

"ComicView," "Def Jam,"
all of those things.

And all the same type of people
had worked on all of that stuff,

so we were like,
"Yo, let's just do what we do

-on some improv stuff
but mix some hip-hop in it." -Mm-hmm.

And at the time,
I just knew I wanted to mix

hip-hop and comedy
and stand-up together

and put my friends on.

KEVIN:
Remember the beginning stages of "Wild 'N Out."

All I remember is there...

We didn't have, like,
places to go and chill,

-so we were all
in the back of the Union. -Yeah.

-You had, like, water coolers.
-Yeah.

-There were some drinks. No...
-Little patio area.

It was nothing crazy,
but everybody was there

for the support, for the love.

Everybody came out that night,
like, and it was...

I-I had no idea
what it would be.

I mean, obviously,
I had the relationships

with, like, MTV,

and I-I think that was right
when "Drumline" was popping.

And even my team and people
were like,

"Why are you doing stuff
on television?

-You're a movie star now."
-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

And, "You know, you do..."
And I was like, "Look,

this is... this is my roots.
This is what I come from."

Stand-up and, you know, improv,
I'm-a always want to do this.

And it was just
a passion project at the time

to help put my friends on,
and...

-It turned into
what it turned into. -Yeah.

-Yeah.
-It became the thing that MTV pushed the most.

And then from there, you know,
life-life just changed.

We got...
We started to get older,

and it was like, "Man,
how long we gonna do this?"

And, you know, it's like,
"Ooh, we did ten episodes.

"Oh, we did 25.
Oh, we're doing...

We did 50 episodes!"

And then from that point,
it's like,

"Okay,
we've created this brand."

And even when you look
at it today, man,

I think it's the
longest-running Black comedy,

-urban comedy
in television history... -Absolutely.

-Absolutely.
-...just based off of how long we've been rocking.

-So... Yeah, yeah.
-Quietly, though.

Quietly. Like, I don't...
I don't think people understand

the true success of the show.

They don't understand
the true trajectory

that that show went on
and that it put you on

just from
a producing standpoint, right?

And that was the thing, too.
Because of that fact

that I rented out
the comedy club...

-By yourself.
-...rented out my own cameras,

-used my own money,
then went to them... -By yourself.

...that allowed,
you know, my team

to get the best deal possible

and have ownership
in this brand to, you know...

Even when...
Later times, however...

15 years later, I was able
to have so much leverage

when actually doing
business dealings.

And, you know, as we all know,
content is king

-and ownership and IP.
-Mm-hmm.

So I-I... I learned that
at an early age by accident

because I just...

Nobody understood
what I was trying to do,

and I was never scared
to put my own money up,

especially for my team
or for my friends.

So, it just... It was a benefit.

People looked up.
They looked up like,

-"Hey, you know you own
'Wild 'N Out,' right?" -Yeah.

I was about to tell you.
You know, you just said, like,

"As-as we all know."
But people don't know.

-Yeah. (laughs)
-You know, there's a lot of people that don't,

-that don't grasp that.
-And we had forgot. Yeah.

'Cause it's like...
It had went... You know,

obviously, I was doing movies,
music, other things,

and when it was the time
to bring it back around,

I actually went with MTV
and-and Viacom at the time.

And we went out
to Madison Ave. to...

We went out and...
together as a team

to sell to advertisers, to...

And that's-that's the time
I was like, "Oh, I...

-own this..." (laughs)
-"I'm a part of the... I'm a part of the business."

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-"Oh, I'm here

"because I'm actually a part
of the IP.

-This is... This is different."
-Yeah. Facts.

Yeah.
It's a different conversation.

And that was
a learning experience, as well,

'cause, you know, you're
sitting up with these people,

and you understand
people's dollar spends

and marketing budgets
and how it...

And what demographic
they're trying to hit.

Oh, this a whole nother aspect
of the game, even creatively,

but I never thought
I would be a part of it.

Now, you know, I mean,

you've mastered it,
you know, beautifully,

and even now we can sit up
and have conversations

on a creative level.

We can talk about the marketing.
We can talk about the approach.

We can talk about all type
of layouts to where...

Uh, I don't know, we-we might be
the first of the generation

-to do that because...
-To do it... To do it and truly understand it.

-And have access to do it.
-Yeah. You know,

when we look at our...

you know,
the generation before us--

granted, you know,
this generation, we salute,

we give flowers to,
we bow down to

'cause they open up
these doors--

but the opportunities of now

may not have been
presented correctly then

for a lot of them to grasp the
understanding of that ownership.

Yeah, and they had to play
by the rules.

-Mm-hmm.
-Like, now it's... There are no rules.

You create the rules.
You've done stuff

in the space of social media
and in-in new content

that has never been done before.

Well, I mean,
it didn't exist then.

-Yeah.
-They didn't have that tool then.

Facts.
So, but even there were cats,

you know, people
I still look up to to this day,

like a Spike Lee.

I mean, you watch what he did
not only in his own films

but even in the space of, like,

what he did
with the Jordan brand.

So they were cutting-edge
on that,

but we were able
to reap those benefits

to say, "Oh, we know
what them marketing dollars are.

"We know what that is.
Let's apply that

-and, you know, create content."
-But where did you get that?

You've always been a guy that...

You understand
that one plus one equals two.

-Right, right.
-And-and with or without

the business of entertainment,
you've-you've...

you've still
implemented yourself

into other things,
other revenue streams.

My question is,
where did that come from?

Is that... Is that a family...
Is that a family-learned trait?

Yeah. I mean,
I think I definitely...

I mean, we all come...
When you come from the mud,

when you got to make something
out of nothing,

that's just what it is.
The-the hustle is in us.

It's...
And you see an opportunity,

you're like, "I want
as much of that as possible."

-Mm-hmm.
-My-my dad was cut from that same cloth

of just being an entrepreneur,

and my dad was doing everything
from having...

trying to have a ministry
to running his own business

to working for Coca-Cola
to Frito-Lay to...

You know, like,
so watching somebody

just really grind
at that level...

And even, you know, my mom,

you know, being a teenager,
having me, going to school,

three or four jobs,
night school...

I just came from, like,

"Yo, these people
are not gonna stop."

-You were
around the hustle. Mm-hmm. -Yeah.

So I think that was just in me.
And then I would...

I credit stand-up, honestly.

I mean, I was...
I came out here as a teenager.

-You started
when you was 15, 16. -Yeah, yeah.

Like...
And that's professionally.

Before, I mean,
I was doing talent shows

and all of that stuff
at, like, 11, 12,

but by the time I got out there
and really was on the road,

-I was 15.
-How? How so early?

Well, the church,
you know what I mean?

My dad would be speaking
and then doing... So I would...

You know, talent shows
and different church events.

-I was... I was,
you know, the Christian. -The devil.

-(laughs) Yeah.
-You were the devil.

Telling Jesus jokes.
Open up for the preacher man.

And... But from that,

they was like,
"Oh, there's something there."

And trying to do music
at the same time.

Music in the church
and flipping it

and going and doing
the worldly stuff.

And by the time I got out there,
my dad was like,

"Yo, this kid gonna do
whatever he wants."

And it started even in space--
'cause a lot of times,

th-those preachers
who be trying to, you know,

get to the megapastor level,

they got to start
on, like, public access,

and so that's
what my dad was doing.

He...
And I learned how to work...

I was his crew.
I worked the cameras.

-I was the audio guy.
-Wow.

And, so, 12, 13 years old,
I'm in spaces like this.

-Wow.
-Learning lighting, learning how to do that.

And then that just gave me
that-that hustle energy.

So, when we got to the...
out there doing stand-up,

-I was like, "Yo."
-You've been doing this.

-This is what it is.
-"I-I've been doing this for so long,

-I'm-I'm already comfortable
in this environment." -Yeah.

I had no idea that you was
behind-the-scenes that young.

-Public access.
Like, you'd have to be... -Yeah.

You know, they'd be in there
doing all type of...

Like, it's four different
television programs a day,

and you got to work
on all of them.

You're really controlling
the-the stuff.

You're really behind-the-scenes

-doing
the behind-the-scenes work. -Yeah. Yeah.

Like, I had a...
I had a talk show

when I was, like, 11, 12
called "Who's Got the Wisdom."

-"Who's..." (laughs)
-(laughs)

I had on a trench coat.
I come out

like the ...
from "The Twilight Zone."

"So, let me tell you
who's got the wisdom."

-Who's got the wisdom.
-'Cause of my...

Of course, my dad probably
came up with the concept,

but I'm up there trying to have
a one-on-one conversation

with, like, local mayors

and congressmen and stuff,
but it's a kid.

Like, people would come in.

Because this was
in North Carolina at the time.

People would come in.
Like, I was interviewing,

like, Gladys Knight
and Ramsey Lewis and Don King.

-Do you have
any of that footage? -Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

-It's all... I mean, it's...
-What are you doing with it?

My dad, he got, like,
tapes and tapes of it.

What do you mean? Do you
understand what that sizzle is?

Damn. It's-it's out there.

* *

Was your family always
super supportive to your wants?

To-to the... To the goals
of you and entertainment?

-Like, when you embraced
comedy and stand-up... -Yeah.

-...was there ever pushback?
-Once they realized

I wasn't gonna be
no damn preacher.

(laughs) They was like,
"Let him... Let him go."

-Did they want that?
-Yeah, but, you know, I mean

that I was always
a rebellious kid.

You know,
PK's always challenging.

Like, I do way too much sinning
to try to be anybody's preacher.

I know you do now,
but back then?

I was a rebel, though.
Like, you know what I mean?

Like, I was... I was...
I challenged my dad.

And, you know, coming from...
I didn't grow up with my dad,

so I kind of end... We end...

We met as a, "A'ight.

Um, you want to try to tell me
what to do?"

And luckily we found that space.

-How old?
How old were you when you... -Like 11, 12?

-Uh-huh.
-You know what I mean? Uh, that's when my mom

figured it was time for me
to go learn how to be a man

and live with my dad
in creative spaces

like the church and-and
public access television.

And that kind of allowed us
to kind of build,

and-and from there,
that's where the career started.

-Now, before...
-He said, like, "He ain't gonna be in the church,

but he gonna do something."

But before you met your dad,

before your mom
made that decision

-to open that door up...
-Yeah.

...was there, like, uh...

Was there bad energy
because of...

Nah. You see, what's dope
about my family structure--

and I would say it's probably
more unorthodox than most--

but, uh, my parents
were teenagers when they had me.

-Mm-hmm.
-So they were literally in high school.

I went to my dad's
high school graduation.

(laughs):
Like, like, so, the fact that...

I feel like
we kind of grew up together.

So, my dad moved
to North Carolina,

where part of our family was,

to go to college
and become a minister.

My mom was working, grinding.

You know, nursing school

and working at Jack in the Box

and trying to go to college,
become an accountant.

So I watched them go to school
and rise and come up,

so even if I wanted to have,
like, a grudge,

and "Where were you?"
And that, like...

-They were kids, man. Like...
-Yeah.

And as I got older, you know,

it was never like
they weren't there.

And the beautiful thing,
even, about my father

and, uh, his side of family

was his mother and his father
embraced me as their own child.

(chuckles): So... And my mother,
as well, you know what I mean?

So we was all living
in the projects together,

you know what I'm saying?
So, it was...

it was a cool look to where

even though my parents
were so young

that they were never a couple,

it was still a family unit
amongst us.

-So, I...
-You guys have held onto that.

-To this day.
-Very, very close until this day?

-Yeah. And it-it's a vibe, man.
-Yeah.

I-I mean, clearly we all come
from it and-and could...

If we wanted to be bitter
about things...

I always say, "Man, ain't
no point in getting bitter.

-Just get better."
And that's... -What time...

What time...
What time are you gaining?

What time are you gaining
from a... from a bitter...

from-from a bitter attitude

-or a bitter approach?
-Man, I mean, you do it brilliantly, man.

Your relationship
with your pops, man.

I love...
First of all, I love your dad.

He's probably my favorite.
I don't care.

-Whatever event
I go to... (laughing) -KEVIN: Nuts.

-My dad is nuts.
-Okay.

I don't want to hang out
with nobody...

My dad's nuts, man.

-...but Kev's pop.
-(chuckles)

And-and it's
because he's gonna be

in the corner:
"Look at these motherfuckers."

-Yeah, he-he does...
He... I've never seen... -(laughs)

I've never seen anybody
that's just more...

He's just... He's just...

He-he shouldn't ever be
where he is.

He is amazing, man.

He's the guy
that just shouldn't be there.

No, I remember
at the wedding, yo.

I didn't hang out
with everybody.

It's a beautiful... It's, like,
just the most beautiful shit

you ever seen in your life.

Like, fucking Alicia Keys

is singing y'all down the aisle,
like...

-And then your dad is like,
"Look at this shit." (laughs) -(laughs)

"What, these ... gonna pay
Alicia Keys

to come to the...
I could have sang this shit."

-It was, like, hilar...
-Did you hear my-my dad's speech?

My dad's speech
at the reception,

he goes, "Eniko,
welcome to the wild side."

-(laughing)
-And then... and then walked off.

What are you...
What are you doing, man?

And laughed. (imitates laughter)
And laughed.

-Like, he's never... He's never
not been inappropriate. -Man.

I can tell you,
I'll give you one more...

one more story about my dad

when I was like,
"This is just who he is."

My mom's sister had passed away.

My mom was already...
My mom had already passed.

-Mm.
-So, my Aunt Mae passed away,

and, you know, I-I got to go
and just make sure

-I-I pay my respects
on behalf of my... -Right, right.

Just me, my brother, my mom.

-I want to be there, right?
-Right.

I get there,
and my dad, he's like,

"Yo, I'm-a come, too."
I'm like, "All right."

It's a funeral. First of all,
my dad shows up in white linen.

-My dad, my dad had on
a white linen... -(laughing): At a funeral.

A white linen outfit, right?

So, it's before
the funeral starts.

It's me, uh, at the time,
my Aunt Patsy, uh, my cousins.

We were just standing
in a little circle.

My dad came up
in the middle of the circle.

He goes, "They dropping
like flies, ain't they?"

-(laughing)
-(chuckling): And I said, "Jesus Christ."

He just...

-Man, he's amazing, yo.
-He just equated

my mom's sister's death
to a fly.

"They dropping like flies,
ain't they?"

-In his white linen.
-Yeah.

"I hope I ain't next!" He's...

-Look, you can't change him.
-Dressed like he going

-to a Diddy summer party.
-You can't change him.

-Uh...
-But he reminds me of my dad. I mean, same. That's why--

and I think that's even probably
why you and I are so close,

because we have
such similar upbringings

-to where it's like...
-Absolutely.

We could be mad at our fathers

-if we wanted to, but for what?
-For what? For what?

Man, like, we could...

Like, we didn't grow up
in the normal way,

and we used our tests
as testimonies, man.

-And that's really what it is.
-You say "rebel."

You say you were a rebel.

Uh, I got to be honest, brother.
It's still there.

-You still very much are. Uh...
-Yeah, I mean,

I'm-I'm probably the only person
on, uh, prime-time TV

-with neck tattoos. (laughs)
-Yeah, I mean, listen, it's...

At this point, Nick,
I've lost control.

I don't know what to say to you.
I don't know.

-And I'll leave you alone.
-You've tried to reel me in

on a lot of these conversations.

I leave you alone, though,
because you are...

you're-you're
beyond intelligent.

-Well, thank you, man.
-Right? You're beyond intelligent.

So, I'm gonna... I don't have
to say how smart you are.

-You're beyond that.
-I appreciate it.

But you are also very determined

when you make the choice
to be determined.

Yeah, can't nobody tell me
nothing at the end of the day.

Like, especially if I have
my mind set on something.

A-And usually,
'cause I'm-I'm a very strategic

-and calculated individual...
-Very.

So I'm not... Even though my
shit seem like it's gonna be...

I've probably thought it out,

thought every scenario,
and then I act on it.

So, once I get there,
even when people have tried

to, you know, reel it back in...

And we've had
these conversations of, like,

"Man, Nick, why would you..."
I'm like, "I don't care."

I don't give a...
I don't care what people think.

So, that side comes out
when I stand firm on my beliefs

-and when I stand firm
with just being solid. -Mm-hmm.

'Cause at the end of the day,
I know I come

from a-a strong moral compass
of, like...

I just want to be good
to people. I just want to go...

And you the same way, man.
Like, you just want

to be able to say,
"Look, I'm blessed,

so now I want to be a blessing
to people."

And when-when anyone actually
tries to challenge that,

then I'll probably buck up.

-Mm-hmm.
-And-and that's why I always try to be,

you know,
the-the dude that's gonna...

gonna zig
when everybody else is zagging.

Here-Here's my thing
that I found out about you, man.

You're very well-read.

There's-there's
so much knowledge in there

-and-and information.
-(chuckles)

When it comes to our culture,
when it comes to Black people,

when it comes to the heritage,

when it comes to,
you know, ancestors,

-where we're from,
you're so well-read. -Yeah.

When-when did you start
the search

for the abundance
of information?

Man, that shit, honestly, was...

That was probably an insecurity
more than anything.

Because I came
into entertainment

and my career
at such a young age,

I ended up skipping stuff
like college and...

And I...
So, I would get in forums

and have conversations,
and I would feel

like I didn't have
the wherewithal

to have a strong dialogue
based off of anything.

So I just wanted to learn.
I wanted a college education.

I wanted to appear to be smart.

But then once you get
to that space where...

Now, like,
I realize I'm in circles

where I don't want people
to know how smart I am.

-Hmm.
-I don't want to get in there and, like, try to be like,

"Well, I'm this,
and I have this because..."

You know, first of all,
nobody likes a know-it-all.

-Mm-hmm.
-Nobody wants to be in a room

where everyone's like,
"Hey, well, did you know this?

-Well, I just finished
reading this book." -Mm-hmm.

So, I try
to fall back on it now,

but now it's just such a passion
and a habit that...

-I just love education.
I love learning, man. -Mm-hmm.

And I never want
to stop learning, so...

But I find myself,
like, probably...

And this is probably just
recently, you know what I mean?

Even with all of this stuff
that I went through

in the-the last year or two,
I was like,

"All right, sometimes
you ain't got to tell everybody

everything that you know
or everything..."

Like, but I used to want
to do that.

-I wanted to prove to people
how smart I was. -That's learned.

-That's learned, though. Right?
-Yeah.

Like, it's a...
it's a... it's a learned...

-it's a learned trait,
a learned quality. -Yeah.

Because there is a moment

where there-there's a want
for approval

within the thing
that you now have.

You want... You want to see
people go, "Oh, that's dope."

-Yeah.
-"Oh, man, that's amazing that you..."

There's-there's a want for that.

But then after receiving that,
you realize

that it's not as important
as you once thought it was.

And that's the thing.
That's-that's just our nature

and our culture because
we have been so downtrodden

as a people to where
it used to be illegal to read.

It used to be they...

Education
wasn't something that was...

It was a privilege

even if we had the opportunity
to go to school.

So you wanted to be like, "Look,
I'm not wasting this space.

"I'm a...
I actually can, uh, sit

"and have
intellectual conversations

"on many levels because this...

"because I value it
in the same way

that someone who is perceived
to be better than me values it."

A-And that's even, like,
that's from us getting money

and, you know, our love
for-for the finer things,

'cause we want to show
that, you know,

we have value in this space,
as well.

But once you actually get
to have knowledge yourself,

you know that, you know,
none of that

has anything to do with it
when you know...

Th-The strongest education
I can have

is to understand who I am.

That's-that's a great segue
to my next question, man.

You said something,
uh, earlier on

-when you like, "Look..."
-We're being fucking very serious here.

-This is great. I told you.
I told you it's a great... -(laughs)

I told you it's great dialogue.

-This is real stuff.
-This is... Yes.

It's a different version of me.

-It's why I wanted to do this.
-This isn't how we talk every day.

-Yes, this is a... It's a...
This is a great... -(laughing)

A great dialogue, okay?

Uh, here's a piece
that I want to go back to.

You said, like, you know,

certain things,
you just don't care.

-"I don't... I don't care
what people think." -Yeah.

There was a moment
where you and I,

we were having some talks,
right?

-As-as shit hit the fan.
-Yeah.

-Right, right.
-You-You're no stranger to stepping in it.

-I'm no stranger
to stepping in it. -I feel like our shit...

We-we volleyball with shit.

-We t... We shit... Tennis shit.
-Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

'Cause, like, I'll be
in some shit, and I'm like...

-But it's never
at the same time. -Never at the same time.

I can always check on you.

-You've always been able
to check on me. -Yeah.

If it happened at the same time,
I'm-I'm scared

-of-of the lack of support.
-Yeah, that would be crazy.

We-We've visited each other
in the hospital

-multiple times. (laughs)
-Yes. Yes, we have. Yes, we have.

There was a moment when you
were going through your bout

and you...

you felt...

you felt the need to say,
"The biggest hurt

is seeing my people turn on me."

-Ah, man.
-"Seeing my people turn on me."

-Right?
-Yeah, that shit. I was in therapy

for a long time about that shit.

Granted, like, okay,
I know this group of people

is probably gonna feel this way.

Uh, but then, when the people

who are supposed
to have your back start...

you're like,
"Wait, hol... I'm trying...

-I'm repping for us."
-Yeah.

That's when you find yourself,
like,

"Okay, one,
how serious is this?"

'Cause everybody sees this
as a game,

uh, and-and a hustle and a grind
and shit we talk about.

But when you actually talk
about the principles

of who you are as a person

-and people start
to question that... -Question.

...you're like,
"Oh, shit. Wait, okay,

-what are... what are we
even doing right now?" -Mm-hmm.

Because...
And that's even, like...

I never wanted to be a leader.

I never wanted to be the voice
of a certain group of people.

But then, when people
just naturally start

to look at you for that
and then they, like,

don't fuck with you
because you might not have...

shared
the common opinion of them

or you might have done
something differently

than they would have done it,
then you have

to really, like,
find your own common ground

and be like, I'm-a stand in this
regardless if my mama like it,

regardless if my kids like it,

regardless if my community
likes it, regardless...

And that space,
that-that's a growing point.

And that's when we would have
these talks. I'm like, "Man..."

'Cause then you get
to that place, be like,

-"Man,
don't nobody fuck with me." -Yeah.

It's-it's...
It's the thing that...

I won't even lie to you.

At one point, it was a...

-It was the biggest fear
that I had in my career. -Mm.

-Mm.
-The biggest fear is

-what if nobody don't like me?
-Right.

What if they decide
to not like me

or accept me or my talent?

-That was the fear.
-Because the grind

is always
about how likable you...

How-how how many people
like you,

-how many followers...
-It's about the acceptance.

-Yeah,
it's about being accepted. -Right?

It's about...
It's about the acceptance.

And-and it took me...

it took me going through
the things that I went through

-to go, "Oh, wait a minute.
Wait a minute." -Yeah. Yeah.

"Oh, you're never going
to make them all happy."

-And that's it.
It's about... Fuck. -You're never gonna

-please them all.
-Gives a fuck about what others think.

-Exactly.
-You know, other people's opinions about me

-is none of my business.
-Exactly.

It's about... Because, really,

when you're doing it
for the acceptance,

then, really, that's the work
you got to do within

because you're yearning for...
There's something empty.

-Mm-hmm.
-But now, like, man, I love being flawed.

I love knowing the fact
that, like, I be fucking up.

-Mm-hmm.
-(laughs) Like, just...

It's such a comfortable space
to be in

because I'm happy with who I am.

I'm happy
with the decisions I make.

And when I'm not happy with it,

that means
I got to go work on me.

I'm not blaming it
on a community, I'm not...

And that's what I really had
to get to, because...

-Just like...
-You were angry. You were angry.

-Yeah, I was mad,
'cause I'm like... -You was pissed off.

'Cause first of all,
I was already on my, like,

-militant shit, right?
-Mm-hmm.

Just from all of the learning
that I've had.

And I'm like,
"Yo, they really...

"They really fucking with us
on so many different levels

"to a place where this
is indoctrinated in us

from colonization."

-Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
-You know what I mean?

And when you see
that level of it,

you f...
you get angry for humanity,

you know what I mean?
(chuckles)

-Well...
-And then, when I find that out...

And then I'm like, "All right,
I'm trying to build us."

And then the people you trying
to build ain't fucking with you.

-That's-that's where
your frustration came from. -Yeah.

I feel like
your frustration came

from you actually being
on the front line.

-Yeah.
-Not because it was the cool thing to do,

but it was because it was
the right thing to do.

-Right, right.
-You-you not only said,

-"I'm willing
to lose everything for this..." -Right.

"...because
that's how important this is."

-You felt like that's the stamp
to show, "Guys, I'm..." -Right.

-"This is... This is a passion."
-Yeah.

"Like, right is right,
wrong is wrong,

"and what's wrong
is-is so blatant

"that I want to be a part
of somehow making it right,

"and this is gonna be my effort.

This is my energy."

And when you gave that,

went through
what you went through,

and then it seemed
like there was an about-face

-where people
all of a sudden forgot that... -Yeah.

...that acted as a...
as a nice little...

as a nice little stab
to the heart.

-Yeah.
-Because it was the...

it was the last thing
that you would expect.

And it's one of those things,
too,

because a-a little bit
of that...

And it goes back to what
we were talking about earlier

of just acceptance and even...

I wanted people to understand
that I was intelligent.

I wanted people to understand

how, you know, "down" I was,

how in tuned.

And then
when you're trying to do

all of the right things
for that acceptance

and then you realize
they're never gonna accept you.

-Mm-hmm.
-You know, uh, whether people want to label you as corny

or label you as a sellout
or label you...

Because, first of all,
success is intimidating.

-Mm-hmm.
-And, so, even dealing with that from a young age

mixed in
with when we start doing with...

dealing with social issues,

then you start to question

the communities
in which you're a part of.

And then, when you get
to that space, you're like...

You-you never...
One, you never want to speak bad

about your own or what
you believe your own to be.

And then you, also,
then you find yourself like,

"All right, well, if I'm trying
to build myself up,

"I don't have to talk bad
about the other people

even if my people want me
to talk bad about other people."

-You don't have to.
-Yeah. And I learned...

I'm-a be honest, man.
I learned that from some cat,

you know,
some of the best to ever do it,

and really having to take some
of those lessons from, like,

you know, you know,
Harry Belafonte, you know?

-KEVIN: Wow.
-NICK: Who's still one of the coldest

-and one of the...
-KEVIN: Wow.

NICK:
From activism to entertainers.

And then even,
you know, Dick Gregory.

-Cussed me out in that hospital.
-Cussed... He...

Kev came to see me in
the hospital and got cussed out

-by Dick Gregory.
-KEVIN: Cussed me out.

-Dick Gregory.
-NICK: But... And he literally, like,

-He don't give a fuck.
-No.

Like, just every-every word
out his mouth,

-"motherfucker" this.
-I did nothing. All I did

-was come to the hospital, Dick.
-"Fuck you doing?"

"What you doing? What you doing
here?" Dick, I came to see Nick.

-Yeah. "How much money
you got?" (laughing) -You know, Dick...

I was like,
"Dick, I don't want talk to you

about the...
What are you talking about?"

"You ain't putting that money
in Black banks."

Nobody told me I should.

Nobody told me what to do, Dick.

-"Well, don't do it, then."
-Well... (laughs)

I said... I said,
"Dick, what did I do?"

"Yeah, you stupid mother..."
I just...

I've never been cussed out
for no reason.

'Cause he-he'll
tell you straight, "I was...

"I was running across
this motherfucking country

"w-with, uh, Muhammad Ali.

-No, I-I... We really ran."
-"We ran. I really ran.

-I-I ain't talking
about no bus!" -"We ran."

"Stupid mother..."

-"Dick, I never said
you didn't." -I just said...

"You think you in shape? You
think you got to hustle, Hart?

-Huh?"
-"No. No, Dick, I didn't."

-By the way, Nick...
Nick knows... -"Huh?"

-He always hit you
with the "Huh?" -When I tell you the...

Nick...
The people that Nick know,

you just go,
"How did this happen?"

Like when I...
Nick was in the hospital.

-You're-you're battling lupus.
-Yeah.

-Yeah.
-You're in the bed. He's sick.

-Blood clots.
-Why is Dick... Why is Dick Gregory here, Nick?

-Cussing people out.
-H-How did this happen?

-(laughing)
-Why would he be here on the same night?

I had so many questions.

It was a brilliant night,
though, man.

A-And just even but...
Life lessons, man.

They... These are people
that paved the way for us,

and all we can do
is sit back and listen.

And-and that's really
where I got to those spaces.

And even when I was met
with my own challenges,

it's like,
"Man, just go within."

Because, as we know--
you know, man--

we built for this.

-Absolutely.
-Tough times don't last,

-but tough people do.
-Ooh.

Who is Nick Cannon
as a dad, then?

Segueing off of that
and you talking

-about energy to the kids.
-Yeah.

I mean, right now,
Nick Cannon as a dad...

-The number's growing.
-I'm a dad to a whole bunch of motherfuckers.

-(laughs)
-Yeah, yeah. I mean, I mean, I mean,

-you just had...
you just had a new baby, right? -Yeah.

-Uh...
-Yeah. It's crazy,

-our kids
are so similar in ages. -Same-same ages.

Um, I get to that space, man,

of there's a level
of responsibility...

-Total-total number.
-I don't know that.

-You gonna put me
on the spot right here? -I'm saying...

It's like Spades.
I got eight and a possible nine.

(both laughing)

-I like children, damn it!
I like having... -Okay. All right.

-You like procreating.
-I'm out here.

-You're procreating.
-Procreating.

You want...
You want the-the Cannon...

The name... The Cannon name
is gonna live on, all right?

-Forever.
-Forever. But-but coming from a space of like,

"Man, I'm really trying
to build and-and...

and establish
as much as I possibly can."

Because I feel, like,
as a provider, so...

I mean, right now,
as we sit here,

you know, being...
Even having six kids,

it-it gives me
the ability to say,

"Man, I can affect so much."

And-and even, you know,

me and Mariah's twins
are, like...

Just seeing
what that entity building now...

They're gonna be...
They preteens.

And I'm like, damn,
I didn't know

that that
was gonna turn into that

and then watch a legacy
come out of that.

And-and my youngest. Having,
you know, a new baby girl

and watching her have...

It's a different world.
So, that's, like...

That responsibility
to be able to say,

"Not only did I put this energy
into this space,

"but now I have to be man enough

"to stand firm in who I am

-so that I can be
an example to them." -Yes.

And that's a...
And that's vulnerability.

That's-that's emotions.
That's, like...

So, I'll-I'll never try
to get it right.

I'll never try to be
that perfect example,

you know what I mean? Like,
as-as cliché as it sound...

-That's strong to say.
That's strong. -Yeah.

'Cause I ain't trying
to be a role model

'cause a role
is something you play.

You know what I mean? We just
out here trying to be authentic.

We're trying to be real models.
We trying... Not even a model.

-We trying to be real humans.
-"Not trying to be a role model

because a role
is something that you play."

-Strong. Strong.
-(stammering)

You're out here
talking isms, man.

-You know. (laughs)
-No, no, I'm... Listen, I...

I'm-I'm picking up a lot of the
stuff that you're laying down.

I love to talk to you
because I listen.

I find myself
just honestly listening.

Okay, so, on some...
on some real shit,

let's talk this for a second,

'cause this
is what I struggle with,

and I see you
deal with it very well.

'Cause n-naturally,
I'm an introvert.

-I don't...
-You-you... You fall back.

The bigger a room gets,
you fade to the background.

-Yeah, and you...
-You don't... You don't like the...

You effortlessly walk into
a room and control the energy.

-Mm-hmm.
-I don't like controlling the energy in the room.

-Why?
-You... It's...

I don't know.

I don't want
that responsibility.

But I don't think
it's more of a responsibility.

-I think that,
you know, sometimes... -I'd rather observe.

I'm an introvert.
I'm a natural introvert,

but even into that question,

because you do it
so effortlessly.

You move...
You move like a king.

You move, you walk in.
"Oh, shit, that's Kevin Hart."

You're like... I'd rather be
a little bit more silent,

and I think
that's an insecurity of mine,

because I have this...

I struggle with...

As much as I don't want
to be accepted,

as much as I want
to be different from everybody,

I think coming up
the way we came up,

I have this issue with...

I call it just...
It's real ... syndrome.

-(laughing)
-You can't.

-You can't call it that.
-But that's what it is.

Well, you can't call it that.
You got to...

-Somebody else
has to have that discovery. -Because the... Okay.

So, I'll say just like this,
and it's real common.

-We're sitting up here.
There's cameras and... -Yeah.

This is... This...
Man, this is...

Hopefully, like I said,
it'll be documented.

Like, "Man, those two friends,
two brothers

-sitting up there,
having a great conversation." -It will be.

But to the cat
that's on the block,

to the cat
that doesn't get to experience

these rooms that you control
when you walk in,

are we really connecting?

Are we actually being
our authentic selves?

Right now you are.
To hear you talk...

-I love talking to you,
because flawed, unflawed... -Right.

...you're-you're you.

-Right.
-And, you know, the way you talk,

the way you speak...

People, this here, man...

You're so comfortable
with being uncomfortable.

-(laughs)
-Y-You're so...

-Right, right.
-You're so okay with saying,

"Yo, therapy.
I'm not getting it right.

I don't know this."
Or, "Trying to figure this out."

"Why do people care?
I don't know, man."

Like, it's... You're asking
yourself these questions.

You're trying
to figure this stuff out.

You're-you're
a work in progress, as am I.

As am I.
A forever work in progress.

And here's the thing: we're
never going to get it right!

-It's never gonna be perfect!
-(chuckles) Facts.

-We're never gonna walk
on a straight line. -Yeah.

We're still gonna trip.
We're still gonna fall.

But if we can continue
to be better

than we were the day before

or the week before,
then we're doing our job.

This right here, to me,

this is...
this is doing our job.

-Mm.
-This was a dope-ass conversation,

and it was real.

People don't get
to hear us talk like this.

-Nah, that's real shit.
-And that's what this is about.

-How much I owe you?
-You don't owe me anything,

-but...
-(laughs) The therapist, when they say shit like that,

-they charge me afterwards.
-They charge. No, no charge, man.

Nick,
I appreciate you coming on, man.

Amazing conversation.
Great dialogue.

That's what this is about, man.

-That's what
"Hart to Heart" is about. -That's what it is.

I'll be damned
if we didn't just have one.

Yeah, that was... That was
some real heartfelt shit.

It damn sure was.
Nick Cannon. Hmm?

Next time I come here,
you can have some Capri Suns.

No. No Capri Suns, okay?
How much are they paying you?

-Are you getting
a check from them? -I-I should!

-I want to talk
to you about that. -As much as I...

-At least send me some free.
-You got a Capri Sun deal?

-I should get one.
-Did you get a Capri Sun deal?

-I need one. 'Cause...
-That's the guy who's always...

Did you get a Capri Sun deal?!

'Cause I got a guy
who's over at Capri Sun.

Life anecdotes.
I believe in 'em.

Life is nothing
without a full stomach.

What I'm saying is,
use the bathroom twice

during the week
and once on Sunday.

Figure it out on your own time.
(chuckles)

Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0