I don't ever watch myself. By watching, you try to perfect yourself, become a robot.

When I hit my 20s, I struggled to make it. I got married at 19, and my daughter, Je'Niece, was born a year later. I worked blue collar jobs during the day and comedy clubs at night, and I was earning about $25 a year doing stand-up.

You're never going to see me playing a buffoon.

My comedy comes from pain. I can't stand to see someone hurting.

I was good at keeping my mother from crying.

When it comes to raising children, I believe in give and take. I give orders and they take 'em.

I was born October 5, 1957, on the South Side of Chicago, in the Woodlawn area, a neighborhood that hasn't changed much in forty-five years. Our house was on 66th and Blackstone, but the city tore it down when the rats took over.