I do stand up sometimes out of anger. Sometimes the greatest stuff comes from a dark place.

Because Eddie [Murphy] came from where I come from, the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. People in the projects used to call me Fat Murphy.

I'm not a hateful person and don't condone any kind of violence against others.

When I was a young kid, my pops introduced me to it. He took me to Harlem, 145th and Edgecombe, to watch the filming of Claudine with James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll. That was my first taste of seeing a set and the cameras, and I was bit by the acting bug at a young age.

As a child, I was able to know that I wanted a better life.

The truth is, I've never thought of myself as the Michael Jordan of comedy. And that's a good thing. You know why? Because I'm not. Wasn't that Richard Pryor? Yes, it was. I know what I am: I'm funny!

A stand-up's job is to hold the mirror up to society and to look at what we're afraid of. That's why we had shows like 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons.' We made fun of ourselves then.