Mike Epps & Sway Have an Incredibly Candid Conversation About Kevin Hart and the Comedy Game (Video)

Mike Epps dropped by the Sway in the Morning show to promote his new AOL Web Series, “That’s Racist.” The conversation starts off with a surprisingly serious and philosophical discussion about race relations in America. Shortly thereafter, Sway makes a passing comment about Kevin Hart and Mike opens up for an extended period of time about their complicated relationship, Kevin’s popularity, the ruthlessness of the comedy business and more. At one point, Epps likens Hart to Kim Kardashian, in terms of Hart’s social media fame, saying “social media is a lie.”

It would be easy to take Mike’s words and focus on the alleged “beef” with Kevin Hart, but his comments are much deeper than that. Epps’ bigger point is that he believes because of timing, with the onset of digital media, newer comedians are able to build a fan base much faster and bigger than comedians could in the past and that’s left a lot of comedians from Mike’s generation, and before, disadvantaged when people try to compare their popularity to that of the newer generation. The argument has obvious parallels to how some of the Godfathers of Hip-Hop feel about their treatment after Hip-Hop exploded in popularity.

Toward the end of the interview, the conversation shifts focus to Epps’ upcoming portrayal of Richard Pryor in a biopic about the legendary comedian. Mike takes the opportunity to showcase his knowledge of Richard Pryor and also extend a bit of an olive branch to other comedians to join him in the film, including Kevin Hart.

If you want a real and raw conversation without the typical PR sugar coating, this is it.

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