TNCP interview with D.L. Hughley
The star of the television sitcom The Hughleys, which ran from 1998 to 2002 on ABC sat down with us to promote his nationwide “Unapologetic” tour and his appearance at Michigan State University. For more information log on to his Myspace page.
(This is a Two Part Interview)
Mr. Joe Walker
The New Citizens Press
D.L. Hughley presents a raw, in-your-face brand of comedy when he is on stage. But underneath the jokes his attention to family life and sensible issues are no laughing matter. He’s a loving father and husband, as well as a star. He’s also back with Def Comedy Jam as it’s new host.
TNCP – Before my first question I have to tell you something, but I don’t want to scare you off. D. L. Hughley: I love you, man!
D. L. – [Laughs] That doesn’t scare me at all, man!
TNCP – My best friends and I watched you all the time when we were teenagers. We watched your first appearance on Def Comedy Jam, probably, hundreds of times.
D. L. – [Laughs] Now that scares me when you tell me how young you were when first started watching me. Now that’s scary! You’re still a kid. You’ve still got dreams.
TNCP – You don’t have dreams anymore?
D. L. – Yeah, but they’re in Black & White now.
TNCP – What is next in your life that’s in full color?
D. L. – We just finished shooting the new Def Comedy Jam. I’m hosting it. And we’ve got some the brightest young cats I’ve seen since Def Jam first started. I’m also trying to survive my tour without going crazy.
TNCP – Many of the first batch of comics introduced in Def Jam’s first two seasons are icons now. How does it make you feel seeing what happened with Bernie Mac, Dave Chappelle, Bill Bellamy, and so many others?
D. L. – I think Def Jam was the best and worst thing to happen to Black comedy. It was a showcase for people who, otherwise, wouldn’t have gotten an opportunity. But it was the worst because that’s when everybody who thought they were funny locker room or cafeteria, that is was easy to do. That changed comedy – some for the better, some for the worse. No denying, though, that we’ve made a mark.
TNCP – Your comedic timing is fast, but articulate. It’s always very well spoken. Were you a speech student in school, or was it something that just came naturally?
D. L. – It was just something that came naturally. I wasn’t a speech student, but I was a student of speech; I learned how to speak articulately from hearing people do it. And that I always the way I’ve thought I should do comedy. Some of the brightest people I’ve ever met were comics.
TNCP – You’ve a critically acclaimed sitcom and stand-ups. How difficult is to go from writing your jokes and ideas, to performing them or acting them out?
D. L. – It never comes out the same way. Have you ever written something, and when you saw it or someone else read it, it didn’t have the same impact as when you wrote it? You never know how something is going to turn out until you see it. And that’s always the way it’s been. We I learned to do a long time ago, was not expect anything from the audience. You get in trouble when you think everything you write is going to turn out great, and it doesn’t. You write how you feel and what you believe, and however your audience perceives it is how they perceive it.
Joe Walker is the Entertainment Reporter at The New Citizens Press and writes for many other nationally known publications.
D.L. Hughley
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Cobb Great Hall, MSU
8:00pm
Cost $37.50 (Orchestra), $27.50 (Grand Tier)
Tickets:
whartoncenter.com 517.432.2000
1.800.WHARTON
