mike epps – comedic medicine
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Comedian Mike Epps doesn’t roll up on stage with a lab coat and a clipboard, and he doesn’t claim any expertise in the field of psychiatry. But Epps does view himself as performing a form of emotional therapy on his audience even as he jabs them with liver-quivering jokes — which he does with aplomb. Epps views his shows, like the one he performed at the TBS Comedy Festival in Las Vegas, as an opportunity for comedy fans to shake off the cares of the world at the door and fling their stress aside like an old jacket — if only for a few hours.
“I try to talk about real s— and add a little humor to it. It seems like people laugh at the real stuff that they really go through. So I try to stay on that path, you know what I mean?” Epps opined after he ripped the stage inside Caesar’s Palace. “You know, laughter is healing. You get a good laugh, you might forget about [your problems]. So I really do think that with the economy, that the humor is definitely therapeutic for people right now.”
The caustic comedian quickly sobered up when asked what impact Barack Obama’s historic election victory would have on the youth. “You know, the youth were very, very, very instrumental in this big election. I just really applaud them … for being part of something so big, because that’s who really made it happen for Obama and the election,” says the star of Soul Men, Next Friday and All About the Benjamins. “I’d like to tell all the youth in Nevada; let this be a lesson for all of us to go forward. We have no excuses now. We have to pull our pants up, be men and handle our business, you know what I’m saying?”
Epps, for one, is handling his business. “I got a comedy album … I got my own hunting show coming out. I’m just doing something different with a comedy twist,” he says.
The point is, Epps knows his comedy was divinely implanted and he’s going to take it as far as he can. “I found my gift in the back of a liquor store,” he cracks before turning serious. “I think everybody has a gift and I just feel like [comedy] was written for me. God already had this in my path and He wanted me to be a messenger in a real comedic way. I’m just taking my gift and running with it.” –terry shropshire
