James Davis made a name for himself in comedy several years ago after he released a video that went viral. In the music video, Davis impersonated President Barack Obama and changed his name to Baracka Flocka Flames.
It was a street-edged version of President Obama that caused some backlash after it was reviewed by The New York Times. Regardless of the feedback, Davis was able to continue in comedy and landed roles on MTV’s “Wild N’ Out” and BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood.”
Davis recently spoke with rolling out about the new season of “Wild ‘N Out” and joking on President Obama.
When you released the spoof video on President Obama, a lot of people thought it was funny, but you also received some criticism. How did you handle it?
At first it kind of disappointed me, but then I realized even criticism means it is getting attention. It’s getting eyes and views. Everyone has an opinion on the most popular things that are going on in our culture. Just the fact that I had so many people speaking on it was a victory in itself. Also, I used that moment to really shine a light on comedy and how it works in our society. We have made fun of presidents for as long as there has been presidents. It’s a part of comedy. They do it on “Saturday Night Live” all the time. To give Barack Obama this special treatment, and to feel like he shouldn’t be made fun of, it is almost anti-productive. As our first black president, he should be treated like a normal president and respected as a normal president. We don’t want special treatment on the negative side or the positive side. I support Barack Obama but I also wanted to show that he is still just a man. Any man can get made fun of, that is just the nature of comedy.
The video did allow a lot of people to see your comedy style. What big projects are you currently working on?
“Wild ‘N Out” comes back out July 2. I’m on a handful of episodes. I was on there with Rick Ross and Nelly. There’s some funny stuff going on with that. I’ll be on the next season of “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” Kevin Hart and I are at it again with the assistant-boss relationship. That’s going to be good. People can also look forward to a stand-up comedy special coming soon from me. I was just on the season premiere episode of “Comic View: The Return.” I got good feedback. I’m on the rise, I’m hungry. I’m trying to chase down Kevin [Hart].
You are also a big fan of music. Do you think Jay Z and Beyoncé have bounced back well with their “On The Run” tour?
Everything Jay Z and Beyoncé do together works out well. Even if it’s something negative like the elevator fight with Solange. They got into a fight, but it’s like their own TV show. They are the real “Love & Hip Hop.” That was the first episode. That’s good TV and drama. I want tickets to the Jay Z and Beyoncé concert, not so I can hear their songs, but just so I can look in their eyes and see if I can pick up on any tension or drama. I’m now wondering how normal they actually are in the relationship. I feel like all normal relationships are a little dysfunctional.
