During an appearance on the “Connect the Dots” podcast, comedian and actor Tracy Morgan disclosed that he recently found out his family tree contains a famous rapper.
While talking about his appearance on an upcoming episode of the PBS show “Finding Your Roots,” Morgan dropped the bombshell revelation.
“I turn the last page, and guess who’s sitting there? Nas,” the 55-year old comedian reveals. “Me and Nas is [sic] third cousins on my mom’s side.”
“But me and Esco was [sic] always tight before that,” he continued. “I did a show years ago on Comedy Central called ‘One Mic’ that was for Nas’ mom who just passed away. So me and Esco always been tight.”
Morgan, who is slated to appear on episode eight of the show titled “Mean Streets,” went on to explain how he called the “Brunch On Sundays” rapper to break the news.
“When I found out on the West Side Highway, after the show, I called him up and I say, ‘Yo Esco,’ he said ‘What up Trey?’ I said, ‘Guess what?’ He said, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘I just did ‘Finding Your Roots,’ me and you related,’ ” Morgan recalls.
“He started crying, I started crying. And I said to him, ‘If you ever need me, I’m there, cuz.’ He said, ‘Cuz, if you ever need me I’m there.’ ”
In addition to finding out about the Nas connection, Morgan also detailed some other interesting tidbits about his lineage that he discovered on the show.
“They went back 400 years on my father’s side and 400 years on my mother’s side,” he said. “I thought I was big in my life ’till I found out what my great, great, great grandmother did. My great, great, great, great, great grandfather’s name was Abraham Mack. I know the name of the slave masters who owned us. I got it right here on my phone and the slave ship.”
“You need to know who you come from before you leave this Earth,” Morgan exclaimed. “Know who you are and where you come from. Knowledge itself. I did a lot of crying. And no matter who you are, you’re gonna break down.”
Tracy and Nas aren’t the first pair of celebrities to find out they share the same bloodline thanks to “Finding Your Roots.”
This past May, actors Terry Crews and Billy Crudup met for the first time after finding out they were related. In an episode prior to that, “SNL” alum Bill Hader disclosed how he got an email from the legendary Carol Burnett with the news that they were cousins as well.
Season 10 of “Finding Your Roots” with Henry Louis Gates Jr. is set to premiere on PBS on Jan. 2.
