Jay Pharoah On ‘People’s Party With Talib Kweli’

In this episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli”, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with actor, stand-up comedian, and impressionist:

JAY PHAROAH

Here’s what they got into on this one:

• Jay’s mom never hesitating to let people know she’s from “do or die” Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn
• Oakland being the Brooklyn of the West Coast and “Black Panther” paying homage
• Will Smith, Talib, and Obama making an audio narration for their lengthy books
• A back and forth between Will Smith and Kanye West about Talib
• Discussing a parent’s responsibility of keeping their kids humble
• Why social media comment sections aren’t compatible with people like Talib
• Utilizing his Jay-Z voice in the bedroom and getting a request for Richard Pryor
• His first impression being that of Gilbert Gottfried’s Iago from “Disney’s Aladdin“
• Taking inspiration from Jay’s own Principal Frye for regular sketches on SNL
• How Jay feels about people who refuse to date others based on their zodiac sign
• Getting his Ludacris CD swiped after his father heard “The Game Got Switched”
• Doing an impression battle between Cassidy and Lloyd Banks to prove who would win
• 50 Cent shows up with some choice words about Kanye, his kids, and Terrence Howard
• Having suicidal thoughts at age 17 due to his obesity and how he shed the weight
• Jay-Z makes an appearance and tells the world how he knew he was going to be the man
• Subscribing to William Gillette’s notion of “the illusion of the first time”
• How hanging out at Eddie Murphy’s house is like being at Dave & Buster’s
• Getting props from Charlie Murphy for his Cam’ron and Dipset impersonations
• Living in the heart of Harlem during his first year on SNL
• Jim Jones’ gripes over Gucci not supplying him and his crew sparkling water
• The “Returns & Exchanges” SNL sketch with his Denzel impersonation on full display
• Meeting Denzel for the first time since the legendary sketch went viral
• Fred The Godson’s unique style and Jay getting to work with him before he passed
• Jay and Affion Crockett often being compared to each other
• The making of the “Chocolate Droppa’s Listening Party” SNL sketch with Kevin Hart
• Jay bringing up the idea of a Barack Obama subconscious sketch to SNL
• Being a leading voice for bringing Black women onto the cast of SNL
• Jay’s sitcom “White Famous” and why it was cancelled after one season
• The film “2 Minutes Of Fame” and how Jay connected with his character
• Sharpening his acting chops working with director Steven Soderbergh on “Unsane”
• Reflecting on being profiled and hemmed by the LAPD while he was jogging
• What’s next for Jay

“People’s Party With Talib Kweli” is also available to give a listen via Spotify | SoundCloud | Google Play | Apple | Luminary