Kevin Hart Talks DJ Khaled, "Central Intelligence" & More On The Breakfast Club
A grounded interview by the comedic superstar.
You already know how this goes. Kevin Hart returned to The Breakfast Club this morning (June 10) and got open with crew. Normally there’s a lot more laughs (and not to say there’s not laughs here), but Hart was earnest in explaining his success, being inspired by DJ Khaled’s rise and, of course, his latest movie, “Central Intelligence,” which arrives next Friday (June 17) in theaters. And for the laughs, make sure you hear Hart’s explanation for why he roasted that woman who commented on his fiancée’s Instagram post.
On When The Power Of Belief Kicks In (2:20)
There is a point that you get to in your career, where a light bulb goes off of where you want to be and where you can see yourself. The reality has to set in of where you can realistically see yourself, what lane can you get in and where can you go. Around the time the comedy club really started to pop off is when I started to believe I can do this at a high level, and achieve some high shit if I stay true to my grind. As things happen, you start to check things off your list but then put more things on the list. That’s why I still work so hard.
On His Upcoming Stand-Up Film “What Now” (3:00)
I’m probably going to drop the trailer next week, because the beauty of “What Now” is that I own it. I funded it myself, shot it and gained a major production with partnering with Universal to distribute it I’m going to put that out big, probably in over 200 theaters.
On His Relationship (6:50)
Look at the end of the day, if there’s a reality behind me and my relationship…, Yo I have an attractive women. I think she’s much more attractive because she’s a dope person. Yes, she’s beautiful, yes she’s curvy but as a person–I got a good one and that’s why I’m getting married again. For me, to get married again, something had to add up. Getting married in August, and I’m 100 percent ready.
On DJ Khaled’s Social Media Success (16:30)
I have forever embraced social media. Social media is so key to branding, taking an opportunity and making the best for yourself. You can recreate, create, and recreate again. That is your connection with your fan base. Khaled is a prime example of someone who has used social media to take his platform to another level. Ain’t nothing changed, Khaled just dropped a new song with Drake and now about to drop a new album. Khaled got on Snapchat and opened up about what he had going on. You’re in a day and age where the celebrities of “old” don’t let people see behind that curtain. I follow Khaled and I’m very entertained by him because he’s not just the guy behind the tracks that we thought he was. He showed that there’s more to him and that’s why all the brands gravitated. Shouts out to DJ Khaled, you gets nothing but love and support from me.
On His Next Business Venture, Laugh Out Loud (27:00)
I got a network that I’m launching, it will potentially be a competitor to Netflix after I get it off the ground. What Hov did is mind blowing. He’s a good friend of mind and a mentor, especially when it comes to this business. I looked up and with music, I was like, I love what you did. He did a subscription-based network just like Spotify was, but his thing was catering to the artist. He wanted to make the artist feel like they were getting their value, their worth by coming over to Tidal and owning and getting a percentage. Because he felt like other people were taking it. For comedy there is nothing like it. There’s nothing out there that’s comedian friendly. Comedians don’t understand the importance of ownership. They do specials and give the specials aways, these specials live on and other people license them for 10 years. You never see those specials back. They license and re-license. I’m gonna do a subscription-based network for comedy where I give comedians ownership where I split revenue with them but allow them to take their stuff and sell it everywhere, go to other places. I’m teaming up with Just For Laughs and I’m gonna shoot about 50 to 70 stand-up specials over the course of the summer. I’m going after new comedians, comedians that have been around for a while. I’m big at taking advantage of my platform.
On If He’s Burning His Audience Out (34:00)
No. Not even a second thought. With that being said, “Central Intelligence” comes out June 17th. Me and Dwayne “The Rock”Johnson. A good movie, a great role reversal, DJ is is the comic relief. I’m actually the straight man in the film. I love when people are like, Kevin you need to switch it up. You need to start doing things. I don’t know why I have to explain this to people. You’re only looking at five or six movies and I was the same character in two of them. It’s not like I have 25 movies that I’ve starred in. This is the uprise, when you do more so you can say, Wow, I’ve stood alone.