Chris Rock stopped by Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club this morning to promote the upcoming movie he wrote, directed and stars in called Top Five, which is due out in theaters on Dec. 12. Rock took the time to chat about the film, Love and Hip Hop Atlanta's Karlie Redd's role in Top Five, the Bill Cosby controversy, what it means to be relevant, the state of Hollywood, the potential of a post-racial society, his thoughts on the Eric Garner and Mike Brown decisions, why he loves 12 Years A Slave, his beef with DJ Envy, why he only listens to music on his iPod, and more. Here's some of what he had to say:
On the idea for Top Five:
"It's not me, per se, but it's based on experiences on the road, experiences in life, just doing press, just being a famous comedian. I love Curb [Your Enthusiasm]...the Louie show, even Seinfeld. There's like a lot of good shows about comedians. So I was like, 'Let me do a movie. Let me take it up a notch and see what I can do here."
On trying to break into Hollywood:
"I'm not a movie star. I'm a guy that's in movies. It'd be nice to have a signature movie. I don't have a signature movie of ones that I starred in. New Jack City is a signature. The Grown Ups movie's a hit. I've been in hits...I need you you to feel the way you feel about I Think I Love My Wife but also have a hit...I think I got it on this one. I got one for y'all. I'm telling you."
On Love and Hip Hop Atlanta's Karlie Redd's role in Top Five:
"Karlie Redd (Love and Hip Hop Atlanta) is in the funniest scene in the movie. Karlie Redd's nude in the movie. She auditioned. I had never seen the show. She was just really good for the part."
On his recent candid interviews:
"I'm not breaking ground. I'm not dropping new science. I'm getting old, too, so you know, you get to that point."
On Hannibal Buress calling out Bill Cosby:
"Hannibal, you know it's weird, I talk to him every now and then...he's so funny. I know people who don't know him think, 'He dissed Cosby and got a movie. Or he dissed Cosby and got a TV show.' Yo Hannibal Buress is one of the most real, hysterical, up-and-coming comedians out there. He'll be aight. And I don't think he did it to [start anything]. We just live in a world where you're never alone. Not that he thought he was alone, but he thought, 'It's just me and the people in this room.' And when you do a show, you're supposed to be thinking about the people in this room and connecting with them. So when you come to Philly, it's cool to like have some Cosby joke or diss. Wherever I go, it's like if you do a show in Atlanta, I'm going to say something about Lil Jon just to let you know I'm not walking through this show. I'm giving you all something."
On whether it was okay for Buress to call out a legend:
"He said that Cosby's in no position to be telling people to pull up their pants. He said he's in no position to be judging people. That's pretty accurate."
On Hannibal being more relevant than Bill Cosby:
"I mean he's more relevant than me probably on a given day. I'm just saying, on a given day, he's twenty years younger, that's just how it is. Some people get big. If you're hot, you're hot, you're hot... Then at some point, you're just big. But some people are hot. Like Prince is big. He's big. He's humongous. And Nicki Minaj is hot. She's hotter than Prince right now. You cater to people of a certain age, and those people of a certain age are moved by people of a certain age. And once you are not of a certain age, you cannot move this mass of people."
On the Eric Garner and Mike Brown decisions:
"Nothing I say is going to be new and revolutionary. I don't like to be boring. The real question is 'How come no white guys ever get shot?' It doesn't appear to be that common."
As far as a Chris Rock comeback:
"I've got kids, so I got to work around their schedule. And you know your kids are only young once. They're gonna be old for a long time. So I try to not work that much while they're young. Hopefully this summer I can work it out, do some dates."
Watch the full interview below, and let us know what you think in the comments section!
