As one of Brooklyn’s funniest, Tony Rock is far from following in his big brother’s footsteps, instead he’s blazing his own path in the world of comedy and beyond. With his Rock the World brand set to conquer the stratosphere one laugh at a time, Tony Rock is about to set it off with his first ½ hour comedy special, which kicks off the new season of Comedy Central this week. One of seven brothers, three of which are comedians, Rock has been making us laugh for years on stage, in film and on television most notably as Dirk Black on the long running UPN comedy “All of Us” which earned him a BET Comedy Award nomination. With a politically incorrect disposition, the hilarity of his live stand-up show has crowds laughing out loud while shaking their heads saying “Oh no he didn’t!” Currently touring the country with his one-man show, Rock took time out to talk to AllHipHop.com about what’s been going on in his world. AllHipHop.com: What’s going on Tony how have you been?Tony Rock: “I’m on the road, about to go to Atlanta, then DC then New York before my Comedy Central Special airs on February 19th. I shot it in September and its finally airing on February 19th. It’s the new season of half hour comedy specials and mine is first.?AllHipHop.com: Why did it take so long for you to get your special?Tony Rock: I don’t know, I think they thought I was gonna say cracker or something like that. They probably thought I couldn’t do a show without the vulgarity but the cursing doesn’t make my jokes, my jokes are funny with or without the cursing. I just talk on the stage like I talk to my friends. I don’t filter myself when I talk to my friends and yall are my friends. Y’all know what I mean when I say that M#### Fu**a is crazy.AllHipHop.com: Do you miss being on television? Are you working on getting back on TV?Tony Rock: I do. Actually I had a pitch meeting yesterday. I pitched my sketch comedy show to comedy central yesterday; they’re kinda warm to the idea. I guess that’s what they say to you but I’m gonna keep pitching it.AllHipHop.com: Good luck with that. I saw you on TMZ recently talking about Game and Tila Tequila so I want to get some social commentary from you.Tony Rock: Yo this is the thing here’s what I should have said, see people hate on Tila Tequila, but I LOVE Tila Tequila. First of all everybody loves Asian chicks, that’s a fact. And on top of that, she’s Asian and she’s a lesbian, that’s like having cake with pie on the inside.AllHipHop.com: But you must admit, she’s a tad off at times.Tony Rock: What girl isn’t a tad crazy? Show me a girl who isn’t crazy and I’ll show you a girl whose phone is not ringing off the hook. Every girl that other chicks be like ‘yo that bi**h is crazy, it’s a line of ni**as waitin to f**k this girl.AllHipHop.com: You are crazy. Did you go to the Grammy’s? Who did you like?Tony Rock: I didn’t watch 1 second of the Grammy’s. I’m not a Grammy dude because I can’t sit thru a bunch of acts that I don’t know who they are and I don’t care who they are. I’m more of a BET Awards guy because I know all the acts, I know who’s nominated, and I know their songs. Grammy’s are like ok we’re gonna give you a little bit of Hip-hop and then back to this white stuff that yall don’t listen to. I can’t sit thru a Lady GaGa or a country artist. I don’t even know who yall are.AllHip-Hop.com: Ok since you’re all about Hip-hop, give me your top 5 emcees.Tony Rock: In no particular order Jay-Z, Big, Nas, Rakim, and Grand Puba, honorable mention, Kool G Rap and Big PunAllHipHop.com: I’m not mad at that list but its way East coast slanted.Tony Rock: Tupac is not even in my top 10 yo!AllHipHop.com: I wasn’t saying he should be but Pac isn’t the only West coast artist who has mad a contribution to Hip-hop.Tony Rock: No I said that because my boy just asked why I didn’t say Pac, but I’m a Hip-hop head from New York. We base it on lyrical ability and lyrical dexterity. Pac never said anything like “Dead in the middle of Little Italy do we know that we riddled some middle man who didn’t do diddly”AllHipHop.com: Well he didn’t have to; he’s Pac, but what about Ice Cube? The West has plenty of lyrical dexterity.Tony Rock: Cube is dope. Cube is better than Pac.AllHipHop.com: I agree with you on that and I love the East coast too, I’m just saying the West coast tends to get over looked a lot that’s all.Tony Rock: See people are gonna take that the wrong way and think “oh he doesn’t have love for the West coast” and there are a couple of West coast cats that I do love but you said MY top 5. I can’t just put somebody in from the West coast just to show my support for the West coast; no you said my top 5 – now deal with it! AllHipHop.com: I know and I’m really trying to change your mind.Tony Rock: Don’t get mad because I have an opinion.AllHipHop.com: Ok moving on. On the show “Everybody Hates Chris” the character based on you, “Drew” was the popular one with all the girls and everything, and your brother Chris wasn’t so popular. When did the tide shift and is that why Chris got into comedy to compete with his little brother?Tony Rock: Nah (laughing) my brother has always been funny. I’m not trying to sound like some rapper or anything but I think its just that I was always more in the streets than my brother was ya know, like being at the park playing ball and kickin it with my friends in the neighborhood so they just knew me more. He was more the normal guy ya know, school, and work, and I was just running the streets doing whatever.AllHipHop.com: People always say comedians have tortured souls, were you tortured?Tony Rock: Well tortured soul is different then actual torture but yes we (comedians) are. Its just the pain of dealing with things, we just deal with things a lil different ya know? We might love a lil harder, be a lil more clingy, maybe a lil more emotionally involved so that’s when the torture comes in when it doesn’t go your way.AllHipHop.com: But you told me once before that you don’t love remember? Your never getting married remember?Tony Rock: Yeah, well eh – Kanye Shrug – (laughs) I doesn’t mean I don’t care. I get emotional and connect to some people though and if it doesn’t work there’s a sense of loss.AllHipHop.com: Who would be your top 3 females in Hollywood that you would like to date if you could date anyone?Tony Rock: Does Halle still count she just dropped two babies.AllHipHop.com: What difference does that make she’s still gorgeous.Tony Rock: Ok who else, I don’t want to say Beyonce that’s too obvious, everybody says her besides I don’t want to disrespect in case I run into Jay somewhere and he be like so you wanna date my wife huh? I’ll say Lucy Lu and Selma Hayek is she still fine?AllHipHop.com: See now you gonna get all the sista’s mad at you (laughs)Tony Rock: You said Hollywood who’s Black in Hollywood?AllHipHop.com: Umm Taraji, Gabrielle, ZoeyTony Rock: Ok you’re right its Black History Month lets change it for the sista’s. Halle Berry, that chick on that show the forgotten Rochelle Aytes and lets keep it real black Precious.AllHipHop.com: (laughs) You probably just made her day she might have her agent call you tomorrow. In the spirit of Black History month lets have a Black History Hip-Hop moment. Who would you pay tribute to in Hip-hop this month and why?Tony Rock: Well I’d have to say Will Smith, first of all because he gave me a job, but also because he was the first rapper to get a Grammy wasn’t he?AllHipHop.com: Yes.Tony Rock: Also he just always holds himself in such high regard around the crackers ya know? When he’s around them White folks he makes them think hey maybe those ni**as aint that bad.AllHipHop.com: You are out of control! You’re always so funny are you looking for new roles to play? What would be your ideal role?Tony Rock: I want to do a drama with my brother. I want me and my brother to do something serious.AllHipHop.com: You were kinda serious in that movie with Queen Latifah on HBO.Tony Rock: It was a serious movie but I was funny. There was AIDS all around me and I’m still like hey I’m funny! (laughs)AllHipHop.com: If you had AIDS would you stop having sex?Tony Rock: Absolutely.AllHipHop.com: That’s good. You strike me as the if I gotta go I’m taking all yall with me type. Tony Rock: Nah, I’d probably just move to the mountains and disappear.AllHipHop.com: On a lighter note, tell us about your special and what we can expect.Tony Rock: February 19, Comedy Central. The new season of Comedy Central presents its ½ hour specials. There were about 24 comedians who taped their specials and I was the last guy to his special and I’m the first one they’re gonna show so that should tell you something about the work I put in, its dope. I was excited all my brothers were there, my whole crew from Brooklyn, it was crazy.AllHipHop.com: Were you going in on anybody?Tony Rock: Nah I talk about the Kanye thing a lil because that was fresh in the news, I talked about the guy yelling out “you’re a liar” at Obama because that had just happened but the other stuff I just kept it observations and jokes.AllHipHop.com: Speaking of Obama, how do you think he’s doing in office?Tony Rock: I love Obama. There is nothing bad you can say about Obama. He’s the President but he’s dope because uppity Blacks love him and hood ni**as like him because you can still see just a lil bit of hood in him. Like when he gets out the helicopter and walks across the grass. Its like you can see there’s a path there for him but he’s like fu** that I’m walkin’ on the the grass and he got that lil bop in his step so hood ni**as are like ‘I can see a lil bit of myself in him’ and bougie Blacks are like Yes he represents us well.AllHipHop.com: (laughs) you are too much. You don’t have any rap albums or anything coming out do you?Tony Rock: Man I always keep a hot 16 ready.AllHipHop.com: Stop playing, let me hear something.Tony Rock: “I came a long way from getting money off the books, now I’m in LA getting money off my looks, and I’m kinda handsome so I gets mad checks I’m cashin, ni**as mad and they hatin I aint mad I’m just laughin’.”AllHipHop.com: Thanks Tony and good luck with everything.
