Talib Kweli & Jay Pharoah On SNL, Impressions, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Denzel, Kanye | People’s Party Full

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

JAY PHAROAH

Here’s what we 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 us 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.