-Mr. Big Shot. -[ Laughs ]
Came back to see us, yeah. -Yeah.
-We missed you, bud.
I miss seeing you every day, man.
-Yeah. You know, I've missed everyone around here too, man.
All the guys on the floor and the audience.
You know, definitely -- [ Cheers and applause ]
Yeah.
The nurses, hair and make-up,
you know, everyone behind the curtain,
you know, definitely the band and stuff.
-Oh.
-Security. All the security guys.
-Yeah, they're pretty cool. -Yeah, I miss all those guys.
[ Laughter ]
-Well, welcome back to the show.
[ Laughter ]
Congrats on "Black No More."
You not only wrote the songs, but you star in it, too.
-Yeah, yeah.
-But you've been working on this for years.
How long now? Six?
-You know, six, seven years, I feel like, yeah.
-I don't know if people understand how much time
goes into making these shows.
It is awesome, by the way, bud. -Thank you. Thanks, man.
-How did you get started on this?
Who told you about this?
-About seven years or so ago, John Ridley,
who is the writer of this book,
and Scott Elliott, who directed the show,
approached us and, you know, said,
"You know, I know this is going to sound crazy, but, you know,
we're thinking that you might want to, you know,
embark on this endeavor with us."
-Did they think it was going to be a musical?
-Well, originally, I don't think Ridley thought
it was going to be a musical.
I think he thought it would be anything but.
So he -- After he exhausted all options,
he's like, "You know, I'll just --
I'll do a musical, and why don't we get The Roots."
No.
-Honestly, it's some of the best lyrics you'll ever hear.
And it's so much and it's so you.
-I think it's densely packed and I think the audience,
you know, is going to feel -- I think you'll experience
the full range of emotions, so to speak.
You'll laugh. You'll cry.
You'll... [ Gasps ]
You'll be surprised. -Oh, there's twists and turns.
I mean, I know you've done this now a bunch of times,
but to have these trained
Broadway singers sing your stuff...
-Yeah.
-...how does that feel to have somebody do that?
-It's surreal. It's surreal for me, man.
It's -- You know, I can't really explain it.
But I definitely have -- I mean, not that I didn't
already have, you know, just the highest level of respect
and, you know, appreciation for what it is
that people do in the world of theater,
but, you know, for musical theater
and people who are out there every day, you know,
doing eight, nine shows a week, it's just --
you know, just kudos.
You know what I mean? The utmost respect.
-That's why -- But I also --
I love you're always doing something different.
And this one is definitely a game changer.
Do you want to tell everyone what it's about?
-Yeah. I mean, you know, it's kind of hard to nutshell,
but I'm going to try.
In short, the story is about this crazy --
like, a mad scientist of sorts, played by myself,
who invents a machine called the Black No More device,
you know, through which he's able to, you know, turn
black people white permanently.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
And, you know, in his mind, it is --
you know, that's the answer to the American race problem,
which, of course, you know, it is not.
-Yeah.
-So hilarity and tragedy and lots of drama in between.
-It's a genius concept. The idea is great.
"I'm going to change black people into white people.
If you want to be white, I'm gonna to change
the color of your skin.
Yeah, let's do it."
And then you see what happens if that does happen.
-Yeah. -If that is an option.
It's funny. It's also tragic.
-Yeah. -It's everything.
And I want to say -- I was like, "Hey, let me know
whenever you want me to come check you out."
And so I texted you, and you go, "Come see the show.
You can come Thursday or Sunday matinee."
You go, "Those are -- My understudies are there."
[ Laughter ]
I'm like, "Dude, if I come see the show,
I want to see you in the show."
Why are you inviting me to come see --
Those are the two shows you invited me to
is the ones that you're not in.
-I know, I know. Yeah.
-"I'm coming to one of the shows that you're in."
-Yeah, you got me.
-Yeah. I did get you, man.
And then I go, "Yeah, let's go, man."
I thought it would be a great thing.
I would come see you backstage, say, "What's up, buddy?",
you know, "Miss you, man."
-Yeah, no.
Yeah, our paths just didn't, you know...
[ Laughter ]
-No, it's not what happened at all.
Our paths didn't cross.
I saw you, hung out with your wife.
I saw your brother.
Michelle tells me to go meet you on 41st Street.
-Yeah. -I'm at the stage.
I'm talking to everybody and I've got the mask on.
I'm doing selfies. I'm talking about the thing.
I go, "When is he going to come out?"
He doesn't come out at all. Everyone else came out.
You didn't come out. -Yeah, I exited on 42nd.
[ Rimshot ] -I stood next to a dumpster.
-Yeah, you did.
You actually sent me, yeah, a picture --
-A picture of me next to a dumpster.
Yeah, I go, "That's where I was."
Your wife wasn't there. No one was there.
-That's very sad.
-But It's almost like she told me where to not go
so that she didn't have to hang out with me either.
-She knows what's up. [ Laughter ]
-Dude, I was by myself.
I go, "You've got to be kidding me, man."
It was -- Yeah, anyways, it was...
I didn't see that ending coming.
You know, that's another twist and turn of my event last night.
-I didn't know -- It took a while before I realized
that you were coming backstage, because I didn't have --
Unlike, you know, when I'm working here,
I can't have my phone, you know, while I'm on the job, so --
-You have your phone here when you're working here?
-I mean, yeah, when I'm here, you know, I can do -- You know.
I'm over there, I'm answering e-mails.
I'm online-shopping and stuff, you know?
-Online shopping? -Yeah.
-During our show? -Yeah, FaceTiming with my kids.
We all do.
-[ Laughs ]
-You know... -Unbelievable, man.
-Sorry to blow people's spot up. -Hey!
-You know what, though?
When you come out, you command the stage,
and the audience is just, like --
and just eating out of the palm of your hand.
It's just great.
You just know how to do it, buddy,
and it's impressive.
And I even said this to you in the hallway, too.
I said, "By the way, the show has an intermission,
and everyone came back."
-Yeah. -That's a good sign.
-That's telling, yes.
-I've been to plays where you go, "I put in time.
I'll split."
-I think we've snuck out of a couple shows together.
-But do you remember the first time you performed onstage?
-Oh, yeah, yeah.
The first time I performed onstage, you know,
that I can recall, I think I was in the third grade.
I was in a talent show.
I sang, like, a DeBarge cover or something.
It wasn't just me.
It was, like, me and another couple of my friends,
and we lost.
It didn't work out.
So, I said, "You know, next year, I'm going to come back.
I'm going to rap," you know, for the fourth-grade talent show.
So I came back. I was in fourth grade.
A couple of my guys were still in third.
But they -- Some of them have gone on to greatness.
You know, my original crew for that talent show
was called the Crash Crew, and the rappers were
myself and the emcee known as Beanie Sigel.
-No way. -Yeah.
-Beanie Sigel. Was he third grade?
-Yeah, he was third grade. -You're the elder statesman.
Yeah, you're like,
"I don't know if I'll talk to these third graders.
I'm in fourth grade."
-Yeah, I'm like, "Come on." -Respect.
-You know he was good if I was socializing.
-Yeah. Do you remember what you rapped?
-Yeah, yeah.
I remember I did, like, you know, a speed-rap sort of thing.
-Could you give us a little taste?
You know the way this show works.
We always have a mic -- We always have a hot mic.
[ Cheers and applause ]
You know the way we -- Just a little taste of it.
-Okay. ♪♪
Look...
♪ Well, I'm a hip-hopper, never-stopper ♪
♪ Rockin' all around the clock a double "T" ♪
♪ You know it's me, I'm rockin' on the M-I-C ♪
♪ The money-maker, booty-shaker ♪
♪ Party rocker, non-stopper ♪ ♪ Girl-taker, heartbreaker ♪
♪ Undercover super-lover, debonair ♪
♪ I'm everywhere, Double T, I can't be beat ♪
♪ Especially on the M-I-C ♪
♪ If you wanna challenge me, well, take the mic ♪
♪ And I will beat a rocker in a rocker ♪
♪ Make you want to scream and shout ♪
♪ This beat is oh-so-fresh ♪ ♪ Double T, yeah, I'm the best ♪
♪ Break-dancin', pure romancin' ♪
♪ Always fightin', never bitin' ♪
♪ Always write and share the light ♪
♪ And rockin' on the mic in the place to be ♪
♪ And I go by the name of MC Double T ♪
[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪
-Congrats on the show.
Couldn't be happier for you, buddy.
You're brilliant. Tariq Trotter, everybody.
Go see "Black No More,"
which is running now through February 27th
at the Pershing Square Signature Center.