As of 2010, Epps was the executive producer on a documentary about the life story of a former member of Tupac Shakur's Outlawz, Napoleon: Life Of An Outlaw.Early life
Epps was born November 18, 1970 in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 18, 1970 into a large family.Epps' natural comedic ability was encouraged at an early age, and he began performing stand-up as a teenager. Epps moved to Atlanta where he worked at the Comedy Act Theater, before moving to New York City to star in Def Comedy Jam in 1995. Epps ended up on the Def Comedy Jam tour and starred in two of HBO's Def Comedy Jam broadcasts.
Career
Stand-Up Comedy
Epps began his professional career by joining the Def Comedy Jam tour in 1995 and starred in two of HBO's Def Comedy Jam broadcasts. He later appeared in Vin Diesel's directorial debut, Strays in 1997.
In 1999, Epps was then cast as Ice Cube's co-star (effectively, Chris Tucker's replacement) in the sequel, Next Friday. This came after weeks of auditions after Ice Cube attended a stand-up set Epps did, and then asked Epps to try out for the part of Day-Day Jones. His role as Day-Day Jones was a breakthrough for the new actor, who was already familiar to much of the audience from his stand-up work. Later that year, Epps had a cameo in 3 Strikes, and supported Jamie Foxx in Bait.Epps had a voice role in the 2001 movie Dr. Dolittle 2 as Sonny, and finished the year with a featured role as comical pimp Baby Powder in How High, starring Method Man and Redman. Epps reunited with Ice Cube in 2002 as the bumbling thief to Ice Cube's bounty hunter in All About the Benjamins, and again re-teamed with Cube in the continuing Friday saga's latest entry Friday After Next.
Epps' name has become synonymous with a particular style of humor, through his appearance with several other African-American artists in the same genre.[citation needed] Aside from featuring Cube, the common thread of these films was the hilarious prominence of marijuana-smoking comic characters, like the ones portrayed by Epps.
Music
Epps recently had a small part in the song A Bay Bay by Hurricane Chris, doing the Rick James move. He also hosted a Jim Jones and Skull Gang album entitled Jim Jones & Skull Gang Present A Tribute To Bad Santa Starring Mike Epps. Epps has also made a song called Trying To Be a Gangsta with Pooh Bear.Epps also has a song called Big Girls, which came out in 2008. It was originally recorded by Bow Wow, and featuring Yung Joc. The song is currently on iTunes and can be found on his album, Funny Bidness - Da Album, which was released October 27, 2009. Epps also has featured in rapper French Montana's 'Mac Wit Da Cheese' mixtape which was released April 19, 2009.
Personal life
Filmography
Epps married Michelle McCain in July 2006. He had met her while filming The Fighting Temptations (in which they appeared alongside Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyonce). McCain had a minor, non-speaking role in the movie as Epps' character's girlfriend. Epps has also dedicated his time and money to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation for the Arts in Georgia.| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Strays | Mike | |
| 2000 | Next Friday | Day-Day Jones | |
| 2000 | 3 Strikes | Crackhead | |
| 2000 | Bait | Stevie Sanders | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Sonny | Voice only Credited as Michael E. Epps |
| 2001 | How High | Baby Powder | |
| 2002 | All About the Benjamins | Reggie | Credited as Michael Epps |
| 2002 | Friday After Next | Day-Day Jones/Old Man with Shotgun | |
| 2003 | Malibu's Most Wanted | Rap-Battle Host | Uncredited |
| 2003 | The Fighting Temptations | Lucius | |
| 2004 | Still 'Bout It | Bobby Ray | |
| 2004 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | L.J. | |
| 2005 | Guess Who | The Cab Driver | Uncredited |
| 2005 | The Honeymooners | Ed Norton | |
| 2005 | Roll Bounce | Byron | |
| 2006 | The Unsuccessful Thug | ||
| 2006 | Something New | Walter | |
| 2007 | Talk to Me | Milo Hughes | |
| 2007 | Resident Evil: Extinction | L.J. | |
| 2008 | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Reggie Jenkins | |
| 2008 | Shelly Fisher | Esquire Jones | |
| 2008 | Hancock | Criminal | Uncredited |
| 2008 | Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents: The Adventures of Tha Blue Carpet Treatment | ||
| 2008 | Soul Men | Duane Henderson | |
| 2008 | Open Season 2 | Boog | Voice only Replacing Martin Lawrence |
| 2009 | Next Day Air | Brody | |
| 2009 | The Hangover | Black Doug | |
| 2009 | The Janky Promoters | Jellyroll | |
| 2010 | Love Chronicles: Secrets Revealed | Thomas Black | |
| 2010 | Lottery Ticket | Reverend Taylor | |
| 2010 | Ghetto Stories: The Movie | Janitor | Cameo |
| 2010 | Faster | Grone | |
| 2010 | Open Season 3 | Boog | Voice only |
| 2011 | Jumping the Broom | Unknown | |
| 2012 | Last Friday | Day-Day Jones |
Television
- The Sopranos (1999) .... Jerome
- Pimps Up, Ho's Down (1999)
- All About The Stunts (2002)
- 106 & Park (1 episode, 2005)
- Letter to The President (2005)
- Def Comedy Jam (5 episodes, 1995–2006)
- Inapporiate Behavior (2006)
- The Unsuccessful Thug (2006)
- The Boondocks (2006) .... Moe "Mo Gunz" Jackson
- BET Hip Hop Awards (2009–Present) .... Himself/Host
Music videos
- "Gangsta Nation" — Westside Connection
- "Why We Thugs" — Ice Cube
- "What You Know" — T.I.
- "ASAP" — T.I.
- "Never Forget" — Napoleon
- "I'm Lit" — Square Off
- "I Don't Know Y'all" — Young Dro
Discography
Official studio albums
2009: Funny Bidness - Da AlbumCollaboration albums
2008: A Tribute to Bad Santa Starring Mike Epps (with Jim Jones & Skull Gang) (2010)Singles
- Big Girls (2008)
- Trying to Be a Gangsta (2009)
No comments:
Post a Comment