Nick Cannon is an actor, producer, reality TV star, fashion mogul and hip-hop artist. He appears on NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent,” MTV2′s “Wild’n Out” and BET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” On the side, he hawks ties, and he’ll drop a new album, “White People Party Music,” on April 1.
So how much of that does he manage to cram onto his business card? And when does he sleep?
With all those credits piling up on his resume, though, many forget that Cannon’s earliest successes were in standup comedy. He’ll get back to his roots when he headlines KUBE 93 Comedy Jam on March 14 at Tacoma’s Emerald Queen Casino.
“Nick won the Bay Area Black Comedy Competition when he was 16 years old,” said Nate Jackson, a Lacey native who took first place in that same contest – a springboard for the likes of Jamie Foxx, Mark Curry and D.L. Hughley – in 2010.
“His style is gonna be high energy and personal,” he said. “You’re gonna find out about him, his family, his lifestyle … and bond with the man who is Nick Cannon.”
Jackson booked the homegrown talent on KUBE 93′s bill. Joining him and Cannon onstage will be local favorites Ralph Porter and Justin Hayes.
Jackson is based in Hollywood these days but flies back to host his popular Super Funny Comedy Show, a monthly event held most recently at the Temple Theatre. He booked the local talent for Comedy Jam but said he’d get to showcase more of his style now that he’s free from having to host and produce.
“I, personally, am gonna perform as if I have a chip on my shoulder,” Jackson said. “This isn’t a hosting set. I don’t have to really produce it. All I have to do is focus on being funny, and so it’s gonna look entirely different. A lot of people around the Northwest haven’t seen that side of me because I usually am hosting. But when I go on the road, I do my thing.”
Joining Cannon and Jackson onstage on March 14 will be local favorites Ralph Porter and Justin Hayes.
Porter – a staple of the local comedy scene for two decades – is perhaps best known for hosting Ha Ha Tuesday, the weekly comedy night at Tacoma’s Jazzbones.
“I do a lot of improv, I guess, when I do that weekly show,” Porter said. “I’ll hear somebody say something before the show starts or I’ll see something, and that just kind of takes my mind off into a new direction. … I just try to stay spontaneous, I guess – in the moment.”
His set at the Emerald Queen “depends on what kind of vibe I’m getting from that crowd,” he said. “I think the crowd is gonna be real smooth; and Nick Cannon is not what you’d label as a blue comic, really raunchy and all of that kind of stuff. I don’t usually get like that anyway.
Hayes has more of his upcoming material mapped out. “Be ready to hear stuff about a native casino. Be ready to hear stuff about dating in Tacoma,” he said. “They can definitely expect a wild show. It’s gonna be crazy.”
“Everybody brings their own unique style of comedy,” Porter said. “From me to Nate Jackson to Justin Hayes to Nick Cannon, all of our styles are different; and that, to me, makes it a great show.”
Comedy Jam will kick off at 8:30 p.m., and is a 21 and older event. Tickets are $20 to $45 and available online at www.ticketmaster.com.
