A hugely successful 90-city comedy tour. Top hosting duties at the BET Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards. Shooting a pilot for a new TV show. Dropping a concert film on September 9. More movies coming soon. All in 2011. Comedian/actor Kevin Hart might be the definition of “hustle, hustle hard.” He’s obviously tired, or possibly getting bored with doing back-to-back press interviews. AllHipHop.com encountered an unusually calm, soft-spoken person named Kevin Hart recently – his demeanor light years away from the loud, funny man who is currently kicking in the door on Hollywood. He yawned twice during the interview, but still managed to laugh at a few of the interviewer’s brave attempts at jokes. He earns a pass on the yawns. Hart works like crazy and is obviously a little man on a big mission: AllHipHop.com: This has been like a crazy, breakthrough year for you – hosting multiple awards shows and the comedy tour and everything. What’s this ride been like for you so far? Kevin Hart: It’s been hectic but it’s been great. You know. I wouldn’t ask for this experience to be different at all. You know what I mean? The rise and growth of my success level has been crazy, and the reason why is because I got to see it gradually grow in the past 14 years of me being involved in entertainment and this particular profession. So, I’m thankful and humbled to be where I am right now. AllHipHop.com: I want to tell you that the more you blow up, the taller you’re looking to me! [laughter] I think you’d grown a few inches when I saw you on the VMAs. Kevin Hart: That’s a good thing! [laughter] That’s a beautiful thing. AllHipHop.com: No doubt! You hold it down for the little guys. [laughter] OK, so “Laugh At My Pain,” the concert tour – I read that you grossed $15 million in two days, breaking Eddie Murphy’s record. Are you sprinkling crack on the tickets? [laughter] Or, why do you think people are filling the seats so fast? Kevin Hart: [laughter] It was that I grossed $15 million throughout the tour dates. If I grossed $15 million in two days, you wouldn’t see me. I’d be somewhere living on an island, you know what I mean? My money would be ridiculous. So, basically we broke Eddie Murphy’s record in ticket sales for the show that I did at the Nokia Theater, which was like $1.4 million in ticket sales in a day. That was crazy. Kevin Hart: Any type of acknowledgement you get, when people can look and see what you’ve done in the past, that’s huge. For my fans to be as loyal as they are and support they way that they support, it’s unbelievable, you know? The feeling is indescribable, but I try not to think about it that much because I’m not content. I’m not content with my level of success. I want to get further and you know, the only way to get further is to set your goals pretty high. So, before I achieve all of those goals that I’ve set, I don’t want to look back on my accomplishments and kind of bask in whatever little glory there may be. You know, because there’s so much more to come. AllHipHop.com: Let me ask you about the inspiration behind “Laugh At My Pain.” To me, that kind of sounds like that saying about the “tears of a clown,” or someone who has been teased or bothered, but has learned to laugh at himself despite other people. Is that what that means? Kevin Hart: Well, here’s where it comes from. The title, “Laugh At My Pain,” basically comes from me saying hey, you know what? I’ve talked about so many things. I’ve talked about family, I’ve talked about my kids, I’ve talked about me and my involvement in so many things. I’ve yet to talk about a darker side. I’ve yet to dig into what could be considered as pain, so I wanted to talk about the things that kind of bothered me coming up – from my dad being involved with drugs, to my mom passing away, to me going through relationship turmoil – so many things that people wouldn’t necessarily laugh at. I wanted to talk about it, and give people my point of view and perspective on what’s been going on and how I feel about it, what my opinion is, and you know what? I found a unique way to do it so people can laugh at it. AllHipHop.com: Well, I know the tabloids have been going kind of hard on you over the past two years with your personal life and everything. How do you keep your cool, and keep the smile on your face? Or, do you just consider that as part of your initiation, like you’ve come of age? Kevin Hart: Yes, of course, I would be a fool not to see it and not to realize it. I just don’t like to dwell on it. AllHipHop.com: OK, you don’t like to dwell on it, but do you have anything to say to your naysayers? Kevin Hart: What? To people that say good or bad things? AllHipHop.com: To people who have something negative to say about you who don’t know you basically, except for your art… Kevin Hart: Oh, well, that’s the beauty of people. Everyone always has something to say, and it’s not always going to be good. Sometimes negative stuff is the stuff you should listen to the most. They could be saying something that other people are afraid to say. I don’t look at everything as hate. You gotta find a positive in everything. At the end of the day, I know that I’m good at my profession. I know that I’ve chosen the right career. But I’m not perfect. I don’t strive to be perfect. I don’t act as if I’m perfect. I’m a human. I make […]
