The Mike Epps who appears in TV ads for Super Bowl Village comes across as beyond friendly, someone who’s eager to point the way toward wholesome fun.
The Mike Epps who delivers stand-up comedy in NBA arenas specializes in tales of sex, drugs and the raunchiest aspects of the entertainment world.both personas are genuine, according to Epps — who said he and the Super Bowl Host Committee clearly defined his role when selecting the actor-comedian as hometown ambassador for Super Bowl XLVI.
“I think everybody’s well-understood about what I do,” Epps said. “There’s no secret about what type of comedian I am. I think they can trust that I know how to be professional. I know when to talk about certain things and when not to talk about certain things.”
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Epps is known for co-starring in two of Ice Cube’s “Friday” movies and for a memorable cameo appearance as “Black Doug” in 2009 film “The Hangover,” which sold more than $250 million in tickets to U.S. audiences.
In March, Epps will film two stand-up comedy performances at new York’s 5,000-capacity Theater at Madison Square Garden for a concert movie titled “Still Standing.”
“I can service many types of people: Mainstream people, kids, grandmas,” Epps said. “I got a little comedy for everybody. but I come from a dark, rated-R world of comedy. I’m also a dad, I am a husband, and I am an entertainer. I put on many faces.”
Growing up on the Eastside of Indianapolis near 21st Street and Carrollton Avenue, Epps appeared more destined for infamy than fame. Expulsion and dropping out were running themes of his academic career, and Epps didn’t graduate from high school. (“I went to four or five schools, but I claim Tech,” he said.) he dealt drugs and spent 18 months in prison.
Today, Epps keeps his street credibility while doing good deeds offstage. He’s visited inmates on behalf of the Super Bowl Host Committee, and he routinely speaks to groups of adolescents about his past hardships and subsequent success.
Epps and his wife established the non-profit Michael & Mechelle Epps Foundation to help at-risk youth, and the comedian helped lead a 2009 “Peace in the Streets” rally at 42nd Street and Post Road.
“Mike really cares about people, and he really cares about Indianapolis,” said Allison Melangton, president and CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee. “His sincerity in that is really amazing and pure.”
Indianapolis-based event promoter Amp Harris, who organized the “Peace in the Streets” rally, recommended Epps for the role of Super Bowl ambassador. On Feb. 2, Harris will present Epps — plus hip-hop stars Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa — in a Super Bowl week concert at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Melangton said her first meeting with Epps was a plain-spoken exchange about leaving the raw-edged elements of his act at the door.
“I told him, ‘The Super Bowl is a family event. We want you involved, but there’s going to be a lot of things you typically do that won’t be OK for the host committee,’ ” Melangton said. “We continued to have a really good, lengthy discussion about what the line was. he was absolutely committed and said, ‘No problem at all.’ In everything he has done with us, he has been totally G-rated.”
Epps, 41, said he’s “bragged coast-to-coast” about the Super Bowl in his hometown.
After playing Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Feb. 2, he has a Feb. 4 show in Houston. He’ll be back in Indianapolis, though, for the game Feb. 5.
“I was a teenager when the Colts came to town,” he said. “I’ll never forget that. To have the NFL Super Bowl in my hometown is more amazing than anything in the world.”
For Epps, life turned around when he learned he could make people laugh. and he made the discovery while incarcerated.
“It really was a defense mechanism, as well as just passing the time by being silly,” he said. “Most of the people I was locked up with, I knew. the town isn’t that big. Most of the guys, I grew up with them or went to school with their brothers.”
Melangton said the North Texas edition of the Super Bowl in 2011 relied on former Dallas Cowboys players as spokesmen for the event. Epps represents a change of pace.
“Whenever he’s in town, he drops in at the office,” Melangton said. “He walks around and spreads laughter and sunshine. everyone at the host committee is working long hours, and it’s been that way for months. he hugs people and encourages them by saying, ‘What you guys are doing is really important. keep going.’ it means so much to the staff that he feels that at home.”
Epps probably won’t be squeaky clean during his Bankers Life Fieldhouse appearance. he often speculates about which audience members used cocaine before arriving at his show, and an expected halftime appearance by Nicki Minaj should give Epps a chance to talk about the female rapper’s otherworldly rear end.
An observer recently characterized Epps as a ” ‘hood role model,” a label the entertainer understands but doesn’t necessarily embrace.
“I’m from the ‘hood, but my mentality is not ‘hood,” Epps said. “I think I’m intelligent, but I’m from the ghetto. I won’t doubt that one bit. it takes layers of things to make it. being intelligent is probably the first thing.”
Mike Epps may contradict himself at Super Bowl 2012, but he’s large and contains multitudes
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