Chris Tucker Thinks Comedy Grant Like Hip-Hop Is A Great Idea

Last week, the Paid In Full Foundation announced the first-ever Hip-Hop Grandmaster Awards. In the first year, the award, founded by Nas, Steve Stoute, Ben, and Felicia Horowitz, honors Rakim and Scarface as cultural pioneers who have not been given their dues. The award honors them with 500,000 dollars and healthcare as their first recipients.

The grant was originally revealed by Steve Stoute during his interview with Elliott Wilson and Brian “B.Dot” Miller on the Rap Radar Podcast. “No one’s ever done this before,” Stoute told the podcast. “No one’s given the people who’ve helped move this industry forward reparations of some sort for what they’ve done but didn’t get back.”

The award announcement piqued Chris Tucker‘s interest during an interview with journalist Bryson “Boom” Paul for the Dallas Weekly.

“I think that’s a great idea,” said the 52-year-old megastar when asked by Paul. “So many great comics out there that definitely need to be rewarded and celebrated, because yeah, man, it’s women and guys, man, just great out there that need to be rewarded like that. That’s a great idea. I thought that’s pretty cool that they’re doing that.”

With a career that spans over 30 years, Chris Tucker and his loudly animated comedy sparked popularity with his legendary sets on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam in 1992. He transformed himself into a megastar with the unforgettable role of Smokey on Friday (1995) and the award-winning role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour franchise. He has generated over $890,388,579 worldwide as a leading man — according to The Numbers. He released his debut stand-up special in 2015 with Chris Tucker Live on Netflix.

Tucker is currently performing his nationwide stand-up tour, The Legend Tour, in Texas, presented by Live Nation. The artist’s 30-city tour was a massive success, leading him to confidently announce his preparations for another grand tour in 2024.

“I’m already planning on next year to come back to each city and do it again, so yeah, I’m never going to stop,” Tucker told Paul during the interview. “Never going to stop doing standup, never going to stop acting, trying to get great roles, good movie roles, and yeah, just keep at it, man. And then other stuff too, producing, directing one day. So yeah, man, we’re just going to have some fun with it.”

The Legend Tour runs til January 2024. Visit the Live Nation website for tickets in a city near you.

Watch the full interview with Bryson “Boom” Paul, here.