NEW YORK – Moroccan and Monroe Cannon better watch out - soon, they're likely to find their way into dad Nick Cannon's standup comedy routine.
Their mother, Mariah Carey, is already the subject of one bit in Cannon's new comedy special, "Mr. Showbiz," which debuts Saturday on Showtime. The 30-year-old entertainer, whose resume includes everything from being a morning talk-show host to chairman of TeenNick, also pokes fun at himself, including all those potshots he gets in the tabloids and on blogs.
"My act is my life," says Cannon, who is also releasing a live album version of "Mr. Showbiz" next week. "It's not going to be funny if it's not talking about the stuff that everybody wants to talk about."
Right now, what people want to talk about are Moroccan and Monroe, who are just two weeks old. Cannon says the babies are beautiful; look like a combination of their mom and dad; and already are showing their personalities.
"Moroccan, I call him Roc, he's more laid-back like me," Cannon says. "But my daughter is definitely a little diva, she's the feisty one out of the bunch."
In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Cannon talked about his love for comedy, his supposed beef with Chelsea Handler, and when the public will see photos of the babies.
AP: Was it tough to leave your children this week?
Cannon: Yeah, this is probably one of the most difficult times ever that I've ever had leaving, I guess because it's the first time, and I didn't want to go but I had to go work. I've never been in this situation before. ... I planned this entire day to make sure that I'm home tonight, even though I'm 3,000 miles away.
AP: For people who aren't familiar with your standup, what should they expect?
Cannon: They'll see me for who I really am. This is really an introduction to Nick Cannon. You may have known me for hosting something, may have known me from music, you may have known me from a radio show, you may have seen me in a movie. ... There's a certain public perception out there about me, and even my personal life, but at the core, and in my foundation, I've always been a standup comic, and you'll see that in the special.
AP: What advice has helped you in your career?
Cannon: I remember one night, opening up for Dave Chappelle. ... We were in a rowdy college crowd, and (I) went on before him and tried to alter my act for what I thought that crowd wanted to hear. And they booed me off the stage. This wasn't that long ago: I had done movies, and everything and was pretty successful, and didn't think that could ever happen to me again. ... Sitting backstage talking to Dave about that and (him) just saying, "Never alter your act for the audience, always go out there and be yourself, because even if they boo you on that sense, at least you can say, `At least I was me.'" ... So I took that with me from that day, and knock on wood, I've been rocking stages ever since and being comfortable with who I am, no matter what platform I'm on.
AP: Does your act ever get raunchy?
Cannon: I'm not a raunchy type of guy, but I am a 30-year old man, so I'm talking about things a 30-year-old man is talking about. It's not clean-cut, it's not PG, but it is safe, it is family friendly to a sense. ... I talk about sex, I talk about life, I talk about serious issues, but I do it in a way that you wouldn't mind sitting with your kid and experiencing it, and I think that's one of the things that's appealing about my show, is that it's a little bit in there for everybody.
AP: Has your feud with Chelsea Handler ended?
Cannon: I personally never thought it was a beef. ... She was promoting her comedy show and called into my radio show and for whatever reason, I don't know if her publicist or whoever didn't tell her it was me. ... I was like, "Yo, we still got beef or we can just hug this out?" And she was all thrown off. We kind of talked about it. I thought it was hilarious. I think she got a little too sensitive and took certain things too seriously, but I'm not mad at her. I've got love for her.
AP: Finally, when will we see pictures of the babies?
Cannon: I don't know how I feel showing pictures. Definitely eventually it has to happen, but I'm still pondering on the timing on when to show the world my children, because they didn't ask to be born into this situation, so I want to give them a sense of normalcy for as long as (I) can. I don't want them mad at me 20 years from now, going, "Why was you showing us butt-naked as infants?"
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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