Bringing Back That 'Friday' Feeling: Ice Cube and Mike Epps Talk Podcasting and Their New Movie

Stepping into The Comedy Store in the late '90s, Ice Cube was looking for a comedian with enough unhinged charisma to play Craig's cousin Day-Day in Next Friday. He didn't realize it would lead to the start of a great friendship.

From Next Friday to All About the Benjamins to Janky Promoters, the collaborations between Cube and Mike Epps have made them one of culture’s funniest double-acts—to the point that it’s almost weird seeing one without the other. Now, over two decades after first sharing the screen, the longtime friends are stepping into new territory, launching a podcast called Listen & Laugh.

On set with Cube and Epps, it's as if Craig and Day-Day walked straight off their security guard shift at Holy Moly's strip mall into the real world. Rather than sitting in a heavily branded, sterile studio with oversized broadcast mics on some corporate couch, the duo built a custom porch inspired by the legendary neighborhood setup from the OG Friday.

Guests make their grand entrance by walking through the front porch door, which bears the house number "21317"—a subtle easter egg stitching together Cube's historic West Coast area code (213) and Epps' native Indianapolis area code (317).

Before the cameras even start rolling, the set feels more like a living room kickback than a big-budget media production. While Cube laughs and jokes with members of the crew behind the monitors, Epps sits down with an iPad loaded with DJ software and spins '90s R&B. When the pair sit down together, their chemistry takes over immediately—Cube cracking jokes at Epps' bright pink jacket while the comedian pushes for the legendary rapper to finally try his hand at stand-up comedy.

The concept behind the show is as simple as it is effective: Cube delivers the opinionated, heavyweight cultural commentary, while Epps injects his signature off-the-cuff comedy—although, they each have the capability to switch roles at anytime. With a star-studded guest list featuring names like Dr. Dre, Stephen A. Smith, The Game, Dana White, T.I., and Regina King, and wishlist targets ranging from JAY-Z and Snoop Dogg to Denzel Washington and Brad Pitt, Listen & Laugh is a show built on real relationships and unfiltered conversations.

But podcasting is only the warm-up. Fans who have spent years waiting on the elusive final chapter of the Friday franchise can finally rest easy: Last Friday is officially on the way, complete with a script penned by Cube, Epps, DJ Pooh, and Aaron McGruder, a fresh director in Lawrence Lamont, and the return of Chris Tucker on the horizon.

Here, Complex sits down with Ice Cube and Mike Epps on the set of Listen & Laugh to talk legacy, lost biopics, and why it's time to bring back that classic Friday energy.

What inspired you two to start a podcast together?
Ice Cube: Us going on podcasts as individuals, we do good numbers. If I'm doing an interview, it's always nice numbers; Mike do something—good numbers. And so we felt we could do this together and combine our fan base[s] in a lot of ways. We can energize the Friday fans, or the fans who have seen us do multiple movies, like Janky Promoters or All About the Benjamins. Why should we go on everybody else's podcast? We can do it ourselves and have fun and talk to the people we want to talk to.

Was Listen & Laugh always the title or did you have any other names you were considering?
Ice Cube: Well, we thought about it, and we kind of wanted to get straight to it. You got me up here, who, you know, I've done political rap, hardcore rap, and talked about some serious topics. I'm opinionated on serious shit. Then Mike is definitely funny, and he's—

Mike Epps: Gonna say some ignorant shit.

Ice Cube: [Laughs.] He's gonna make you laugh at things, and not let them hit all the way as heavy as they need to or that it would if he wasn't here. But he's also a very serious man, too, which is cool for people to see that side of him. And I got a few jokes, you know?

Mike Epps: Cube is just as funny. I've been trying to get him to do stand-up forever.

Really?
Mike Epps: Yeah, but he's like, 'Ahhh.' I'm gonna get his ass one day. Don't worry. [He's funny] off the stage, too. He’s always saying some funny slick shit.

Ice Cube: But getting on that stage, just grabbing the mic, you know, it's a whole different animal.

Mike Epps: I think he can do it.

We saw T.I. recently try his hand at stand-up. In fact, he's a guest on an upcoming episode of Listen & Laugh. Did you talk to him about it?
Ice Cube: Yeah, we did. He really liked the experience of doing something different. Sometimes in entertainment, you want to see where your boundaries are. Like, how far can you take anything. Getting into new arenas that you might not have been invited into, to me is part of the fun.

The first guest on Listen & Laugh is Dr. Dre, who doesn't do a lot of interviews. Was he always your first choice and how did you convince him to do it?
Ice Cube: [He was] definitely [our] first choice. I think Dre did it because of our history. He knows how much I respect him. I love to give him his flowers for what he's done for me in my career, taking me under his wing as a youngster. I think that's one of the reasons, our history, that's [why] he decided to come out—and it was cool because we were able to talk history.

Mike, obviously Cube and Dre have known each other for a long time, and they know so much about each other. What was it like for you watching that conversation unfold?
Mike Epps: It was funny to watch them debate. When they started debating, I was like, OK, yeah, these dudes know each other from way back. Because they were debating about shit. "Nah, man, da-da-da." That was cool to watch.

Ice Cube: That's how I used to be in the studio.

Mike Epps: To see them gel like that—and it had nothing to do with the business—like, no, these [are] just two guys. Yeah, they've been debating since they were young. So to see that shit was really cool.

Cube, did you learn anything new about Dre from your interview?
Ice Cube: Aw man, just his influences. I thought he was gonna say—when I asked him who some of his favorite producers [were], and he pulled out a guy that I didn't think he would put in that category. Man, I forget the producer's name.

Crew member: [Shouts from behind the cameras.] Larry Smith!

Ice Cube: Thank you. Larry Smith, who produced Whodini and Run-DMC back in the day, and I never knew that was a guy that he really looked up to as one of the best that ever did it. I thought he was going to say Quincy Jones. You know, the usual. So I learned that about him, yeah.

Watching the Listen & Laugh trailer, you have a long list of high-profile guests coming through. Thinking about a wishlist, who are the people you'd like to see on the podcast?
Ice Cube: Oh man, everybody. It's no reason why JAY-Z ain't here. There's no reason why Beyoncé, Snoop—I think we can get Snoop, all I gotta do is make sure I got something rolled up when he come through. You know what I mean? But he'll come through. But you know, some of the bigger names in entertainment. We want Drake, we want Kanye [West]. We want some of the biggest that's ever done it. We want Denzel [Washington]. We need Samuel L. Jackson up here. We need Brad Pitt. We need Tom Cruise. We need them all, you know? The biggest and the best.

What about people who are no longer with us, who are some of the people you would have loved to have sat down and had conversation with?
Mike Epps: We would have loved to have had 2Pac on the show.

Ice Cube: Michael Jackson. Prince.

What about Richard Pryor, for you Mike?
Mike Epps: Oh man, if I could interview Richard Pryor, I would ask him, how does he feel about today's comedy. You know, like, what would you say about us young comics?

Did you get to meet him when he was here?
Mike Epps: Yeah, I got to. I was going to play him. I was going to play Richard Pryor at one point. I sat with him for about a year. He lived down the street from you.

Ice Cube: Yeah? I never met Richard Pryor.

Mike Epps: He had multiple sclerosis, so he couldn't really talk. That's why you didn't know he was there [sticks his arms out stiff like a mummy].

Ice Cube: Is that your multiple sclerosis imitation? What the fuck is that? [Deepens his voice to mock Mike] Yeah, yeah, multiple sclerosis.

Mike Epps: If he could have really, really knew you was there, he'd have said, "Go down there and knock on that n***a Ice Cube’s door."

Ice Cube: I'd have came up there.

Mike, you’ve previously spoken about the Richard Pryor biopic no longer moving forward. Have there been any new developments that might bring a glimmer of hope to fans wanting to see you in the role?
Mike Epps: That's the thing with projects, man. You never know the backstory on why they didn't get done. I look at it for me as an actor, as a human being, it was something not meant for me to do, you know? Whatever that was, I just let that be that.

Ice Cube: He's Mike Epps. He don't have to play Richard Pryor, if you ask me.

Mike Epps: Thank you, brother.

Ice Cube: He's already Mike Epps. He's playing one of the best—I mean, he is one of the best.

Even in that pink jacket he's wearing?
Ice Cube: Even in that jacket.

Mike Epps: He loves messing with my jacket.

Ice Cube: To me, at some point, it's time for the Mike Epps movie.

Mike Epps: I appreciate that.

As far as your relationship goes, can you recall the first time you two met each other and your first thoughts?
Ice Cube: I didn't know who Mike was. Somebody told my guy Matt Alvarez that I needed to go to The Comedy Store and see this guy, because I was looking for Craig's cousin. Who could be Craig's cousin? He has to be as crazy as Smokey, but different than Smokey. He can't be trying to be Smokey. He has to be his own thing, his own funny, and when I saw Mike on stage and the way he performs, I felt like it was Christmas.

I felt like, Damn, this is the perfect Day-Day. I cannot find nobody better. And even just his size, the way he moved, you know—and I know Laurel and Hardy is one of the most iconic [duos as far as] that dynamic [goes], I felt like we could still pull that off in some ways. So I knew he was the guy. I was just hoping he could act. If he could act just a little, we got our Day-Day.

Mike, what was your first impression of Cube when you met him?
Mike Epps: Oh, man. I always tell him: in N.W.A., you were my favorite one.

Ice Cube: That's because [MC] Ren didn't put him in the movie [laughs]. But if Ren had put him in a movie—

Or if DJ Yella had put him in a movie.
Mike Epps: Yeah, DJ Yella would have been my favorite. Yeah, c'mon, Yella.

Ice Cube: Yeah, Yella. You didn't want to be in none of Yella's movies [laughs]. Your dick would have been out, boy [laughs]!

Mike Epps: You know, to meet a guy that you grew up listening to, it was incredible, man. It was really surreal. I was just always grateful to get the opportunity. Opportunities, they come far and in-between, and just to be a young comic and get an opportunity to be in an iconic movie like Friday, it was crazy, man.

I always tell this story: when I was auditioning for the movie, Cube, he would audition us, and then there was a space. It would be like, "Oh, Cube? He's on vacation right now." Like, oh shit. So it would be like two weeks, a week and a half. We don't hear nothing, and they're like, "He's back," and I'm like, "Okay, did you hear anything?" He's like, "Yeah, you got to do another run of auditions."

And I never forget, man. Cube would come in and he would audition you, and then you do your thing. And he [like], "Okay." And one time he looked at me, he was like [acts out a positive facial expression], and I was like, "Yeah." And when I walked outside, I seen Marlon Wayans and everybody out there getting it and reading, and I'm like, "Ahh shit," because I mean, I thought I had it because he was shaking his head at me like this [nods], like, Yeah, you got this shit. And then I walk outside, I see all these 10 other comedians out there reading the shit. I'm like, "Oh man."

I eventually read the part, and I'll never forget. Ice Cube had just come back from vacation. He had a tan, and he had his diamond earring, and his wife was in there. She was beautiful. They've been tanning and looking good. And I said, "Oh, this is different. His wife is in here now." And his wife laughed. Miss Kim laughed—and I never forget the joke, too. I said, "Man, you can't make a hoe into a housewife," and she just bust out laughing. And I said, "Oh man, I might have this shit now. I got it." And I got the movie.

Staying on the subject of Friday, what’s the latest on Last Friday and when do you start filming?
Ice Cube: "I think we're gonna end up shooting in April, May, and maybe a little of June. And it's great, man. We got a great director. We got a young, hungry director named Lawrence Lamont."

Aaron McGruder of The Boondocks was working on the script, correct?
Ice Cube: Aaron McGruder, DJ Pooh, and Mike Epps helped with the story. So, you know, it's a story by Ice Cube, DJ Pooh, Aaron McGruder, and Mike. I ended up writing the script, but it's great.

Can you share anything about the storyline?
Ice Cube: Yeah, I can. It’s funny.

Mike Epps: That's all you get. We don’t want you walking in there knowing what we doing.

According to IMDb, Chris Tucker is listed as part of the Last Friday cast. Is this 100 percent confirmed?
Ice Cube: Nothing is 100 percent until we start shooting and get it in the can.

Mike Epps: He said he was doing it. He said he wanted to do it.

Ice Cube: But I believe he's going to do this movie. He wants to do this movie, and, you know, if circumstances all line up, he will do this movie.

The Friday movies have always come with an iconic, star-studded soundtrack. Are there plans to do the same for Last Friday?
Mike Epps: That's a great question!

Ice Cube: Yeah, we're gonna put together a great soundtrack. You know, new and old music mixed together at the right time.

Any idea who might feature on it? In fact, Cube, are you going to do some new music for it?
Ice Cube: I'll probably have a song on there. We're trying to get a song produced by Dr. Dre. We'll see if he wants to bless us with with his production.

Around the time of Next Friday there was an attempted N.W.A. reunion, with Snoop involved. Any chance you guys could ever reunite again?
Ice Cube: I don't know. It has to come together organically. And it's all about Dr. Dre, where his head is, you know? If he feel like doing it, we do it. If he don't, we don't. Nobody wants a N.W.A. song without Dr. Dre's production. Who knows? I would love to get together with them dudes. It ain't hard to find me on the microphone. I mean, I'm easy to find.

Outside of the Friday franchise, the two of you have starred in a number of other movies together, including All About the Benjamins. Did you guys ever discuss doing a sequel for that film?
Ice Cube: Yeah, there was a conversation. But we did that movie when Bob Shaye was running New Line [Cinema]. I think this even before Time Warner really started digging their hands into it, and once New Line got kind of engulfed by Warner Brothers, their priorities of movie making was different. So they didn't see the benefit in doing the sequel. It wasn't like the the movie made a whole lot of money in the box office, but it did make a whole lot of money on DVD. It’s just the window that it came out, it was a whole new regime and we couldn't follow up.

So there's no hope that you might revisit it now?
Ice Cube: There is hope. Oh, there's always hope. With people understanding the dynamic that me and [Mike] have, we can do anything. If we deliver the podcast and we deliver on this Friday movie, people are gonna want to see us in more movies together.

Cube, you're a part of a lot of franchises. One that recently got reactivated is Jump Street. What can you tell us about the upcoming 24 Jump Street movie?
Ice Cube: Well, it's called 24 Jump Street because they took too long to do 23. It's a cool progression. Channing [Tatum] and Jonah [Hill], they live across the street from Captain Dixon now, and so it's a lot of shit that goes on between the three of them. That’s gonna be fun.

Mike, you've got a lot of big movies under your belt at this point. What has been your biggest 'pinch-me' movie moment?
Mike Epps: Working for Cube. That was a life-changer for me. That was my first major movie that I did. I did a movie with Vin Diesel years ago, before he even became Vin Diesel, which was an independent movie. It was called Strays. It was his first independent movie.

Was he still working security at The Tunnel at this point?

Mike Epps: Yes, that's when he was a security guard at The Tunnel.

Ice Cube: He was Vin 'Minivan' then.

Mike Epps: [Laughing and clapping] He wasn't a diesel then. But working with Cube, it definitely opened the door. I mean, I did a movie with Whitney Houston one time, and every day was like, Wow, Whitney Houston, you know? I always tell this story: everybody on the set was trying to be cool with her, and she was like, [mimics a standoffish grunt], and I was figuring you gotta be a regular person, and I was just normal with her, and it worked. So I had moments. I got opportunities. Again, the Friday movies opened up doors for me to do all of the stuff I did.

Mike, you’ve also been a huge staple in the hip-hop community for decades now—from music video cameos to being sampled on tracks. Can you talk a little about your relationship with hip-hop?
Mike Epps: I consider myself a hip-hop comic because, you know, I started on Def Comedy Jam, which is, you know, Russell Simmons Def Comedy Jam. So I've always been a hip-hop comic. I've got an album coming out now.

A hip-hop album?

Mike Epps: Yeah, it’s called Me. [Suave House founder] Tony Draper is behind the album.

Are you rapping on it?
Mike Epps: Rapping and singing. I'm trying to get it together now, maybe [it will be out in] 2027. But Cube was just talking about us as artists getting the opportunity to switch lanes sometime, and I'm so glad he said it so eloquently. We're just having fun, you know? And if you could do something and have a good time and not take it so serious, hey, if it's good, it works, and if it don't, hey, whoop-de-doo. But I do it because I love music. But I would never take myself as a serious music artist. But will I jump on a track? Will I come up with a good idea? Yeah.

Is Cube gonna be on the album?
Mike Epps: I'm trying to get him on it. I would love to have him on the right track.

So besides that and Listen & Laugh, what's next for you guys?
Ice Cube: We're going to shoot this [Last Friday] movie. We're going to probably see a lot of each other in the next year, doing more podcasting, shooting a movie, promoting a movie, putting it out, and hopefully figuring out the next one. We built the audience that love us together as a dynamic, and it's kind of time to cash in on that outside of just movies, but have them get a chance to see us interact and see that we're really friends. I'm Cube, this Epps, but we might as well be Craig and Day-Day all day.

The first episode of Ice Cube and Mike Epps' Listen & Laugh podcast featuring special guest Dr. Dre arrives Friday, November 6 at 6 P.M. ET / 3 P.M. PT—watch it here. New episodes will air every Friday at the same time.