TBS /Kareem Black
“Personally, I don’t even like giving interviews about The Last O.G. Because I like for the O.G. to speak for itself. I don’t like to talk about it. I like being about it.”
Tracy Morgan is a man who lives in the moment. And this is his moment.
The world needs Tracy. He brings out the truth in ways we could only dream of. So unapologetically himself, there’s an authenticity he oozes that we’d be wise to take note of. He is, after all, the one who will be outliving us and getting everybody pregnant in the process.
The secret to conducting an interview with Tracy is to not interview him. It’s to talk with him. To put down your notes and whatever preconceived notions you may have. Once those go away, he will regale you with stories of his Ben Kenobi’s, serenades you with the Astronaut Jones theme song, and tells you what he’s going to make for lunch that day. These are moments I didn’t have questions for, but rather moments that occurred all on their own. And they are far better than anything I could have planned.
He likes to say the comedy on The Last O.G., which airs Tuesday nights on TBS, is all organic, as a result of the clever and funny cast. The same can be said for a mere conversation with him. He never goes out of his way to be funny. It just happens. You can’t plan funny when you’re just naturally funny. It sneaks up on you with no road map. And you best follow that funny wherever it takes you, dammit!
This is Tracy’s spotlight, and with such a unique voice, you need to relinquish yourself to it, and just let him have it. You give him the ball, and he runs with it. Take it away, Tracy...
ON THE LAST O.G.
“Some of the situations in my show aren’t funny. The funny’s organic. It’s gonna be there when you have talent like me, Cedric, Allen Maldonado. When you have funny people on the set, we know how to find that. But the other side of that is seriousness. The other side of comedy is tragedy. My life wasn’t always funny. I come from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. I’m just telling a story. It’s not just mine, but the people I grew up around. This really happens.”
“I can’t speak for everybody, but especially in my community, laughter made you forget about being poor. It makes you forget about your hard times. That’s what laughter is there for. Music and laughter. The three things that got us through slavery: music, laughter, and sex.” “Tray [the character on The Last O.G.] will evolve this season. He came to forgive himself for making mistakes so he could move forward. That was the beginning of his evolution. He made a mistake. He recognized what he lost. So when you do that and you can forgive yourself, you can move forward. So that’s how he will move forward with all of his endeavors.”
“The show is not a show about the community. It’s a show starring the community. There’s a little bit of something for everybody. Doesn’t matter if you’re a billionaire or the poorest person on the planet, you can identify with it and the struggle. No matter where you’re from. If you’re from Bulgaria, the truth gonna be the truth. It don’t matter. Everybody can identify and relate with The Last O.G. because we’re telling the truth. We added comedy to it but it ultimately is the truth.”
ON BEING HONEST
"Why would I be nervous about being honest? I’d be nervous if I’m lying. I’m not nervous about being who I am. I’m not nervous about being honest with it or raw with it. I’m not. It is what it is. I’m not going to pretend to be something that I’m not.”
ON HIS BEN KENOBIS
"You’ve got to pay homage to those before you. Look at Star Wars. The greatest O.G. in the whole galaxy was Ben Kenobi. His O.G. was Yoda. I’ve got a couple of Ben Kenobi’s in my life. The first one was my father. My father was Yoda. My father was Yoda. Then you got Eddie [Murphy] and Martin [Lawrence] and Lorne [Michaels]. Then you got Jimmie Mac that passed away in the accident. Those are my O.G.’s. Those are my Ben Kenobi’s. But my dad was Yoda. My dad was Yoda."
ON INSPIRATION
"Inspiration is all around me. Good, bad, and ugly. Be inspired. You have to. “Fairy tales can come true; It can happen for you; If you’re young at heart.”
"We just talked about inspiration. I inspired you growing up. And now we on the phone talking. And if inspiration is my deal, and if God spared my life to inspire others, than so be it. I’m good with that.”
ON STAND-UP
“Stand-up is my foundation. All of this is built on top of stand-up. My whole career, not my life, but my career is built on top of stand-up. That’s what it was when I first started. That’s my foundation. And I’ll tell you right now. Stand-up comedy begins and it ends in the clubs. So that’s where I’m at right now. Having fun. Because fun is the first three letters in the word funny. It’s fun."
THE EVOLUTION OF TRACY MORGAN
"The only thing that remains the same is change. Every day. I’m evolving every day. There’s a reason why the dinosaurs aint here no more. They didn’t evolve quick enough. As the Earth revolves, I evolve.”
ON COOKING
“I cook every day. I cook every day. I just can’t give my wife no competition. Being creative. Season it up. I’m going to make me some pork and beans and franks right now, just because I just finished watching True Grit [the remake]. That’s my Rooster Cogburn Special. Pork, beans, and hot dogs. It makes me feel like a cowboy.”
30 ROCK REBOOT
"If everybody was down, I’d do it. If everybody was apart of it and everybody came back, I’ll do it. It’s still important to me. Martin, Saturday Night Live, The Tracy Morgan Show, 30 Rock. Those shows are still important to me in my life.”
REFLECTION"I reflect when I have time to. When I’m in solitude, I reflect. But most of the time, I’m a forward thinking man. I’m looking forward."
THE LAST O.G. airs 10:00 pm on TBS