Mike Epps has opened up about Kevin Hart's success and how he struggled to watch his fellow comedian become a Hollywood powerhouse.
While the pair are on good terms now, Epps spoke about past tensions during the Wednesday's (January 7) episode of Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, suggesting Hart’s massive success triggered some insecurities.
"Kevin was a dude that had came right up under me," Epps told Sharpe. "He blew up, and he got famous, and he got rich, and they were no longer talking about Mike Epps. But before Kevin came along, I had this shit locked down. I did. I was out on the road, but I didn’t know that other part of the business, which was business. I got into show business and all I was good at was the 'show' part of it."
He added that Hart had developed a solid understanding of entertainment’s business side, while Epps had spent years only focusing on his craft. After watching Hart’s star continue to rise, he realized he had to expand his knowledge in order to take his career to the next level.
"I did good work, and I didn’t get the big accolades, but I did good work," he continued. "Kevin Hart knew how to do that show and that business. So he was able to get in there, and then I had to end up learning from him! That’s how that shit works! The old learn from the new, the new learn from old, and I didn’t understand that."
Before acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between older and newer comedians, Epps had exchanged several public jabs with Hart. Epps repeatedly dissed Hart’s comedic skills, while Hart dismissed Epps’ relevancy.
"I took that shit to heart," Epps told Sharpe. "I was looking at him like, this is the lil' dude that came up under me, that opened up for me, that sometime I put money in his pocket. And he don't remember, but a couple times, I had seen him and he kinda brushed me the wrong way. People do that shit sometimes, especially when you get some success."
Epps confessed his competitive nature was a big factor in the comedian-on-comedian drama, as he was convinced that Hart was looking down on him.
"Sometimes if you get some success and you hot and a person sees you and you don’t respond to them… especially if they’re an OG to you, they’ll take that shit to heart," he explained. "'This muthafuka thinks he’s better than me.’ That’s how that shit ended up happening.”
However, Epps said he eventually used the perceived slight as a motivator — and he made sure to let Hart know.
"I told him that, when I seen him, I said, 'You know what? You actually ended put a fire under me,'" he recalled. "That shit hurt, but at the end of the day, I’m like, 'OK, you know what? I know what I gotta do. I gotta stick it to him.' So, I just went back to my regular roots, to who I really was and how I started comedy."
Epps said he has since chosen to stop comparing the "new" to the "old" and is now focused on the unique skill set he brings to the table. "There’s only one Mike Epps," he said. "Ain’t gonna be no other Mike Epps… Once I focused in on that, I was able to breathe and be free."