with Rickey Smiley
MIKE EPPS is generating an extraordinary amount of buzz among his peers for being not only one of the funniest comic actors in town, but also for his burgeoning dramatic talent. Mike can be seen in the Netflix comedy “The Up Shaws” which he stars in and produces. The show is based on his life of growing up in Indiana and taken from his 2018 Harper Collins autobiography Unsuccessful Thug. In 2022 his sixth stand up special will premiere on Netflix. The book is written by Mike about his life and childhood; growing up in poverty and how comedy saved his life. He was recently seen in the Amazon feature “Troup Zero” starring opposite Viola Davis, Allison Janney, and Jim Gaffigan; and in the A24 film “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” which both premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, his fifth stand up special “Just One Mike” premiered on Netflix last fall he was seen opposite Eddie Murphy in the comedy “Dolemite is my Name” which was nominated for Golden Globe, Broadcast Film Critic Awards and a NAACP Image Award.
Comedy legend and entertainment mogul Rickey Smiley is a television host, actor and top rated nationally syndicated radio personality, and has become one of the entertainment industry’s most celebrated performers. Most recently, his memoir Stand by Your Truth And Then Run for Your Life was released by Gallery Books, he joined the Martin Lawrence 2018 LIT AF nationwide tour as well as the Mike Epps Platinum Comedy Tour, and he co-hosted the Black Music Honors for the second time. In 2017, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) recognized Rickey’s excellence in broadcasting and awarded him the Marconi Award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year. He is known for having made millions laugh for over 27 years. Rickey hails from Birmingham, Ala. He graduated from Woodlawn High School and went on to attend college at Alabama State University in Montgomery, Ala. Rickey joined forces with Radio One owned television network, TV One, as the star, executive producer and namesake of his own top rated docu-series, “Rickey Smiley For Real.” In its 5th season now, the amusing series features the balancing act of a working radio host, comedian, business mogul, and philanthropist with the joys and pains of being a single father of four.
