Chattin' With The Common Guy

Chattin’ With The Common Guy

Nick Cannon: A Shot At Stardom

By Paul Hall

He’s a 22 year old from sunny San Diego, California. But I was able to get a couple minutes out of his busy schedule on a snowy Monday afternoon. Only a couple days removed from Thanksgiving, Nick Cannon was Chattin’ With The Common Guy about Drumline (his new film), Will Smith, motivational speaking and much more.

Nick makes his motion picture starring role debut in the new film Drumline from 20^th Century Fox as Devon Miles, a hot shot from New York on a music scholarship to Atlanta A&T University.

In real life, Nick has a promising hip-hop career with a new album being released in early 2003. But as we talked, I wanted to first know a bit about Drumline and how he would describe it (Read the Common Guy’s Review of Drumline). Nick told me, “It’s a great coming of age, fish out of water film.” Drumline has a “good solid story that sheds light on a subculture that a lot of people don’t know about”(show style marching bands and black colleges from the south). “It’s just a great setting,” Nick continued and “the music makes a wonderful backdrop…Music is so universal that I think everybody will be able to enjoy this film.”

Sure he’s got a musical background with his rap duo Da Bom Squad and a new album soon to follow. But when it comes to having a marching band experience, Cannon could just claim that he “played the bass drum in the school band.”

That’s not to say that he hasn’t been exposed to the drums. He has been involved with drum sets and drum machines in his career as a music producer but this was a different thing. Cannon explained, “This was such a phenomenon to me to actually go down there and see how seriously these students take marching.” In talking about the grueling work that the Southern show style bands go through, Cannon says “it’s a sport…you have to be athletic, marching up and down the field with a 40 pound instrument” and you “have to know math.” Throw in the precision that is required along with counting your steps, and then play an instrument all at the same time as you try some dance moves. Cannon can only exclaim, “my hat’s off to everybody in the marching band.”

But really, how could he look like he belonged when it came to his shots in the band? I asked Nick about the story I had heard…that he slept with a set of drumsticks. Nick, is this true? He told me, “That is extremely true. I taped the drumsticks to my fingers and went to sleep so I could get used to holding them.”

Nick of course likes to have fun as well. I wondered aloud if anyone gave costar Orlando Jones grief about the 7up commercials that he made famous. Nick told me there were 7UP jokes “all over the place” and of course “you know I was the one coming with all the jokes.” Did Orlando mind? Well maybe sometimes, but Nick says he was a “good sport about it.”

Cannon is a busy man. Besides his Drumline role he has his TV show (serving as creator, writer and executive producer), and the new album due out in 2003. I wanted to know just how a 22-year-old young man copes with all of the stresses that these challenges pose. Nick, being cool and with a genuine enthusiasm, calmly responded “Each day…it’s just a blessing from God to be doing all that stuff and have the opportunity to do all that stuff. To me it’s all fun. Once it becomes work I gotta stop doing it.” Sounds like a young man with wisdom beyond his years.

It’s no wonder that he is grounded and enjoying his time in the entertainment industry. Nick fondly talks about what his mentor (Will Smith) has meant to him. “I can’t say enough…From taking me around with him and showing me the ropes to giving me acting lessons on the set of Ali and helping me with my auditions.” Seems like Smith has been more than supportive of Cannon’s career. Cannon mentions Smith’s schooling in the nuances of acting as well as in “teaching me how to be just an all around good guy in the entertainment industry.” Smith has kept Cannon from letting the business go to his head and instead staying grounded in who he is as an individual.

From my brief conversation with Nick, Will Smith’s advice seems to be a positive influence in his life. Nick comes off as a genuine, good natured, and fun guy. Never once did I feel that Nick was doing anything less than enjoying his time doing interviews and talking about the things he loves to do. Cannon has a true shot at stardom, and it wouldn’t be a bad thing. He is a great example for the youth of the country.

In fact, as we closed our conversation, I wanted to know what I couldn’t find in his bio. Nick quickly and proudly told me, “I do a lot of motivational speaking. It’s all about encouraging the youth and encouraging people to just do what they want to do.” He talks to the youth about a few of the struggles he went through as a young stand up comic or even as a young entertainer and mentions, “if you don’t ever give up, and you maintain a positive spirit, you can go as far as you want to go.” He concludes this thought by saying that “you just gotta be diligent in everything you do.”

Nick Cannon definitely has a shot at stardom, and here’s hoping that shot hits the mark.

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