Mike Epps brings free concert to Washington Park in Indianapolis
Comedian and actor Mike Epps hosted his second annual free community concert at Washington Park on Sept. 6.
The beef between comedian Mike Epps and NFL great Shannon Sharpe that had them trading jabs on social media ahead of 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend appears to be over.
Epps appeared on Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, which was loaded to YouTube on Wednesday.
Sharpe, 57, and Epps, 55, met at Kountry Kitchen restaurant, a favorite Indianapolis restaurant of both, All-Star Weekend and appeared to patch things up, but this was the first time the two had gotten together publicly since the 2024 exchange.
“I’m going to be at All-Star in my hometown. I’mma see you, brother,” Epps said in a social media post at the time. “And I’m just letting you know, I don’t do no fighting. There’s only one other option if you don’t fight; you do blank, blank, blank blank, blank, blank.”
“You had me on swoll. I was gonna whip you,” Sharpe joked about the 2024 dispute during the podcast interview.
Epps responded, “I know you’re a football player, but I ain’t turning down no fade. If we had gotten into a fight, I wasn’t gonna turn down the fade.”
“I didn’t say that I was gonna shoot you. But the little homies were probably gonna tear your ass up,” said Epps, who grew up in Indianapolis. “I wasn’t (going) to fight your big ass, man.”
Both men played major roles during All-Star Weekend, Epps as an emcee at a fan tip-off event and Sharpe as a coach in the Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
“One of the most important things that came out of that is we got a chance to show these little youngsters out here that it ain’t always got the end in no violence or fighting each other, putting our hands on each other. Because at the end of the day, we’re still all black men,” Epps said. “We’re still all examples in front of millions.”
Sharpe agreed.
“I wanted to show that, look, we disagree, but just because we disagree, that doesn’t mean we have to fight,” he said. “But we’re the only ones that feel like ‘I got to show you how macho, how big and bad I am.’ We ain’t got to do that, bro. Let’s go ahead and get this money.”
“We’re past that stage,” he said.
During the three-hour-long conversation, the two talked about the 2024 viral Katt Williams interview in which Epps said he felt slighted, and the comedian-actor’s work with Ice Cube, Eddie Murphy, Whitney Houston and others, as well as his numerous projects.
When will ‘Last Friday’ be out?
“Me, Ice Cube, Aaron McGruder and DJ Pooh just sat in a room, and we’ve been writing it. It’s gonna be off the hook,” he said of the next installment in the “Friday” movie series.
Epps said fans should expect the movie in 2027. He added that they shouldn’t count on the flick being the last in the series.
“It might not come to an end. We thought the second one was the last one. We thought the third one was the last one. But Ice Cube has the ability to keep creating.”
Chris Tucker on ‘Friday’ sequel
Epps said he believes Chris Tucker, who starred in the original 1995 movie, wasn’t too high on the idea of a sequel.
“‘Til this day, I think Chris Tucker is mad at me because I did the ‘Next Friday.’ I heard it through the grapevine that he said they should have left it alone,” said Epps, who joined the franchise in the role of Day-Day in 2000’s “Next Friday.” “He did such a great job that I could see him saying that, but … my mama needed a washer and dryer. What was I supposed to do?”
“Do I think he regretted not being in it? To some degree.”
Tucker went on to star in the “Rush Hour” movie series.
Mike Epps’ favorite role
The comedian named his role as prisoner Milo Hughes in the 2007 radio personality Petey Greene biopic “Talk to Me” as his favorite.
“Some roles make you honest. I could feel it and smell it. I could touch it. I knew where I was,” he said. “It just did something for me creatively.”
Where is the Richard Pryor biopic?
Epps, who played comedic legend Richard Pryor in a 2016 Nina Simone biopic and in the HBO series “Winning Time,” has long wanted to star in a Pryor biographical film.
“I don’t care who they pick at this point. I just want to see the movie done,” he said.
Watch trailer for ‘The Upshaws’ season 7
The seventh and final season of ”The Upshaws” on Neflix will premiere Jan. 15.
The sitcom set in Indianapolis stars Epps, Kim Fields and Wanda Sykes.
The last season consists of 12 episodes.
See the season trailer below.
We Them One’s comedy tour 2026 dates
Epps is headlining the 30-date “We Them One’s Comedy Tour,” starting the 2026 iteration in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 8, and stopping in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Feb. 13.
How to approach Mike Epps in public
Fans who catch Epps in public would absolutely engage him, he told Sharpe.
“When people just stare at me and they know it’s me, I’ll say ‘What the f— are you looking at?’ Say it. Ask me if I’m Mike Epps.” he said. “You know the f— I’m Mike Epps.”
“Just say, ‘Hey, Mike Epps! Can I have an autograph?’ Don’t just sit there and stare at me.”
Contact reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at [email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
