“What Cha Name Is?” It’s Page Kennedy

From the gritty streets of Detroit to luxury showers flowing from elephant trunks. He’s fed wild alligators and swam with dolphins in Thailand of South Asia.

“I never in my life wanted to do none of that,” said actor, rapper, and comedian Page Kennedy. “I thought it would be cool to maybe touch a dolphin – I didn’t think I’d swim with one. Black people do not do things like that.”

Kennedy reminisced about the fun he had while filming Meg 2: The Trench, the sequel to The Meg (2018). The movie is scheduled to release on August 4, 2023. We caught up with the triple threat entertainer to discuss new projects he is working on.

Jackson: Without a doubt, what’s something you’d like to wake up to every morning?

Kennedy: Ohhh! Uhhh, Undisputed. Undisputed is a sports commentary show that I watch religiously every morning. In particular, during basketball season, but I also watch it during football season. That and First Take are like my coffee. That is what I love waking up to every day. Except it doesn’t come on on the weekends.

Jackson: New music! “What Cha Name Is” is the newest song you’re promoting. What’s the concept behind it? Because it’s giving commercial and background movie vibes.

Kennedy: Haha! “What Cha Name Is.” It’s interesting because I’m not a hit seeker. Like I don’t make music to make hits. My music usually has more substance. It’s talking about something important. My last album, “Page,” was all social injustice, pro-black. That was the goal of it. With this album, I had to lighten it up, so it’s more fun. “What Cha Name Is” is a fun song. It feels good! You can play this song anywhere. A basketball game, a barbeque, in the club, or just riding down the street. On this album, I try to make more songs that are more digestible.As opposed to a lot of my music where you have to sit, listen, and focus. So this is just something fun to enjoy.

Jackson: How is it working with the more seasoned actors and actresses? Because there are a lot of newcomers in the industry, but there’s nothing like that older generation’s energy and wisdom. Do you feel the difference between being with the newcomers and the more seasoned age?

Kennedy: For me, I’m everywhere. I am a veteran myself. I’ve been in this business for 20 years, but I also like to take my energy and time to the younger generation. I try and indoctrinate them on the game and professionalism. So I’m with everyone, bouncing around. I spend as much time with the newcomers as I do with the seasoned people. Sometimes even more with the newcomers. Because typically, in my experience, the seasoned people, being a little older, have a family and a lot of other stuff going on. When they’re not specifically on set, they’re busy. Whereas when you are nascent, and you’re pretty much new to the game, you’re more free.

Jackson: The Upshaws. The sitcom goes against the algorithm of sitcoms because of the language, the family roasting, and the nudity that it consists of. How has that experience been for you?

Kennedy: The nudity! Haha! The experience on The Upshaws was incredible. The people I get to work with are just terrific, and some of my best friends now. A few of them didn’t even know who I was. We’ve become a close-knit family, which often happens on a show. The cast gets pretty close, and the chemistry is there, which makes it easier to crack a few jokes without the thought of hurting anyone’s feelings.

Jackson: One of the relatable real-life scenes in The Upshaws was the scene where your character, Duck, pulled out a shank in the middle of an exercising conversation with Bennie. That exposed his jail-like mentality. Experiencing that as a black man and having that role, what did you learn from that in particular?

Kennedy: You know it’s funny because it’s not the first time I played someone in jail. If you look at me, it looks like I’m pretty familiar to have that experience, and honestly, that was one of the things that got me the role. On my new album, I have a song called The Audition 3. On every album, I have a song called the audition that chronicles the popular roles people know me from. I talk about the audition process. And so in this new song, on this new album, Wanda Sykes is featured on the song. She tells the story of what she said to me when I got the part.

One of the things she said was,“Listen, you look like you just came from prison.”

So I knew that was part of the casting process because my physical appearance is congruent with that character. I’ve never been to jail myself, but I’ve had family and friends who have. But it’s a sitcom. It’s not that serious. It’s just a funny little thing.

Jackson: Is it hard to jump out of that character once you leave the set, or do you quickly revert to Page Kennedy?

Kennedy: No! It’s a sitcom. So it’s not rocket science for me to play this role—this character I chose to make an actual character, talk and move differently. But no, as soon as they call cut, and I’m not saying those lines, I just go back to my regular jubilant, loud self. And when they say action, I jump back into character. I don’t need to decompress to get out of that state.

Jackson: Your pandemic Tik Toks with your son are hilarious. Did you guys always have that bond, or did it grow over time during the pandemic?

Kennedy: No, no, no. We used to be on Vine back in 2013. That’s when I started him or when he got the acting bug. We would go super viral all the time, and he enjoyed doing them. Now he’s following in the footsteps of the actor slash rapper route because he’s very good at it. I hope he’s able to continue the Kennedy legacy, surpass, and supplant where I’ve been able to go. So we’ve had this chemistry his whole life. I’ve been turning the camera on him since he was two years old. It’s kind of been his destiny, the same as mine.

Jackson: What’s the ultimate goal for Page Kennedy?

Kennedy: To subjugate the world. Haha! No. The ultimate goal for me is to be able to inspire most people the way that Michael Jackson inspired me. To do that, I have to do a lot of different things and do those things very well. I want to make people happy and do everything I can to make people smile.