Meet Hasan Minhaj, an LA-based stand-up comic who’s convinced that Nikki swaggerjacked his last name.
The 24-year-old recently released his first comedy album, Leaning on Expensive Cars and Getting Paid to do It. Confused? So were we… until we sat down with him and found out that he’s just like the rest of you OGHH readers: A Jay-Z fan whose ultimate goal is getting an @reply from @THE_REAL_SHAQ.
Why does the cover of your comedy album look like a rap album?
To tell you the truth I’m not really into the whole comedy thing. Standup is just a placeholder; my main goals in life are to be a rapper or ball player. So I wanted my album cover to look like the hip-hop albums that inspired me the most from my childhood and the early to mid 90s.
And those are?
Jay-Z’s Vol 2. Hard Knock Life, Puff Daddy’s No Way Out, and Harlem World by Ma$e.
What do you think about Puff Daddy changing his name to Diddy?
He can do whatever he wants to; he’s Diddy. If he changed his name to ‘Strawberry Shortcake’ it’d still be cool. Everyone would be like “Ohhhhhh waddup Strawberry Shortcake!”
Do you follow him on Twitter?
No. I can’t stand his tweets. And its hard to take him seriously when I see CNN posting how I should help save Haiti then all of a sudden I see Diddy post: ‘I JUST DRANK CIROC! LET’S GOOOOOO!!!!’
How did you come up with the name of the album ‘Leaning on Expensive Cars and Getting Paid to Do It’?
My favorite hip-hop videos involve the following three things:?1. Expensive Cars?2. Things blowing up behind the rapper?3. A zero gravity chamber. If you don’t know what I’m referring to here, please see the ‘Mo Money, Mo Problems’ video.
I integrated as many of those things into my album title/cover.
How come you’re not leaning on a car on the cover of the album?
My Lambo is in the shop right now.
OK…Anyway, I don’t understand some of the titles on your album.
The Cancer Curing Baby? Explain.
I have a prodigy baby at my apartment that can cure cancer. He’s like the Lebron James of babies.
Takin’ it to the Max?
My policy in bed.
Captain Planet?
What I liked to be called in bed.
Screw you Zimbabwe?
Of all the countries in the African subcontinent, folks from Zimbabwe have always been the rudest to me. Every other country? Fantastic. Not Zimbabwe.
Madd Comedians?
Remember the Madd Rapper from the Biggie albums? It’s kinda like that.
I also noticed you have skits on your album.
All of the hip-hop albums I listened to growing up had skits on the album to explain a narrative that was happening. It was kind of like a ‘Day in the life of…’ for that respective rapper. My goal here was to show the same thing, except the day in the life of a comedian. As you know, both are similar.
So you’re a big fan of the 90’s.
Yes, I grew up during the 90’s. Actually, the tux I’m wearing pays homage to Jay-Z’s cover of ‘Reasonable Doubt’ (Which came out in ’96) but for whatever reason everyone thinks it’s a James Bond thing. It’s not.
James Bond doesn’t lean on expensive cars?
James Bond drives expensive cars. Rappers lean on expensive cars. Those are two very different things. To post up and get paid to lean on cars is a pretty sweet job. Also, being able to wear sunglasses indoors is cool too. I just wanna get to a point where I can sit courtside at basketball games while wearing sunglasses indoors, just so the cameras can cut to me and put me on the Jumbotron while I’m chatting to my rapper friends like Chamillionaire.
So you’d be at a Clipper game.
Yup–Chamillionaire can’t afford Lakers tickets. There are different levels of stunting: Jay-Z sits courtside at Laker games. Beanie Sigel sits courtside at Oklahoma City Thunder games. And yes, this is a shot at Chamilitary records and RocNation.
What do you hope to achieve with this album?
My goal was to have it spread faster than ‘The Carter III’. He had a million digital downloads in one week. So the power is now in your hands, hip-hop bloggers.
Oh, and Ron Artest also personally promised me if we move enough units he’ll shave my name into his head.
Is that one of your goals in comedy?
My goals in comedy are simple. Get Ron Artest to shave my name into his head as the Lakers go into the playoffs, and have Shaq @reply me on Twitter. Hopefully Shaq reads OGHH.
If you could have this album purchased by anyone who would it be?
Shaquille O’neal.
Over Jay-Z?
Absolutely. Ideally he would hear the album and immediately reach out and be like ‘Yo Hasan, I loved the album. Listen, right now I’m working on ‘Kazaam 2’ and I want you to be a part of the project’. Of course I’d tell him yes. Who says no to Shaq Diesel?
Now that you know everything there is to know about Hasan Minhaj, hit up iTunes or Amazon and download “Leaning on Expensive Cars and Getting Paid to do It.” And if you really want to get your hands on that album art, just right-click and save.
