Comedian Russell Peters is in the middle of his "Notorious" world tour, an homage to his favorite rapper, the Notorious B.I.G. He took a break from the stage to talk with Tell Me More about his success as a comedian, and growing up in Toronto as the son of Indian parents.
NPR guest host Celeste Headlee asked the funny man how his parents feel about the mimicking accents and the humor inspired by race, class and culture that audiences know him for. Peters said while the stories he tells are about his father, the accent is based on someone else. And none of his impressions are meant to make fun of people, but to celebrate our differences.
Listen to the interview to hear Peters explain how to make an Indian mad and why he gets his news from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. What you won't get to hear, but I did, is Peters rapping some Biggie Smalls lyrics after he was done with his official interview. I was hoping it would make the cut, but ah, well.
Even though Jon Stewart is his Steve Inskeep, Peters makes a headline today for his NPR love.
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