[INTERVIEW] Nick Cannon Doesn’t Mind Being Called the ‘Black Ryan Seacrest’

These days, Nick Cannon has his hands in EVERYTHING, wearing an array of titles. There’s TV (he’s produced and hosted Wild ‘N Out), business (he’s Chairman of TeenNick), radio (before his health scare, he had a weekly chart program called Cannon’s Countdown that was syndicated by CBS Radio), comedy (in 2011, he recorded his first-ever stand-up comedy special titled Mr. Showbiz), music (his debut self titled album was released in 2003; in 2009, he formed N’Credible Entertainment), and acting (he’s starred and co-starred in films like Drumline, Love Don’t Cost A Thing, Men In Black II, Roll Bounce, etc.). And that’s just the half of it. In between being a husband (to Mariah Carey) and a proud papa (to twins), we caught up with the 32-year-old Cali bred Hollywood hustler at his annual ‘Back to School Event‘, chatting with him about being affectionately dubbed the ‘Black Ryan Seacrest’, competing with his wife and more. Check out excerpts of our interview below.

On having his hands in everything, including Nickelodeon:

Yeah, I’m the chairman of Team Nick, so I’ve got the executive position up there. I do a little bit, I did it for myself.

On being referred to as the ‘Black Ryan Seacrest’:

Black ‘Ryan Seacrest” – is that what you’re about to say? Hey, he and I earn the same amount of money so I see why they compare – I mean, I love Ryan. I tell everybody that I’m way more talented than Ryan Seacrest though. I ain’t saying much but….

Advice that he’d give people trying to be the ‘Next Nick Cannon’:

Don’t accept ‘No”. You know what I mean? Because people told me ‘No’ all my life and it’s about perseverance and kind of – when the odds are against you, when you’re the underdog – keep on going! Figure out a way. ‘Hurdles are made to jump over’ is kind of what I say. So that’s what I do, that’s why I come out here and let people know like, “Yo, I’m your regular dude and I’m here for the community” and the way it’s like… So they can feel like, “Yo, I can do that! I can do what Nick does!” and I want people to know that they could be me and even better!

On how his health currently is:

My health is good! I mean, I’m feeling alright! I hope I look alright? That’s all that matters. The doctor said that I’ve got a clean bill of health so we’re rocking.

If he and his wife are competitive, both working in the entertainment industry:

No, we ain’t competitive at home. We’re just about having a good time as a family. You know what I mean? I’m my wife’s No. 1 fan and vice-versa and we just embrace whatever projects that we’re – each other’s working on, whenever we can fit in. That’s how we do and a lot of time if it’s just support, then that’s more than enough.

Check out the full interview below.