Chris Webber on Uncle Drew, Working With Nas And Being Judged During Fab 5 Era (PT 2)

Here’s part 2 of my exclusive chat with NBA All-Star Champion and star of the hit movie UNCLE DREW—Chris Webber. We continue our talk with him opening up about why he isn’t so quick to condemn today’s generation after being judged by his peers during his time with the legendary Fab 5, fun on the set of his new star role and what it was like producing records for one of the greatest rappers of all times.

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What is one of your favorite memories working with Nas?

Wow, I would say overall my favorite memory is just being able to say I got to watch a hip-hop genius work…  you know how those late nights are… like how uninspiring it could be at 3 o’clock o’clock in the morning, you’re tired  but the beat has been playing for five hours. But to sit there and watch him write a rhyme…that’s incredible. You don’t know what he’s thinking, he’s not moving or anything he’s just staring, sitting there looking straight ahead… I cannot lie the biggest most part for me was sitting there in the presence of greatness. You know to me it would be like what’s the best moment about sitting in the studio with Bob Marley? Or Stevie Wonder? I think it’s just soaking it all in…just watching him start something and finish it and creating the classic, that’s crazy to me.

If you had to choose one artist to produce for today who would that be?

One of today’s artists today meaning… a young artist?

Or someone you admire still making music today.

I would say I like a lot of artists, but I am older… it probably have to be someone who’s been around for little while.  I know 2 Chainz and Drake aren’t young artists, but I’d say them. I would definitely have to mention somebody like J. Cole or Kendrick Lemar,  they would be dope to produce for, too.

DMC from the group Run DMC recently made a comment where he said theres ‘no balance in hip hop’ and a change needs to be made. What is your take on today’s hip hop?

Hip-hop is what it’s always been.  It’s wonderful, it’s love.. I love hip-hop.  When people judge hip hop I think they’re judging the business of hip-hop and that’s different, so I do think it needs to be diversity out there,  maybe it’s not as much diversity as when I grew up,  I don’t know who’s fault that falls on.  Back in the day I could listen to Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy, X-Clan  and MC Lyte… I don’t know if there’s that type of diversity now.  If it was a problem in basketball I listened to the players because they’re in it and there expressing what they feel…and as a fan… maybe I can’t understand it.   I think it’s cool if you just get different messages but I think it’s also who you choose to listen to.  You can go out and find a J.Cole and other rappers that are saying stuff.  I also have to say that I’m older and when I was younger in the Fab Five, the older heads didn’t respect  what we were doing and a lot of them took it as disrespect because of the way we were doing it.  They just didn’t understand it. so I never want to be too judgmental on the young heads  because it may be something they’re going through that I don’t understand. It’s it tough balance.

First Look photo of (left to right): Uncle Drew (Kyrie Irving), Lights (Reggie Miller), Boots (Nate Robinson), Big Fella (Shaquille O’Neal), Dax (Lil Rel Howery), Preacher (Chris Webber), Maya (Erica Ash), and Betty Lou (Lisa Leslie) in UNCLE DREW, a Summit Entertainment Release produced by Temple Hill in association with PepsiCo’s Creators League Studios, that will hit theaters on June 29, 2018.

Any funny stories you can share from on set filming UNCLE DREW?

It had to be frustrating for our director at times  because we were having so much fun!  I mean Courtney  like you know how it is!  The movie business is different from hip hop and sports whereas we should be professional and maybe stay in the middle and talk to each other in between long breaks.  This fool Nate Robinson brings out a backpack that has speakers in it and then he starts playing music…so what you think gonna happen?  Everybody on the court…everybody starts dancing and it was just fun because it’s four in the morning and you’re going to tell them in 10-minutes, ‘Action!’ and they have to wake up  and it’s cold and get us pumped? So it was good having that relationship every 15-minutes Nate Robinson would bring out some speakers and we start dancing so now you got a calm everybody down before we have to go do the take and the fact that Lil Rel and Nick Kroll… they were so funny that whenever we were in the scene with them, I had to talk to myself constantly and concentrate, ‘Don’t listen to them… just feel when they’re done because if you listen to them they’re going to say something different and it’s going to be funny and you’re going to laugh and mess the scene up.’  And so being with those two were really funny as well, overall it was a great experience and I was glad to be a part of it.

UNCLE DREW the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, and DVD is out now!