Childhood & Early Life
Michael was born in Ghana, West Africa, on November 28, 1972. His father worked in a theater company, and his mother worked in a secondary school.
Michael’s father always wanted his son to work in movies. He thus enrolled Michael into acting classes at an early age.
Michael’s childhood was not very cushy. His parents had a meagre income, but that did not stop Michael from pursuing his dreams.
Blackson moved to the US to be an actor at the tender age of 13. He often noticed that other kids treated him weirdly. With time, he realized that they were just being kids and that he needed to work on himself to gain some confidence.
He continued his struggle while living in Philadelphia. He worked as a pizza-delivery guy, and one of his co-workers suggested that he go on stage.
The co-worker encouraged him to try his luck in comedy, since his monologues and sketches were mind-blowing. He was a coach at the ‘Philadelphia Community College’ and even helped Michael write his first comedy script.
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Career
Michael made his debut as a comedian at the old ‘Comedy Works’ in Philadelphia. Soon, he started performing in various clubs and bars in Philadelphia.
His initial gigs made him popular with people, and that boosted his confidence to perform better. After being appreciated for his acts and monologues, Michael started participating in various comedy competitions.
His first known participation was at the ‘1993 Schlitz Malt Liquor Comedy Tour’ in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, followed by the ‘1996 Urban Comedy Festival’ in New York City. He later competed at the ‘Laffapolooza Comedy Festival’ in Atlanta.
In 2001, he participated in the ‘Bay Area Black Comedy Competition’ in Oakland. His popularity soared when he decided to move to New York to expand his show business.
His performances charmed the audience. After becoming a successful comedian, Michael discovered his talent for acting, too.
Interestingly, he bagged his big break as an actor during one of his performances, at a Los Angeles comedy club. During the show, actor and director Ice Cube noticed his extraordinary and effortless acting skills.
Although he was at the event to watch comedian Mike Epps’s performance, Ice Cube ended up inviting Michael to audition for one of his productions. The result turned out to be quite unexpected for Michael.
He ended up getting a role in a film that was to be produced by Ice Cube’s production company, ‘Cubevision.’ Michael was already known as ‘The African King of Comedy,’ and he now aspired to be an actor.
He made his film debut with the comedy ‘Next Friday’ in 2000. He starred alongside Ice Cube, Mike Epps, John Witherspoon, Don “DC” Curry, and Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr. The movie was a sequel to the 1995 film ‘Friday.’
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His role of the ‘Angry African Man Customer’ was well-noted and helped establish his acting career in Hollywood. In 2005, he released a sketch-comedy CD named ‘Modasucka: Welcome to America.’
His CD became a hit and gave him another career boost. The same year, he also appeared on the hit TV comedy ‘30 Rock,’ an American comedy show created by actor and comedian Tina Fey.
The Emmy-winning show starred Tina Fey, along with Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer, and Scott Adsit. Michael’s appearance on the hit show paved his way to better acting opportunities.
Michael also appeared in P Diddy’s ‘Bad Boys of Comedy’ on ‘HBO’ the same year. He also got an opportunity to star in a commercial for ‘Comedy Central’s sketch-comedy TV series ‘Chappelle’s Show,’ hosted by Dave Chappelle.
In 2007, he appeared in another movie, ‘Repos,’ alongside Master P, who was also the writer and producer of the film. In 2010, Michael made an appearance in ‘B.o.B’s music video ‘I’ll Be in the Sky.’
In 2011, Michael appeared on the American talk show ‘The Mo’Nique Show,’ hosted by comedian and actor Mo’Nique.
His appearance on the show got him trending on ‘Twitter’ and brought him the attention he deserved. He also appeared on the ‘TBS’ sitcom ‘Are We There Yet?’ The sitcom was based on the hit 2005 movie of the same name starring Ice Cube. He then appeared on ‘Shaquille O'Neal All Star Comedy Jam.’
He also appeared on the ‘Starz’ show ‘Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand-up.’ His appearance garnered 3 million views on ‘YouTube.’
In 2016, he appeared in his next movie, ‘Meet the Blacks.’ The movie starred Mike Epps, Gary Owen, George Lopez, and Zulay Henao. It was a comedy–horror movie and a parody of the 2013 horror film ‘The Purge.’
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Michael played ‘Mr. Wooky’ in the film. The movie was also Charlie Murphy’s last film before his death.
In the beginning of 2018, ‘BET’ announced Michael as the official host of the ‘BET Social Awards.’ The award ceremony was held on February 11, 2018.
Michael has big plans for his future, and he intends to do more films and sitcoms. However, he promises to never stop being a stand-up comedian.
Personal Life
Michael was rumored to be dating Grammy-winning songwriter and singer Georgia Reign for a long time. However, he was accused of cheating on her, as he was once seen with a mystery woman in a hotel.
The allegations were later dismissed by Michael. There is no information about his current relationship status, with Georgia or with any other woman, since he keeps his personal life very private.
His sexuality has also been questioned from time to time. This had Michael clear the rumors for good, by “tweeting” that he would “never be broke, gay or light skin.”
