He may be the butt of many jokes about his height, but Kevin Hart is the one having the last laugh. In 2016 he was listed as the world’s highest paid comedians, and although he has lost that top spot in 2017 according to Forbes’ list of top paid comedians, he is still firmly in the top 10 and doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.
Kevin is everywhere: film, TV, live stand-up shows and even in commercials for the popular Madden NFL video game. In an effort to show us he literally does not sleep, he has a new project that is giving fans a much more personal insight into his like: an audiobook memoir called ‘I Can’t Make This Up’ out now on Audible.
If you’ve ever watched one of his many stand-up shows, Kevin doesn’t hold back in sharing funny anecdotes and stories about his family, but in this audiobook, we get to hear even more. There are also some sobering moments which don’t necessarily elicit the kind of belly laughs normally associated with his brand of comedy, but they offer insight into just how hard he had to hustle to get to the top.
Hailing from North Philadelphia, he describes being born an accident, unwanted by his parents. His father was a drug addict who was in and out of jail. His brother was a crack dealer and petty thief. And his mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys.
In his literary debut, he takes the listener on a journey through what his life was, what it is today, and how he’s overcome each challenge to become the man he is today. A man who has sold out many football stadium-sized shows which have netted him over $3.5 billion. Not too shabby for a guy from Philly who had a rough upbringing.
Like many people who have had to conquer greater odds than most to become incredibly successful and inspiring, Kevin’s audiobook is a collection of some of the best life lessons he has learned along the way, which he shares with fans in his signature comedic flair, at some points even ad-libbing his way through stories to give listeners something exclusive you won’t get from reading the regular book yourself.
Just like a book has chapters, Hart sees life as a collection of chapters that each person gets to write for himself or herself.
“Not only do you get to choose how you interpret each chapter, but your interpretation writes the next chapter. So why not choose the interpretation that serves your life the best?” he said.
These days Kevin Hart is more than just your average comedian, he is well on his way to mogul-dom by dominating a number of mediums and outlets with his name, which could also be considered a brand at this stage. And although he is busy on his world-domination track, it makes sense that he took the time to narrate this book himself. Listening to him tell his life story and share valuable lessons makes you feel as if you are sitting right next to him at one of his sell-out stand-up shows. This was entirely intentional.
“I can have anybody narrate my book. But if I’m going to narrate my book, I’m going to narrate my book. I’m going to give you a show-like performance within the narration, where you are so intrigued, you don’t want to press the stop button,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
Whether you are a die-hard Kevin Hart fan or unfamiliar with his work, you will love what you hear when you download ‘I Can’t Make This Up’. Don’t have an Audible account? Sign up today for a free 30 day trial and get listening! Want to hear a snippet in advance? Check out the Soundcloud clips below. The first is a more serious clip where he gets candid about what life was like after his mom died, and the bottom embed is a childhood memory filled with the kind of humor we know and love about the comedian:
This is a sponsored conversation written by us on behalf of Audible. The opinions and text are all ours.
