Eddie Murphy Talks Possible New Music & Why It Won’t Be With Megan Thee Stallion
Eddie Murphy is, of course, a bona fide movie star -- and there was a time in the 1980s when he was a bona fide pop star too.
Eddie Murphy is, of course, a bona fide movie star, as evidenced by the highly anticipated sequel to his 1988 film Coming to America out next week. And there was a time in the 1980s when he was a bona fide pop star too.
The comedian rose all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the Rick James-produced jam “Party All the Time” back in 1985, and he also scored a No. 2 hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 1989 with “Put Your Mouth On It.” So why hasn’t he released an album since 1993’s Love’s Alright? According to the man himself, releasing music is a young man’s game.
In a March 11 appearance on Tamron Hall — which you can preview exclusively on Billboard below — Murphy and his daughter Bella talk about Coming 2 America (out March 5 on Amazon Prime) and whether Eddie would ever make a return to music.
“I stopped putting music out, but I still do music all the time,” Murphy says, adding that he has a “vault” of unheard songs. But when it comes to releasing music, “That’s kind of, like, young folks do that,” he says. “The Rolling Stones ain’t putting no records out! They’re playing their old tracks. Nobody wants to hear the Rolling Stones’ new sh–.” (Not to correct Mr. Murphy, but The Stones just topped the Rock Digital Song Sales chart in April 2020 with “Living in a Ghost Town,” so people are still listening!)
When Hall asks Bella whether she’d like to hear her dad on a song with a contemporary chart-topper like Megan Thee Stallion, Eddie interjects: “Megan Thee Stallion?! I’m 59, I can’t be doing nothing with no Megan Thee Stallion,” he laughs. “You know how crazy I would look doing something with Megan Thee Stallion? I’m gonna be 60 in April. I can’t be having Megan Thee Stallion doing her stuff and I’m standing next to her with my old ass playing my guitar.
“I have my first grandchild,” he adds of his son Miles’ baby girl. “Once you’re a grandpa, you can’t do no tracks with Megan Thee Stallion.”
Watch a preview of the interview, airing March 11, below. For Tamron Hall times and channels, visit TamronHallShow.com.