Arsenio Hall

Yeah, and she has these nails.

I still have a mark in my hand from Patti LaBelle.

First of all, I mean, one of the things that Paramount hated is

my audience would be predominantly black and young.

I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but it was a different kind of show.

Maya Angelou came to my room to talk to me and she came down and she told me how nervous she was.

And I offered her, I said, I got a bar and I opened this cabinet.

And she says, oh baby, I wouldn't mind having a little bit of that.

And so we had a drink and I think it was the time that we talked about

and how it was poetry set to music, but it was poetry of different poets.

While there might be a different answer to that question for each artist, like Tupac and I, we had a lot of history.

The first time I met Tupac, he was with Jada Pinkett.

It was way, way back.

And he was a dancer.

The next time he came, he came as a rapper.

The next time he came, he came as an actor.

I remember him calling me and wanting to come and just talk once because he said that he was about to do poetic justice and they wanted him to take an AIDS test.

And he said, Arsenio, am I wrong?

I shouldn't have to take an AIDS test unless I'm going to really have sex with Janet.

Being Janet Jackson.