Affion Crockett recalled running into Jay-Z at former President Obama’s 2008 inauguration and his response to his iconic impression of the rapper. The comedian spoke about the incident during a recent interview on The Breakfast Club, admitting that he was afraid he was going to get slapped at first.
To Crockett’s surprise, Jay-Z loved the impression and the two hit it off.
“Hov loves the impression. The first time I met him, I thought I was going to get slapped, I ain’t going to lie,” he admitted. “I’m in the back … and then all of a sudden a wave of people come in down the stairs, and it’s Jay and his entourage, they about to go to the stage.”
Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images
He continued: “He sees me and starts walking over to me. You know how in the movies when the camera’s coming towards you and you start to get smaller? That’s how I felt. I was like, ‘Aww shit.’ He walks up to me and he extends his hand, he’s like, ‘Yo, you be doing the Jigga man. I like that!’”
From there, the two interacted throughout the night and even filmed a video together. In the end, Crockett says he’s got nothing but respect for Jay.
“That whole night, he kept walking up to me, making sure I was good,” he added. “Mary J. Blige was on stage and he was like, ‘I bet you can’t sing like that!’ He was really cool! And then we did a drop on video and he showed the love and he made me do the laugh in front of him. Nothing but respect, man.”
Crockett recently hosted the reunion special for the TV series Martin, which aired on BET in June.
Check out Crockett’s comments on The Breakfast Club below.
[Via]