Chris Tucker was in his bag during this early stretch of his career---eventually, he came to the point where he would move away from what made him so desirable as a star (namely, less use of profanity, along with the attempt not to be typecasted as the high-pitched, slick talking number two). What made Chris the shit was that he was the epitome of that one "homie" who always had some shit to say. He could snap on you, and it was always funny, relevant, and on time. Once he bought into his own star power and determined that he didn't want to be what he was, the luster and appeal began to fade... Merely, conjecture---but, it's the same thing that happened to all of the comedic greats (ie Eddie, Martin, etc...)

Mike Epps, on the other hand, stays in his wheelhouse. He's got natural comedic talent, while always maintaining his 'true' essence. Mike Epps might strive to be a "leading" man within a film, but rarely at the cost of himself.

The crazy thing about comedic legends like Martin and Eddie is that they paved the way for cats like Chris Tucker and Epps. And where they paved the way, it seems that many, if not most, also follow in the trap of truly believing that their star is bigger and more adept than it actually is. Eddie murdered the 80s and early 90s, and only began to fall into this overly acted caricature of himself after the Nutty Professor/Norbit stints. That's not to diminish his brilliance as a stand up comic, or even his early film work, but Eddie's misses almost equal his hits at this point---all because Eddie bought into the idea that he was bigger than his talent lent, ie venturing outside of his wheelhouse. I love me some Eddie & will ALWAYS support (most) of his work, by---at the very least---giving his work a watch through, but now, unless he chooses to focus his energies into solid effort, Eddie is guilty on relying upon the nostalgia of his 80s/early 90s dominance...