Rickey Smiley Talks His Childhood and New Season of ‘Rickey Smiley For Real’

By: Kira Demund, contributing intern (@kiracarinaa)

Hot wings, *Coming To America* references, and a few occasional gutter balls made for a great night yesterday at the Rickey Smiley Foundation’s celebrity bowling tournament. Rickey Smiley and the Dish Nation Family went head to head with Atlanta’s Boom 102.9’s Ed Lover and Monie Love.

The event took place at Slingshot Entertainment Center located in Norcross, GA and was in honor of the Rickey Smiley Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization born to give back to the community. Among those who showed their support was rapper Bone Crusher, Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’s Karlie Redd, singer Bobby V, former Atlanta Housewife Lisa Wu Hartwell, Tameka Foster, and many more. The event will air as a part of Rickey Smiley’s television show, “Rickey Smiley For Real.”

Stacks Magazine got a chance to catch up with the hilarious Rickey Smiley and learn more about the show.

Stacks Magazine: How does this season stand out from last season?

Rickey Smiley: Because it’s a lot of drama, a lot going on. I got nephews skipping school and acting up. I think when the first season aired, it went to the boys head and they haven’t been right since. That’s why he ends up going in that wall. That’s why we’re trending on Twitter tonight, because I had to put one through the wall.

SM: So we saw in the season premiere that your nephew Craig threw a party without your permission. Did you ever sneak out the house or throw any parties when you were his age?

RS: No. I didn’t do that, I was too scared. I didn’t do that to my grandad. I was very respectful. I had my days where I would slam the door, talk back a little bit, you know. But the kind of stuff Craig and Malik do? I never would have thought to do anything like that. Ever.

SM: So you were a pretty good kid?

RS: I was mischievous but I wasn’t a liar.

SM: What can viewers expect overall from this season?

RS: More drama! You have to watch because we have a lot of stuff going on.

SM: How can your fans support the Rickey Smiley Foundation?

RS: Make sure you go to RickeySmileyFoundation.org and it will have all the
details and information.

“Rickey Smiley For Real” airs Tuesdays on TV One.

Here are a few photos from the Rickey Smiley Foundation Celebrity Bowling event:

Photo credit: MIE Images/Marcus Ingram