Cheo Hodari Coker

Television has power.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I'm a hip-hop showrunner.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Harlem is filled with moments of history.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

My grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman. He flew with the 100th Fighter Squadron.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I will always get a certain thrill of watching bullets bounce off Luke Cage.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Black writers seldom get the opportunity to write superhero stories.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

One of my biggest influences, of course, is David Simon and his work on 'The Wire.'

— Cheo Hodari Coker

'Clockers' - as much as it is a very focused crime drama, it sprawls.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Some people, when they get criticism, they shy away from it.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Hip-hop is as much an attitude and perspective as it is a music form.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

My era was '90s Carhartt-and-Timberlands hip-hop. That's my rock n' roll.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

The reason that Shaft has a dominant theme song is because James Bond has a dominant theme song.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I was just really happy to see Barry [Jenkins] and Mahershala [Ali] and everyone else involved with "Moonlight" get their moment.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Because I'm a former critic, I view criticism differently than most do. I can take criticism, but if you're going to eviscerate…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Even though I'm not Jamaican, I've always loved Jamaican culture because, to me, it's the island of magic, it's the island of…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I was a huge fan of comics: not necessarily 'Luke Cage.' I was more of an 'X-Men' head. I was always more…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

With 'Luke Cage,' we all, as a collective wanted to tell the truest story that we could but, at the same time,…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Human sexuality is not always about being labeled. It's about having a human moment, an emotion.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

To me, Harlem is one of the most important places on the earth, particularly when it comes to talking about African Americans.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

When you're a black superhero, you can't erase the notion that you're black. If you're black, living in the community, and you…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

'The Wire' is, by far, my favorite television show of all time. And I've always said that my aspirations for 'Luke Cage'…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

This is a country that I love and that I believe in, but at the same time also believe that you should,…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

For 'Luke Cage,' of course, I was familiar with Power Man and Iron Fist. I read the comics. That was really more…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

One's ability to communicate a story visually, honestly, is a bridge of communication that transcends language because the true mark of a…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I wanted Season 2 of Luke Cage to be Ice Cube's 'Death Certificate,' or Fugees' 'The Score,' or Public Enemy's 'It Takes…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I've just never seen a live event [like Oscar] where the emotional swings - it was just stunning.And it was interesting because,…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

It's much easier to talk about racism when you're able to use mutants as a metaphor. People would much rather talk about…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

If you think about black art, all black art, whether it's Invisible Man or whether it's James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Zora Hurston,…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Bushmaster was such a great adversary, and Mustafa Shakir, just the way that he embodies him in terms of the power of…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

You know, "Moonlight" deserves best picture [on Oscar]. What I mean by tarnished is the moment - being able to be in…

— Cheo Hodari Coker

'Southland' was really where I learned so much about drama.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

For me, hip-hop has always been black superhero music.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

I finally achieved my dream by being a TV showrunner.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

People underestimate the complexity of comic books.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

When you scratch the soul of hip-hop, you find R&B and funk but also reggae.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

The first 'Creed' is one of the best movies I've ever seen.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

One of the things that's really the cornerstone of '90s hip-hop is sampling.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

When you're a black superhero you can't erase the notion that you're black.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

Harlem has always been the nexus of music, politics, culture, criminal figures.

— Cheo Hodari Coker

For me, I was never really obsessed with Luke Cage. My obsession was Wolverine.

— Cheo Hodari Coker