Coming 2 America Update: Coming 2 America’s post-credits sequence was a sly nod to another of Eddie Murphy’s latest films for die-hard fans. Along with Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, and Sharsenio Headley, the actor made his appearance as Akeem Joffer in the long-awaited successor to the hit 1988 film. Although Coming 2 America received mixed feedback, fans of the first film appreciated the sequel’s inclusion of virtually all of the original cast.
Although most actors in the film aged in a realistic manner, the My T Sharp’s barbershop gang had the strangest character re-enactments. The elderly roles of Clarence, Saul, Sweets, and Morris magically return to their posts in Coming 2 America, played cartoonishly by Murphy, Hall, and Clint Smith. And Saul, an elderly Jewish man portrayed by Murphy, was the key subject of the film’s post-credits sequence.
In the sequence, Saul is sitting next to Baba the Witch Doctor (played by Hall), who is singing a monkey rhyme. “Way down in the forest deep, the lion jumped on the symbolizing monkey’s feet,” the song went. ‘Hey, you idiot, can’t you see?’ said the monkey. You’re on my goddamned bottom!'” Saul’s little nursery rhyme obviously confuses Baba, so Saul immediately changes the topic to Baba’s apparel, redoing a line from the initial.
The Post-Credits Scene in Coming 2 America
To the untrained eye, these may have seemed to be meaningless lyrics performed by a weird, ageless old man, but it was also a sweet nod to Coming to America, in which Saul similarly finishes the film with an offbeat joke. More specifically, the scene is a nod to Murphy’s Golden Globe-nominated movie Dolemite is My Name since the mantra is part of Dolemite’s classic “Signifying Monkey.”
The single was made popular by comedian Rudy Ray Moore, who developed the character of Dolemite for film and standup routines and was depicted by Murphy in the upcoming 2019 movie as Moore.
Saul, as played by Murphy, narrates the same phrases from the Dolemite sketch to a seemingly perplexed Baba. It should be remembered that the song’s lyrics are not appropriate for the PG-13 certificate that Coming 2 America received.
The addition of “Signifying Monkey” acted as a reference to the films’ associations, which started with producer Craig Brewer. Thematically, the two films intersected, both on and off camera, thanks to the similar comic direction. Both films offered Murphy the chance to play larger-than-life characters, something he excels at in his satire.
Throughout his life, he got to play the raunchy, but the musical, titular role, as well as the quick tongue of Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite. Murphy played a variety of spirited roles in Coming to 2 America, from shortly King Akeem Joffer to smart barber Clarence. The decision to make one of these classic characters (Saul) deliver the lines of Dolemite’s trademark rhyme was deliberate and in harmony with Murphy’s own style of humor.
