Chris Rock

[.:.impossible]

Man, Chris Rock put on one hell of a 90 minute act last night. Did anybody catch this? I taped it. He's got his shit together.

[rachel]

I am still laughing; my sides still hurt. I caught it at the last minute and didn't even think to turn on the VCR. He really covered just about everything, very poignantly at times. He did a number on my emotional responses when dealing with the James Byrd tragedy.

[RainyDay]

I was honestly disappointed. At times, it felt like he was preaching or lecturing. And I thought his bit about rappers was an interesting change in tune. In a previous HBO special, he said that Tupac and Biggee were not assassinated. He said "those n*****rs got shot!" And he didn't convey much sympathy. Now, he's trying to build a case that no one cares about who kills rappers but if someone was killing rock stars, Bruce Springsteen would have cops circling his house. If rock stars were trying to kill each other I suppose this position would have some authenticity

But Tupac's killing has been linked to the LAPD, whose off duty officers provided security detail for Suge Knight's criminal enterprise, also known as Death Row Records. There has been so much ink and celluloid about this issue I was really surprised to hear Rock come off the wall like that on this issue. Yes, a bunch of folks saw Tupac get shot, but no one is willing to say what they saw. That's not the cops fault. And no one is going to talk if this mess involves the cops protecting one of their own. Seems to me, there is much more material to mine in the LAPD angle than simple indifference to rappers' murders.

In the current Rolling Stone, Rock talks about how he wasn't EXACTLY threatened but how many folks told him he shouldn't have made certain comments in earlier comedy routines about rap artists. In light of that, it felt like he was ducking and covering his ass in this routine.

I dunno, maybe I had unrealistic expectations. With all the stuff going on in the world and in the US, to spend so much time on rap ( he did like three different riffs on rap--murders, rap is hard to defend, and women who don't think rap songs are about them) seemed like a real waste of time. And I confess that part of it is probably generational. At the end of Rock's routine, I found myself really missing Richard Pryor more than ever and wishing he was able to work.

[Brandon Burke]

I would like to see it but I don't have HBO. the other day, when I read that he named the special after that Bone Crusher song, I just about spit my coffee across the table. That's pretty funny, man.

Generally speaking, the thing that bothers me about Chris Rock is the way that he rather self-conciously *goes there*. It's as if he's elbowing you as he's speaking just so you know that he took whatever topic he's on as far as he did. This is to say, past the level of gerenally assumed comfortability. It's like he's saying, "I'm crazy, man! I'll say it! I don't give a damn!" This is all fine and good. It's very difficult to offend me. Problem is, whenever he does this it usually doesn't result in anything terribly offensive or insightful. Just in-your-face and lacking in sublety and tact.

[Tangent: I have this same problem with Mike Myers, though quite obviously in a different way. Myers makes too many mugs to the camera and goofy winces. I'm beginning to think that he's unable of doing something funny without letting the audience know that he just delivered a joke. I mean we got it, dude. It's not as if your particular sense of humor is so complex that we might miss something.]

On the other side of the coin--and back to Chris Rock now--I'm under the impression that Chris is probably a really good guy and someone that I'd love to go digging for 12"es with sometime. Also, I should add that I've not seen one of his specials in a few years. The above observations are drawn from what I understand of him by seeing him on a myriad of different things (his older specials, interviews, Letterman, etc).

[.:.impossible]

Unfortunately, Richard Pryor isn't in any condition to put together a 90 minute gig. I do think Chris Rock is a great piece of the Richard Pryor legacy though.

The rap material seemed almost like filler in his program. It was a small part of the performance that he probably included for a section of his audience. I'll have to watch it again. I didn't feel like he put much emphasis on it.

I do think he was preaching, and because he is not a Reverend, or a formal part of any organized church, he can preach about whatever the hell he wants to. It is wild! People listen to him like he is preaching. He is stepping up from "stand-up comic." It is a unique position that not many people can enjoy.

[RainyDay]

Don't get me wrong. I've seen Rock's earlier work and laughed my behind off. I felt like last night was about just being a shock jock. Brandon mentioned subtlety and I had written that in a sentence I deleted. Pryor could be in your face with his language but his messages were sometimes subtle. Pryor also modulated his act with quiet bits in between the raucous ones. Rock is a smart guy and last night he didn't come off as smart and that was disappointing to me.

And the last thing, I really appreciate comics who come from a self-deprecating place. It's what made Pryor so funny. He talked about other folks like a dog but saved the worst for himself. It's a way to pull the audience into a more intimate place. I never felt I connected with Rock in any way last night. When he started to talk about his daughter, he went into that ridiculousness about strippers. A daddy's job is keep his daughter off the pole? It wasn't funny to me. There were too many bits like that for me. I remember laughing in a few places but I don't even remember what about. Oh, well.

[.:.impossible]

Oh well. I definitely hear where both you and Brandon are coming from. I think he's got a long career ahead of him. I know he said New Jack City was a long time ago, but he still seems young!