u/Idris_Kalah

I remember watching the funny af competition on Netflix and seeing that one of the underrated comics ( Ron Taylor) in probably the past 8 years was on there. And when he won the competition I was glad. Frankly I didn’t think he’d win it and his attitude wasn’t one of somebody who thought they could win, but he did. I’m glad that he’ll get a bigger fan base now and when his special drops it’ll increase his popularity to new heights.

But it got me thinking that there hasn’t really been a
quintessential black comic in almost 20 years. Every decade since the 60s had one Cosby 60s,Pryor 70s,Eddie 80s(which is the ceiling),Rock 90s. Then comes the 2000s where you can probably say Chapelle’s work up until about ‘04 put him at #1. which he rightfully deserves, but the rise of Katt Williams in the second half of that decade (and Chapelle going to the outskirts a bit ) could make an argument too.

Now after that I can’t really think of a revered black comedian that can be put as that decade’s black comedian. Like I understand what Kevin hart did in the 2010s with his run of movies and playing the Hollywood game and really making himself a robust brand that could be used for marketing purposes, but if anything he’s not really one I would say is the black comedian for the 2010s, but if there was one it would’ve probably still been the return of Chapelle.

I do think maybe if someone like Patrice O’Neal hadn’t passed and him being active during the time when podcast and social media was just becoming omnipresent. We might be looking at him as the quintessential black comic for the 2010s(no matter how much pushback he probably would’ve gotten for his opinions)
but if anything it would still be Chappelle.

I’m only mentioning it because there’s always been one during the modern era of comedy. And ever since comedians started relying on social media and not the industry’s conventional system I do think we’ve been deprived of the black comedian for the 2020s. Yes, everyone can just self fund their own special and put it out on YouTube and if you’re really that good then your work will speak for itself. For comedy as a whole it worked for many(Shane Gillis, Ali Siddiq, Ryan Davis). There’s black comics who’ve put out great work on the internet and you wonder maybe if it was on Netflix they’d have more mass appeal.

Then I look at the podcast landscape, roaming with comedians. And there isn’t a top black comedian podcast(Like Rogan or Theo von). I mean, there’s 85 south and certain ex athletes who have great podcasts, but they don’t really draw in guests that I think can come from different backgrounds/fields on a consistent basis. In fact the one that’s probably most respected in the culture is Club Shay Shay(Ex NFL star Shannon Sharpe’s podcast ). And I’m glad he does invite the OG comedians(def Jam era and comic view), Social media comics, streamers and current comedians. That allows different viewpoints on life and comedy.

I do think though had someone like Patrice O’Neal not died we might be looking at a person which could’ve gave us one of the best podcast show of all time as he was so multifaceted and really checked all the boxes of being a great podcast host. It would be interesting to see how that would’ve impacted podcasting and probably the so called “Culture” as a whole.

But then I think about how everyone’s online preference and media diet is so tailored nowadays that maybe there can’t be and will probably never be another black comic where everyone can pinpoint and say “Yeah no one’s doing it better than him ” again. I hope there is but as of right now I really can’t think of one.

I watched the interview with Dave Chapelle and Michelle Obama and there’s a part where Dave gives Patrice his flowers for being a brilliant comic (which he is ) but that they never really saw eye to eye. And it got me thinking how Dave’s laissez faire attitude adds to his personality and brand, but if Patrice was around he would’ve operated in the same way leading me to think maybe Dave would’ve lost some edge points because there was another cowboy who oozed the same kind of aura.

Not only that but I do feel although Dave started getting more real with social issues and a bit preachy with his brand when he came back. Patrice always was talking about current events with a thought provoking perspective, I do feel like he would’ve been more involved in debates or things of that nature as he thrived in conditions like that, but then again the PC cops could’ve easily put him in cultural jail as he started to find his stride around that time.

Yes obviously he would’ve had one of the most influential podcasts of all time and a cult like following would that have been good for comedy? I’m not sure. I do know his sheer presence would definitely shifted the comedy landscape from what it is today. Maybe we don’t see the rise of Tim Dillon or the reach people like Rogan have in the podcast scene. Or the manosphere (as he was the one to kind of coin red pill with his black Phillip show).

But that Patrice’s voice and thoughts alone would’ve been gold for a generation. I believe more so than his comedy and I believe on par with Dave’s voice.As people would want to hear his perspective.

I personally watched this special like 4-5 times and I do think it’s his best yet. It’s definitely up there with some of the best debut specials but can Shane still have that hunger that he had leading up to making that special. I know everything leading up to “Live in Austin” helped that special but even without it that hour had legs and it ran.

Shane’s sort of like Chappelle or Norm where there just naturally funny and they know they are, so there’s a level of laziness they can atrophy. And sometimes I do feel he isn’t really trying his best.

Comedy wise he’s already cementing himself as one of the greats with the sketch show, series and his pod.

It would really suck if “Live in Austin” was his best and everything he releases after “ beautifuldogs” is just canon fodder.