# Are their any black comedians whose material doesn't revolve around blackness itself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554 "2004-03-16T01:57:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/21 "2004-03-16T15:45:48Z")
Wanda Sykes in the standup specials I’ve seen doesn’t do much (if any) racial material. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/22 "2004-03-16T16:06:06Z")
There also was a universal appeal to the humor of Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/23 "2004-03-16T17:03:56Z")
> [@schplebordnik](#): > > Don’t think George Wallace (the comedian) does a lot of “black” humor. George Wallace (the Governor) did a lot of “black” material, but it wasn’t supposed to be funny. Good god. That is hilarious. I about plotzed. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/24 "2004-03-16T17:21:48Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > […]his skits revolved around things like trick-or-treating on Halloween and how Prince would place an order at McDonalds. How \*would \* Prince place an order at McDonalds? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/25 "2004-03-16T17:29:25Z")
IIRC, Bill Cosby once related a story about when he was first starting out, someone challenged him to do a set that had nothing to do with the color of his skin. The results: Noah’s Ark… and the rest of his career. Zooba - Zooba _ping_ Noah? Still gets me. ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/26 "2004-03-16T17:29:51Z")
> [@cactus waltz](#): > > How \*would \* Prince place an order at McDonalds? 🙂 If it’s anything like how he plays b-ball, make sure your people are there to witness it. You can’t make this shit up. [/charlie murphyism] ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/27 "2004-03-16T17:35:14Z")
The UK’s most famous black comedian is Lenny Henry, who does mainly situational stuff, with only very occasional references to race. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/28 "2004-03-16T17:40:19Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Wanda Sykes in the standup specials I’ve seen doesn’t do much (if any) racial material. I saw part of her “Tongue Untied” special yesterday, and I don’t recall any racial stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/29 "2004-03-16T18:22:34Z")
So, have you noticed how North Edinburgh golfers putt like this … and South Edinburgh golfers putt like this? Oh, I see – Willie’s not funny unless he’s down on his knees, scooping up your little brats’ puke! ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/30 "2004-03-16T18:23:22Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > What else is a comedian supposed to joke about if not his own life? No, the OP makes a valid observation. A lot of black comedians today seem incapable of avoiding openers along the lines of, “Why do white people…” and, “White people, you know I love y’all, but…” They know a white joke will invariably kill, tapping, as it does, both white guilt and black rage. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/31 "2004-03-16T18:35:43Z")
I don’t know that she’s _never_ done a race joke, but most of Whoopi Goldberg’s comedy seems to be independent of the color of her skin. Or at least, most that I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/32 "2004-03-16T18:39:38Z")
> [@Moody Bastard](#): > > No, the OP makes a valid observation. A lot of black comedians today seem incapable of avoiding openers along the lines of, “Why do white people…” and, “White people, you know I love y’all, but…” They know a white joke will invariably kill, tapping, as it does, both white guilt and black rage. Well IMO its casue a lot of these comidians are lazy as all hell. They take a look at Eddie in his Prime, and think “hey if I say ‘fuck’ every other word and make fun of white people I’ll be rich just like eddie.” What they miss is that all of those curses served a purpose, it was all apart of painting a picutre and great story telling. Eddie him self said > [@](#): > > "you can’t come out here and do a curse show. I can’t be like “Felt forum mother f **ker, c** kp\ ***y. goodnight. suck my d** k good night” Yet some people do just that :rolleyes: > [@kasuo](#): > > If it’s anything like how he plays b-ball, make sure your people are there to witness it. You can’t make this shit up. [/charlie murphyism] Thanks to Dave Chapelle I can never again listen to Rick James and not laugh. Damn Darkness!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/33 "2004-03-16T18:45:54Z")
Just a second (or third or whatever) for Bill Cosby. I own about three of his albums and heard him live just this past year, and I can’t really recall ANY racial focus in his comedy. And it’s some of the most hilarious stuff ever. (Sports, the album, is especially good, in my opinion). ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/34 "2004-03-17T17:52:37Z")
I’ll “fourth” it. I remember listening to his album “It’s True” over and over when I was a kid. His riff about Spanish Fly > [@](#): > > So one day the director says, “Boys, _I Spy_ is going to Spain”. > [2 1/2 beats silence] > A childhood dream come true! So I say to Bill, because Bill wasn’t from my neighborhood, _he_ don’t know, hey Bill, know what I’m gonna get while we’re there? Bill says, Spanish Fly. > > So…I figure there’s gotta be some guy five thousand years old, looks fourteen, wandering the world hanging out on corners saying, Hey, you guys know about Spanish Fly? was a work of art. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/35 "2004-03-17T17:56:28Z")
Oops. I don’t remember the name of his costar on _I Spy_, but it obviously wasn’t “Bill”. I’m sure you can adjust. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/36 "2004-03-18T00:09:33Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > There also was a universal appeal to the humor of Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and Redd Foxx. That’s because their humor is about sex… and race. In fact, Foxx was one of the dirtiest comedians of his era (pre-Sanford and Son). Let’s see if I can recall some racial+sexual jokes from these guys: (It’s been a looong time, so I’m forced to paraphrase these jokes. Spoiled for content.) [spoiler]Pryor: “So these two brotha’s are crossing the George Washington bridge on their way to the World’s Biggest Penis contest when they gotta piss. So they whip it out, hang it over the side and let go. One brotha says to the other ‘damn, this water’s cold!’ [beat] And the other says, ‘yea, and it’s deep, too!’” Foxx: “Brothas love pussy so much, all you gotta do is put pussy on the moon, and the brothas would _drive_ up there to get it.” Murphy: Just about the entire “Nutty Professor” movie.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/37 "2004-03-18T01:08:29Z")
> [@Iacob\_Matthew](#): > > Every Sperm is sacred, every sperm is gooooooood… > No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition! > He’s a lumberjack and that’s okay! He sleeps all night, and he works all day. > > Or, if you actually want to SEE them, go to a video store, and look on the back of the box. Every sperm is sacred- a joke about the Irish, how is that not British? (I’m not saying that the song is just a cheap dig at the Irish, but there is that aspect.) Spanish Inquisition- Spanish Armada, the traditional rivalry with Spain… The spanish inquisition was one of the things about Catholicism that the British wagged their fingers at. It wouldn’t be as funny if no one knew about the Spanish Inquisition. Lumberjack- If I’m not mistaken the guys in the back are mounties and the opening line is “I never wanted to do this in the first place! I… I wanted to be… A LUMBERJACK! Leaping from tree to tree! As they float down the mighty rivers of _British Columbia!_ With my best girl by my side!” Canada, that’s British. It’s part of the Commonnwealth. ## So I’d say that you can find a connection to Britishness in those skits. As for the OP, I have something to say about that too. It seems to me that being white it the default setting in our culture. If you are a white comedian making jokes about your life you just tell the jokes and there’s no need to draw attention to your whiteness. Your jokes are still about being white in the same way that a black comedians jokes are about being black, it just doesn’t get noticed as much. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/38 "2004-03-18T01:36:16Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > Every sperm is sacred- a joke about the Irish, how is that not British? (I’m not saying that the song is just a cheap dig at the Irish, but there is that aspect.) How was that sketch about the Irish? It was set in Yorkshire! There are Catholics outside of Ireland, y’know. Still, in answer to the question about Monty Python doing something “not British,” how about the whole of the movie _Life of Brian_? ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/39 "2004-03-18T03:49:07Z")
Most of the black comedians I’ve seen base their entire act on comparisons between white and black people. That’s why I prefer to watch Latino comedians. They prefer to make fun of their own culture. Since I live in a city that is about 70% Hispanic, I get most of the jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linus_Van_Pelt)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554/40 "2004-03-18T08:26:48Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Oops. I don’t remember the name of his costar on _I Spy_, but it obviously wasn’t “Bill”. > > I’m sure you can adjust. Robert Culp. I believe in the routine he calls him “Bob”. Although it was not the central focus of his comedy, Cosby would occasionally make jokes that referenced the color of his skin. In one bit, he’s talking about his girls who, having just learned about the dangers of smoking, started chanting to a smoker in the next car, “You’re gonna die, you’re gonna die.” The guy looked up and yelled, “Oh, God! Panthers!” and drove off (OK, it loses a lot in the re-telling). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-their-any-black-comedians-whose-material-doesnt-revolve-around-blackness-itself/234554.md?page=1)