The other day I was pondering who my favorite comedian was. I started going through all of the guys that I could think of, yeah to me women just aren't as funny usually. I relate to men more and surprisingly, despite being a 30-year-old white boy, I enjoy what black comedians have to offer the most.
My fondness for this type of humor started at a very young age. I can remember being 11 years old and being obsessed with Chapelle's show and Eddie Murphy's movies. These guys always made me laugh and are huge reasons why my sense of humor is how it is today.
I originally was going to make my Top 10 comedians list, but it turned out that every single one of them was black. So this ended up being a Top 10 black comedians post.
One thing I want to preface is that this is my personal list of top comedians. I was born in 1992, so people before then or when I was too young to care will not be included. I don't like to go back and watch classic stuff when there are constantly new things being released that are more on par with current events.
With that said, let's get started on my list of Top 10 black comedians.
If you know me then you had to see this one coming. The first time I ever saw Chapelle was during his brief appearance in The Nutty Professor as comedian Reggie Warrington. In his scene, the fat version of Eddie Murphy aka Sherman Klump was the target of Chapelle's brutal crowd work. Eddie then transformed into the suave version of Sherman and then made a fool of Chapelle. It was a great bit and I didn't immediately become aware of how much I would like Dave.
In 2003 Comedy Central started the first season of Chapelle's Show. It is still my favorite sketch comedy show ever. They took things so far in that show and pretty much none of their jokes would be allowed on tv today. Chapelle had unlimited characters in his arsenal. Guys like Clayton Bigsby the blind white supremacist who was black, but didn't realize it. He did hilarious iterations of Rick James, Samuel L. Jackson, and Lil' John. One of the funniest of all was the crack addict Tyrone Biggums. You've got to respect the creativity and if you are like me and loved that show, we could probably be best friends off that alone.
Chapelle focuses more now on stand-up, which he is also really great at. I don't watch a ton of stand-up these days, but I usually try to at least watch his new specials when they drop. Dave Chapelle is easily solidified as my #1 favorite comedian.
There is just something about Martin Lawrence that I love so much. The movie that made me like him the most was Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith. I died laughing dozens of times while rewatching that film constantly. My favorite scene is where he accidentally eats ecstasy at a morgue and then gets really high and lays underneath a cloth with a dead body. It's some elite-level comedy and most people think of that film as an action movie.
Life, Big Momma's House, and National Security are some of my other favorite films he was in. He worked a lot with Eddie Murphy, who is the next guy on this list.
A lot of people would put Eddie at number one, but he's third for me. I could probably move him up to two, but something told me that Martin Lawrence was funnier to me ever so slightly. Eddie Murphy was certainly more popular though. He has had so many hilarious movies. The Nutty Professor, Dr. Dolittle, Life, Daddy Day Care, Norbit, and many more. He was even the voice of Donkey from Shrek, which I'm sure we all know and love very well.
Eddie Murphy was the black comedian that I started to watch at the earliest age. I was less than 10 years old when I began to appreciate the humor in his films. I hadn't even discovered stand-up yet. Many think that is Eddie's strongest skill, his ability to be on stage and make massive crowds laugh for an hour straight effortlessly.
The pimp of comedy, Katt is to this day one of the most energetic comedians ever. He would always be sweating when on stage, but he'd also be dressed in some dope outfit every time. His hair never hailed to be crazy looking either. Out of all the actors on this list today, Katt Williams is by far the most flashy.
Although I grew up in the suburbs, Katt always did such a good job of taking you deep into bits that made you understand briefly what it was like to live in that rough urban life. All the kids at school loved Katt and I think he deserves to be noticed as a top 5 black comedian for certain.
Eddie Griffin is a crazy dude. His facial expressions are top-tier and that alone is enough to get me to laugh sometimes. My favorite role I've ever seen him play was back in this 2002 film called The New Guy. Griffin played an inmate named Luther who taught the nerdy main character how to be a badass and not take no more shit from bullies. His methods were a bit unorthodox, but they worked very well in the end. He taught the nerdy white guy DJ how to walk like a pimp and my favorite of all, this whiplash-like look that would intimidate any foe.
The Wayans family is full of comedic talent. If I had to pick only one though, it would be Marlon. Just something about this guy always makes me laugh uncontrollably.
If there is one film that I think defined my childhood the most, it would be Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. It's most commonly known simply as Don't Be A Menace. It is the most off-the-wall hood comedy ever and I absolutely love it. Marlon Wayans plays Loc Dog and my god is he funny. Both he and his brother Shawn do a great job in this film, but it is Marlon that takes the cake for me. If you have not seen this film before, then I urge you to go watch it ASAP!
The late brother to Eddie Murphy, Charlie was a common guest on the Chappelle's Show. That and a bit of his stand-up were really the only experiences I had with him, but it was enough for me to learn to love the guy. It is a shame that he passed away in 2017.
As much as I loved Chappelle's show, it was probably inevitable that Charlie Murphy would come up on this list. I'll drop my favorite scene from that show featuring Charlie. None other than Rick James BITCH!
This is another one of the guys on this list that is now dead. He passed away in 2019, but he was in plenty of great films before then. I mostly remember him as a side character that just buffed an already good movie. He was another guy that was awesome with his facial expressions and crazy characters.
This man has been in way too many funny movies for me to even begin to mention all of them. I have never really thought of him as a main character, but he is a damn good supporting character. He adds that extra bit of flair to any movie that he is in.
The last comedian on today's list also passed away far too soon back in 2008. The Bernie Mac Show was one of the most popular shows when I was a kid. It was hilarious and the immense laughter that it brought out was extended to Bernie Mac's stand-up sets. I was very young when I watched him and never got a chance to enjoy his humor in my adult life. I do think that he deserves to be recognized as one of the greats though.
That's my list. I'm sure not all will agree with me, but if you love black comedians then I'm sure many of these guys would be on your own top 10 list. If there is somebody that you think should have been included but wasn't, then drop a comment and let me know.
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