Black Comedy vs White Comedy

I've always liked black stand up comedians more than white. Eddie Murphy was the first. I must have seen Raw and Delirious several times each prior to high school. It was only after Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dave Chappelle, and re-discovering Richard Pryor, that all of sudden it became obvious to me: black comedians are funnier than white comedians.

Now don't get me wrong - not all black comedians are funny. I'm no big fan of Cosby or of DL Hughley and I think Cedric the Entertainer is way overrated. But compared to white comedians?

Let me put it this way - I love Seinfeld. LOVE it. But I've seen Seinfeld's stand up, both in person and the HBO special, and while it's funny, it ain't half as funny as Rock, Murphy, B. Mac, or Richard Pryor.

Well, you say, Seinfeld is a clean comedian, more like Cosby...and they both had good sitcoms. Fair enough. (Note: Cosby is an overrated sitcom if you ask me, and Seinfeld, well, it's the Citizen Kane/Godfather of sitcoms, again, if you ask me)

So whose the dirty white guy comedian who can tussle with the Murphy, Rock, or Pryor? George Carlin? Fzzzzz. (That's a fart noise). I've seen some Carlin, and I've never been that impressed. I don't fall out of my chair like I do when Rock is on. Andrew Dice Clay? I stopped liking that guy around the same time I stopped reading Truly Tasteless Jokes.

Anyhow, while black stand up comedy kicks the living shit out of white stand up comedy, I have to say that black sitcoms don't really measure up to white sitcoms.

Seinfeld is the obvious example....but also check out Arrested Development or even Cheers. Black sitcoms? Good Times. The Jeffersons. The Bernie Mac Show. And those are the good ones....the WB has a host of shitty black sitcoms.

The reason this all gets brought up is that I'm watching TV and the original Kings of Comedy is on and I'm trying to flip between an episode of Arrested Development and Bernie Mac stand up. Super, super tough. Bernie Mac on the orginal kings of comedy, for his few minutes, I swear, could stand up to the best of Murphy or Rock. No joke. When he's talking about the three kids, one being the daughter of satan, the middle child being a deaf mute, and then the other kid being a homosexual. Lord. Or when he's talking about his wife tryin to get an orgasm and how she's got three minutes, that she doesn't need all night, he's old, and wary, she got three mintues. Hilarity. But the Bernie Mac show? It has a few moments, but come on....

UPDATE: Comedy Central's list of top 100 comedians. I find it kind of bullshit and arbitrary, but it reminds me of one reason why you can never trust anything I say: Sinbad.