Firday's Top Ten: 10 Best Comedians

10 Best Black Comedians (Contemporary)

I know that Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx and Bill Cosby are the standards but I’m just thinking of the comedians that came out in the past 25 years. There are a lot of them and we can thank Def Comedy Jam for presenting us with most of great talent on my list. I know that there are some great sistah comedians but I don’t think any of them rank higher than the brothers I’ve listed here.


1. Eddie Murphy – Started on Saturday Night Live and blew the world up. One of the best standup and script comedians still.
2. Chris Tucker – He doesn’t have a lot out there but what is out there is classic. Both performances on Def Comedy Jam were great and his role in Friday… what can I say. Come back Chris!!!
3. Martin Lawrence – Ya’ll know his TV show was crazy. Ghetto-great. His hosting skills were off the chart. I’d like to see him and Eddie Murphy play “Dozens”. That would be something Pay Per View worthy.
4. Bernie Mac – This is my own personal taste. The dude cracks me up. His facial expressions alone kill me. Plus he’s from the Chi.
5. Dave Chappelle – A hidden gem for so long and with one “I’m Rick James, Bitch”, he blew up. I hope he does a third season. But the two he has are enough to rank him this high.
6. J Anthony Brown – Old school for real. His skits on the Tom Joyner Show are funny. Brown. Brown…. Brown… I know he here me… Brown… Brown. If you saw him live you know what I’m talking about.
7. Cedric the Entertainer – The best host that Comic View had. I would have kept him on the show. He’s young but he has an old school feel to him that is funny.
8. Steve Harvey – He could easily be higher on my list. I loved his show. He’s kind of long-winded which is the reason he’s down here.
9. DL Hughley – He’s the angry black man on the list. Can’t deny that he’s funny. His show was kind of bad… but I still watch it. Rocked the Kings of Comedy
10. Chris Rock – I like this cat. He’s sharp and to the point. He doesn’t crack me up but he entertains the hell out of me.

There are so many comedians that I could put here but I’m going to keep it short for the sake of space.
Honorable Mentions: Robin Harris (RIP - He would certainly made the top five had he more time with us... so sad) ,Mark Curry, Sinbad, Michael Colyar, Jamie Foxx

 

18 Responses to Firday's Top Ten: 10 Best Comedians

  1. Cynthia Says:
    I like your list although I don't like Martin Lawrence.
  2. Unknown Says:
    This is a great list and I respect it. But for Paul Mooney not to mentioned before J. Anthony and Sinbad is a tragedy.
  3. James Manning Says:
    marquis,

    to be honest, I complete forgot about Paul Mooney. I'm still not sure if he would have made my list.
  4. Anonymous Says:
    I think Dave Chappelle should have been before Chris Tucker... Chris Tucker is funny... but I don't think he is half as funny as Dave Chappele... the thing that makes Dave Chappelle so funny is the fact that he says things alot of people are afraid to say or even joke about for that mattter... Chris Tucker is only known for his high pitch voice... However he is talented and funny.
  5. Anonymous Says:
    MAN MOST OF THEM CATS ARE FINISHED ! If i was going to watch anybody on that list it would be chapelle, but even he get's corny after awhile . i would go with the hottest talent out there right now which is my boy DAY-DAY from any of the FRIDAY movies . Yo that dude be straight buggin how could you not include him on the list ?he should be on the list and tied for first with chapelle.
  6. Anonymous Says:
    What about Jim Carey
  7. Anonymous Says:
    what about russell peters?
  8. Anonymous Says:
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  9. Anonymous Says:
    !!!!Richard Pryor!!!!!


    or is this a joke....
  10. Anonymous Says:
    screw this, George Lopez & Paul Rodriguez Should be on that top ten list.
  11. Anonymous Says:
    what about Richard pryor man!
    he should number 1 on the list and i agree dave chappelle should be at least in the top 5
    dis is my top 5:
    1-Richard Pryor
    2-Paul Mooney
    3-Eddie Murphy
    4-Dave Chappelle
    5-Chris Rock
  12. Anonymous Says:
    i think Dane Cook should be number one hes hilarious and i love his jokes if you dont know him look up his jokes i bet you'll agree with me...
  13. Anonymous Says:
    DANE COOK? DANE COOK? REALLY? fuck men whats wrong with this word? he is not only bad, he steals fromm louis c.k. heres the proof:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ_710y4vR4
  14. Anonymous Says:
    Maybe it's me?
    But some people need to listen twice as much as they talk, or in this case read twice as much as they type. Too many stupid people didn't look closely at what was written before passing their ignorant judgment [a sign of the times]. I don't neccessarily agree with all of those on the list, but definitely see your train of thought. Those adding Lopez, Cook, and "DAY DAY" need to check themselves.
    a) Lopez and Cook are clearly not black. Maybe it's just me but I saw that list as a top ten black comedians list, right on.
    b) Don't say that somebody is the hottest talent out there and all you can call him is "day day." The brother has a damn name, Mike Epps and I agreee he is hilarious.

    Whatever: Peace on EARTH!
  15. Anonymous Says:
    yaw wheres Katt Williams maan
  16. Vincetastic Says:
    Hi James, this is an excellent top ten list. Can't argue with Eddie Murphy, I've watched "Raw" at least a dozen times, still funny. I think Chris Rock is underrated, he is such a smart comedian and sees things so clearly, and he really makes me laugh. I agree that Paul Mooney is one of the best, I saw him in person and he is on the top 10 live performances I have seen, but he is not contemporary, he's been around for a long time.

    You can cross-post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and link back to your site. We are trying to create a directory for top ten lists where people can find your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.
  17. Unknown Says:
    How about Roy Woods, Jr., Katt Williams
  18. Unknown Says:
    Roy Woods, Jr. Katt Williams