- you know what? that looks like fire! - comedy without black people would be like the nba without black players. (kevin screaming) - your biggest, biggest superstars in comedy have been black. (eddie yelling) - just genius and hilarious. - yeah, i said it. (audience cheering) - the chappelle show redefined sketch comedy. - i m rick james, bitch. (audience laughing) - in living color set up a platform for black comedians blowing up. - i don t think so. homie don t play that. (audience laughing) - arsenio hall was, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. it was groundbreaking. - [audience] woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. - you had a black man willing to fight the power. - nice being out of jail. (audience laughing) - laughter is healing, laughter purifies the air. actually i don t like to talk about the races, because i m white. - and we, as black people, have been doing it forever. - i am, this is a freckle. (audience laughing) - all black comedians discuss race. - it s harder being gay than i
don t say shit. like, he never deal with all that. - martin lawrence was the best host. - you come here. yes. - martin was good at being spontaneous. he could come off the cuff and when you look at some of those old def jam performances, a lot of what he did was improvised. i don t know that he ever went out there with a playbook. - i know big bird outta business, but what the (beep) is up? (audience laughs) - def comedy jam was a black comics paradise. - after decades of being told how to behave, what s appropriate, what s okay and what s not okay, black comedians had enough. you will no longer censor me. - we put on the acts that we wanted to see, edgy. - i m so broke, if a nigga robbed me, he ll just be practicing. (audience laughs) - def jam comes along and boom! now everybody knows bill bellamy, adele givens, bernie mac, steve harvey, eddie griffin. so i m grateful for it. how could you not be? - she said, does this (beep) taste like pumpkin pie?
- you come here. yes. - martin was good at being spontaneous. he could come off the cuff and when you look at some of those old def jam performances, a lot of what he did was improvised. i don t know that he ever went out there with a playbook. - i know big bird outta business, but what the (beep) is up? (audience laughs) - def comedy jam was a black comics paradise. - after decades of being told how to behave, what s appropriate, what s okay and what s not okay, black comedians had enough. you will no longer censor me. - we put on the acts that we wanted to see, edgy. - i m so broke, if a nigga robbed me, he ll just be practicing. (audience laughs) - def jam comes along and boom! now everybody knows bill bellamy, adele givens, bernie mac, steve harvey, eddie griffin. so i m grateful for it. how could you not be? - she said, does this (beep) taste like pumpkin pie? (audience laughing) made me mad as hell, i said, don t ask me no damn question like that! i ain t never had no pu
- i know big bird outta business, but what the (beep) is up? (audience laughs) - def comedy jam was a black comics paradise. - after decades of being told how to behave, what s appropriate, what s okay and what s not okay, black comedians had enough. you will no longer censor me. - we put on the acts that we wanted to see, edgy. - i m so broke, if a nigga robbed me, he ll just be practicing. (audience laughs) - def jam comes along and boom! now everybody knows bill bellamy, adele givens, bernie mac, steve harvey, eddie griffin. so i m grateful for it. how could you not be? - she said, does this (beep) taste like pumpkin pie? (audience laughing) made me mad as hell, i said, don t ask me no damn question like that! i ain t never had no pumpkin pie. kick it! (audience laughing) (upbeat music) - you know the women of def comedy jam hold a special place in my heart because they are like the women of gangster rap. they had to really make room in such a toxically masculine space.