All language subtitles for 1 1 See.It.Loud.The.History.Of.Black.Television.S01E04.XviD

You know what that looks like?

Comedy without black people would be
like the NBA without black players.

Your biggest, biggest superstars in
comedy have been black.

Just genius and hilarious.

This Chappelle show redefines sketch
comedy.

You live and call a set up a platform
for black comedians blowing up. I don't

think so.

Homie don't play that.

Arsenio Hall was woo woo woo woo woo. It
was groundbreaking.

You had a black man willing to fight the
power. It's nice being out of jail.

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.

All black comedians discuss race.

It's harder being gay than it is being
black.

I didn't have to come out black.

We have to address our pain to make you
laugh and so that we can get through it.

Mom, I'm black.

In the 1930s, segregation kept black
audiences out of white theaters.

In response to this, entertainers would
perform on the Chitlin Circuit.

The Chitlin Circuit were clubs and
theaters that were meant to only serve a

black audience. There was music, there
was comedy, there were shows of variety.

But very few of these performers could
break the color barrier to reach a

audience.

Comedy and music have always been
released from stress.

in black culture.

Chippin' Circuit comedy was the
outgrowth of the chattel slavery

the pain that we had gone through. And
what did we have left?

We could laugh, man. That's one thing
you couldn't take.

White audiences have been afraid of
black comics, black comedy, because

comedians are truth tellers. And
sometimes you don't want to hear the

So what it meant was, if you saw black
characters on television, they were

always going to be subservient to allay
white fears.

and to protect kind of white comfort.

Ethel Waters was really the first black
to have her own variety show. It was

1939, and later was Hazel Scott in 1950,
but they did not last long on

the tube.

So in 1956, we had the debut of the Nat
King Cole show. You had a smooth, suave

black man leading a variety show.

Oh, boy, I'm lucky.

I'll say I'm lucky.

This is my lucky day.

So he was singing and acting in
sketches. The problem with the show is

show this kind of black representation
in southern cities.

Advertisers were afraid that if they
sponsored Nat King Cole, that white

audiences would boycott their products.

And if you can't get sponsorship, you
can't exist.

And when the show was canceled, what he
said was Madison Avenue is afraid of the

dark. And they were.

In the late 50s, early 60s, the country
starts to change more. When civil rights

hit, then you're getting grittier comedy
that is going to deal with race.

I hate to see any baseball player having
trouble, but that's a great sport for

my people.

That is the only sport in the world
where a Negro can shake a stick at a

man and won't start no riot.

Dick Gregory put politics in his comedy.

It was like seeing a curveball. And he'd
throw it and you couldn't see it

coming. In 1961, appearing on the Jack
Park show, Dick Gregory becomes the

black comedian ever to sit down on the
couch after his performance.

What kind of car you got?

A Lincoln, naturally.

Oh, well, that's it.

Dick Gregory, in the 50s and early 60s,
was making $10 ,000 a week. And he

gave all that up to Martin Luther King.

Dick Gregory has been dubbed the father
of black political comedy.

And Mom Mabley was the mother of black
female comedians.

He said, where would you find another
man like me?

I'd say in the graveyard.

She was one of the first black female
comedians ever, the Harriet Tubman of

comedy. When she got off that stage, she
would transform into her real truth,

which was wearing a zoot suit and having
two women on her arm.

We have to understand who Moms Mabley
was.

She was a gay, black woman.

Nobody knew that at the time because she
couldn't be out. No one was out.

Red Fox and Moms Mabley both toiled for
decades on the Chitlin circuit.

Red was back then, the day when Nat King
Cole, Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte could

play in Vegas, but they couldn't stay in
the hotel.

Dorothy Dandridge had to go through the
servant's entrance.

to go to her dressing room, she went out
by the pool and just dipped her feet,

her little pretty feet, in the water.
They drained the pool and repainted it.

Red was from that era, from that
chitlin' circuit.

Red Fox, he had comedy albums that were
raunchy, and they thought he would never

make it on TV. How could he clean up his
act? And then he goes on television.

My first wife had a 1942 Buick and her.

And I left both of them to come to
California.

Didn't hurt too bad, because neither one
of them was working.

Now, did he clean up his act? In a way,
he did, but you knew what he was

thinking.

In 1971, the intensity was something
that was really everywhere.

You know, we've had assassinations,
recently riots.

There's Nixon talking about law and
order. But Soul Train suggested... that

there's joy in black culture. We're
going to turn the question over to the

Train gang, Marvin, okay?

What else do you like to do besides
playing at your spare time?

I enjoy it.

I like fooling around.

One reason Soul Train succeeded 15 years
after the Nat King Cole show is because

they found a sponsor to take it
national.

That was for us, by us, and we loved it.

Let's welcome them warmly, Gladys and
the Pips.

Mr. Barry White. Fly and the Family
Stone. Curtis Mayfield.

Aretha Brightland.

Don Cornelius was an icon.

This man changed the game. When I was
growing up, you did not miss Soul Train.

I mean, that was the part of my youth.

It was the regularly scheduled national
platform for black culture. Someone does

popping on Soul Train in 1971, and
people are trying popping in the

two hours later. It was a kind of
universal black experience.

Back in the 80s, which I'll never
forget, I was a soul -trained dancer.

Oh, my God, that was such a huge deal.
To go to the set was just mind -blowing.

And then here walks out Don Cornelius
with his afro.

I was just kind of like... Oh, my God.
Pinch me. Is this real?

Soul Train was clearly geared towards a
black audience. But at the same time, in

the 1970s, you had Flip Wilson, who was
the first black comedian that could gear

a show for all of America and still stay
very authentic to who he was.

Flip Wilson was amazing. He was
brilliant.

Forty million people would watch that
show, and I was one of them. And he was

also bringing in black artists, black
entertainers.

He proves that black people can be on
television.

They can have 40 million viewers.

They can be shown in the South. If we're
given a chance, it can happen. Now, you

don't drink, you don't smoke, you don't
fool around with wild women. When you go

into training, what do you give up?

Chip Wilson was really huge.

Who didn't know Geraldine?

Hey, Geraldine, is it true that blondes
have more fun?

Not in my neighborhood.

And Flip played the character so well
that you thought Geraldine really

When that character came out, baby, the
audience just went up. So before there

was Nutty Professor, before there was
Shanaynay, there was Geraldine, baby.

And one of Flip's writers was a young
Richard Pryor. And when he found his

voice, he became the new king of comedy.

The first time on television, Richard
Pryor.

Hate to take the subway because the
first thing you see when you walk down

subway, some guy down there, give me a
nickel.

On television back in the 60s, you've
got to come on stage clean. And Richard

Pryor adapted for a while, but he wasn't
happy.

And Richard at some point understands
this is not who I am. This is not what I

care about. And I have to speak in a way
that's authentic to me. So Richard left

Hollywood. People who live in Berkeley
are put under curfew. They're tear gas.

In the late 60s, Richard Pryor went up
to Oakland.

At the time, it was just a black
militant wild thing, man. And he met

Panthers. But the main guy he met there
was Paul Moody.

Paul Mooney was his muse.

You can't get sight. You got to get hip
to what you are.

And Paul Mooney told him, you come out,
you do your thing, you be black, you go

for it. Without Paul Mooney, there is no
Richard Pryor.

Comedy before that and comedy after that
is never the same.

Richard's appearance in 1975 on Saturday
Night Live kind of showed what black

comedy could be.

You got to get down and say things like,
excuse me?

Would you move out of my way?

And you walk back, just check this one.

What people don't know is that Richard
Pryor insisted upon writing a lot of his

own material for that show. So he didn't
rely on the white writers to write his

skits. He said, I'm going to do it
myself. I'm going to bring Paul Mooney

come in and help me write this. So they
write these amazing sketches that are

talking about what blackness is.

It's just a word association.

Throw you out a few words, anything that
comes to your mind, just throw it back

at me, okay? And I say blackness because
that's exactly what it was. It was

about blackness.

Colored.

Redneck.

Jungle bunny.

Peck of wood.

Spade. Hunker.

Nigger. Dead hunker.

Richard's voice.

was so powerful, NBC gave him The
Richard Pryor Show.

So The Richard Pryor Show was ahead of
its time. They were doing sketches about

Star Wars.

They were doing sketches about the black
president.

That sketch show was incredible.

Mr. President, you've been courting an
awful lot of white women. Will this

continue?

As long as I can keep it up.

For the kids that are coming up now,
look to the Dave Chappelle Show.

And to me, Richard was the Chappelle
Show before the Chappelle Show. He knew

to take what was deemed taboo, what was
deemed dangerous, and make it hilarious.

Four years later, Pryor's influence was
seen on Saturday Night Live in a 19

-year -old black comic named Eddie
Murphy.

This is how you answer a door in my
neighborhood.

He was fresh and funny and fearless.

I want to be a hoe.

You could just feel the energy that this
kid had and you knew he was going

somewhere.

He showed a versatility that white
people didn't think

black people were paying attention to.
And it made them go, oh.

Oh, he knows about all these different
white artists and actresses and actors,

whatever. He mimicked them, you know,
and it made them accept him more, and it

made us go, wow.

How are you?

That's good that we feel good. I feel
great.

Now, Eddie Murphy made it real easy for
Leslie Jones, Chris Rock, and Kenan

Thompson to have regular spots on there.

So he's this breakout star on SNL.

And then he was like, boom, I'm going to
land this huge, influential HBO special

called Delirious. My favorite stand -up,
bar none, is Delirious. He does the

impressions of James Brown.

Tell me about that!

Banter, yeah!

Do you!

Yeah! Tell me about that!

Yeah! Banter, what the fuck is James
talking about?

Luther Vandross.

But more importantly, Elvis.

Elvis, want some lemonade?

Lemonade.

That's a refreshing drink.

It showed you how talented he was
because he could do it all. He opened

for so many people. His boy, Arsenio
Hall.

So black entertainers were being
showcased in variety shows and sketch

things like that. But in late night TV,
it was like the water fountains back in

the 60s.

Whites only.

So when we were watching David Letterman
in college or Johnny Carson or Jay

Leno, here comes Arsenio Hall, a black
man.

Who does Eddie go to for advice when he
has problems?

Do you have somebody you can talk to
when you have problems, even on a

level?

Just you.

That was like a party every single
night.

Arsenio created the destination for
black entertainers to be themselves.

I was born with the name Sinbad. What's
your last name?

Bad.

He kind of set the table as far as,
like, hey, look, hip -hop culture, black

culture, it can be represented on TV.

You can watch Arsenio Hall every night.
Oh, yeah, 11 .30 after the news. Oh,

yeah, watch Arsenio.

It was a thing.

You've had late -night shows before that
weren't on the same level as Arsenio.

He was going toe -to -toe with, like,
Jay Leno, all the big shows. He had big

guests. He was able to kind of conquer
that late -night space.

And he was able to give us people like
Prince and Michael Jackson as guests,

which led that to be a great show.

Minister Louis Farrakhan, the
controversial leader of the Nation of

He's been called enlightened and
inspirational.

He's also been called racist and anti
-Semitic.

Many people are thrilled that I'm having
him here tonight.

Others are furious with me.

Arsenio's interview with Louis Farrakhan
was groundbreaking and controversial.

And advertisers and networks were like,
we can't have this guy on TV.

So he brings in Louis Farrakhan and he
sits the minister down for an hour and

lets him talk.

Their fear is that nobody will oppose
me. And as a result, truth will get out

and people might be made free.

America may not have been ready for a
sit down hour long conversation with

Farrakhan on late night television.

And that's unfortunately the demise of
the Arsenio Hall show.

Now, Arsenio, you got to remember, he's
really well situated because he's part

of the black pack.

The black pack was five gentlemen, Eddie
Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Robert Townsend,

Keenan Ivory Wayans, and Paul Mooney.
Certainly there were other famous black

comics, but they had never really
corralled their forces like the Justice

or something. That level of talent and
that connectivity with creators was not

something that we'd seen before.

So it turns into some specials. It turns
into some movies. You know, it turns

into all sorts of wonderful offshoots.
You know, the Black Pack were very

significant because they had agency over
their careers and ownership.

Laying this foundation to what we see
now. Laying the foundation for

Laying the foundation for OWN. Laying
the foundation for Tyler Perry.

All this stuff kind of has its roots in
the Black Pack and what they were able

to do.

So it was a really fertile crew.

Robert Townsend made his first movie on
credit cards, and it was a great movie.

I was auditioning for slaves and, you
know, all the stereotypes.

Then that's when I was saying to Kenan,
we should make our own movies.

Winky dinky doll.

Winky dinky doll.

Yeah. My dad and Kenan came up very
closely together.

Kenan and him would stand in line at the
unemployment office to see what they

could figure out. They were both young,
broke, extremely talented, just trying

to get in the game, and they did it.

In the case of In Living Color, I did
pitch it to Robert Townsend, he didn't

want to do it, so we brought Kenan into
Fox and we pitched a very bare -bones

idea, just a black sketch comedy show,
and we gave him a pilot.

Welcome to the Homeboy Shopping Network!

Everything past the idea is Kenan's
thing.

Sometimes those little fellas don't like
to come out!

Well, hell, can you blame them? I wish I
could move back!

It was an immediate hit, out of the box,
huge.

You know, the younger audience ate it
up. They were able to sort of merge the

suburban white crowd with the black
crowd, and they all just started

that show religiously. You had Kenan,
Ivory Wayans, and he had his family. We

had never seen that before.

He had all the Wayanses. You had the Fly
Girls, and they would come out, and it

was so much hip -hop, and it was
dancing.

You had to be in front of the TV because
you never know what sketch was going to

come out. Now I'd like to talk about it.

a film I've been anxiously awaiting to
see, Great Ball of Fire.

In Living Color was so breakthrough, so
innovative, so many great characters,

and the tone of the writing was from a
perspective we had not seen before.

When his mama gave birth to him, he ran
off with the princess.

We were coming out of an era in
television where it was all the white

perception of what blacks were.

So Kenan got Paul Mooney as head writer.

It's a big, big difference.

Who are you?

I am the Minister Louis Farrakhan.

So Jim Carrey had been kicking around
comedy in Hollywood for years.

Kenan said, I know how you use that guy.

And he put him in, and next thing you
know... Deadly combination!

I discovered Jamie Foxx from In Living
Color.

You know, I was like, who is this guy
that can do so much?

He was funny. He really could get into a
character that you forget it was him.

We were doing things that were really on
the edge. There was some controversy.

There was some pushback from Fox.

If living with oppression is a sin, then
I'll be guilty.

Oppression for black men.

If only he wasn't so dark.

Another show that really served up our
comedy and our music, our culture,

was Showtime at the Apollo.

For a lot of artists to make a name for
themselves, you had to come through the

Apollo and prove yourself.

And don't know where backwards to yield
would I be.

The Apollo Theater is a very magical
place.

You can literally feel the energy of
every performer that ever performed

I was reading about Michael Jackson, and
you know all about the nose.

I don't get it, because they tell me you
can't breathe late at night. I want my

black nose back.

They always say if you can perform on
that stage, you can perform anywhere in

the world. But the whole family had
their noses worked out.

Do five, get one free.

The crowd at the Apollo was a hard
crowd. You had to be good to be at the

Apollo.

I've seen a gospel choir get booed. How
do you boo Jesus? I don't know.

The great Dave Chappelle got booed on
Showtime at the Apollo.

From Showtime at the Apollo, there
became this interest in black

And BP created 106th and Park, targeting
a younger audience.

for a long introduction. Give it up for
T.

Please make some noise for Rihanna.

106 and Park had a real monumental
statement on the hip -hop culture. It

boy. What's your favorite collaboration
you've ever done?

It's All I Need with Method Man. It was
like for the next generation.

Little Bow Wow for these younger acts.
We got Lil Wayne in the house right now,

though. Yes, sir.

106 and Park compared to something like
TRL is putting on younger, edgier

guests, but at the time there was
nothing that was more edgy than Def

Jam. Peg was a game what we played at
the mall.

You know, when you go to the mall, you
see some shit you like, you notice that

the price is way too fucking high.

You find a tag appropriate to your
financial need.

In the 1980s and 90s, black comedians
have an extra burden. Their comedy is

judged through a different lens of
authenticity versus... Oh, I'm just

placate mainstream audiences.

Folks on Madison Avenue, the
advertisers, believe that black comedy

and people don't want to hear it. Then
the whole phenomenon that Townsend,

Kenan, Murphy, and Arsenio had helped
push what I was able to do with Def

Jam. This is where we as black comedians
come together and unite as one.

The fact that he was on HBO, they didn't
have to worry about sponsors. Is Ajax

going to pull back because he said the N
-word? And, oh, my God, Palmolive

doesn't like when we say shit.

Don't say shit. Like, he doesn't deal
with all that.

Martin Lawrence was the best host.

You come in.

Yes. Martin was good at being
spontaneous. He could come off the cuff.

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

Bird out of business, but what the fuck?

Def Comedy Jam was a black comic
paradise.

After decades of being told how to
behave, what's appropriate, what's okay

what's not okay, black comedians had it
up.

You will no longer censor me. We put on
the acts that we wanted to see.

Edgy. I'm so broke, if a nigga rob me,
he'll just be practicing.

Def Jam comes along, 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?

Just let this pussy taste like pumpkin
pie.

You know,

the women of Def Comedy Jam hold a
special place in my heart because they

like the women of gangster rap. They had
to really make room in such a toxically

masculine space.

That is not an easy thing to do.

You should have been fucking with a
country hoe such as myself from

You would have got your dick sucked and
biscuits from scratch up in that moment.

At about the same time as Def Comedy
Jam, SNL was looking for another great

black sketch artist because Eddie Murphy
left and Chris Rock was super young and

he wasn't quite ready at the time. He
eventually left and became much bigger

after SNL.

So after Chris Rock does Bring the Pain,
it was an explosive moment for him and

there was no going back.

Chris started dealing with social
commentary and dealt with real issues

was going on today and dealt with them
honestly.

Because if a bullet costs $5 ,000,
there'll be no more innocent bystanders.

If you can take that stuff and make that
funny, that separates the men from the

boys. Every time somebody gets shot,
they'll be like, damn, he must have did

something.

So they put $50 ,000 worth of bullets in
his ass.

So at the time, Network wanted to find
another late night talk show that could

be just as good as Arsenio to sort of
fill that void.

You know, they wanted Chris to do
Network.

Chris wouldn't do it. He knew he
couldn't do it five days a week and keep

high level of quality that he wanted to
do. And here we go, HBO, to the rescue.

Chris Rock was able to, like, wall out
on HBO. He had that one sketch where

just slapping people.

Like, that doesn't sound that
controversial, but other networks would

whoa, we're not showing this, we're not
showing this. As you see here, Davis

enters the building, and within seconds,
the rampage begins.

He's edgy. He's always going to make you
think. He's always going to challenge

the status quo.

As late night TV was back on the map,
the Kings of Comedy tour was blowing up.

White people hope things don't go wrong.

Black people don't hope. We wish.

We wish a motherfucker would be an
actor.

They do this arena tour that sells out
all across the United States. And then

they get Spike Lee to film the show.

it makes like another $100 million.

So it's this runaway success.

I've had three black people over my
house.

If you know how many niggas been over
your house, you racist like a

motherfucker.

I think the Kings of Comedy tour was a
game changer because you were seeing

something that you'd never seen before.
Harvey, Cedric, Bernie, and DL. You're

talking about four heavyweights.

I said, where you going? He said, to get
some American cookies.

He said it so funny, I wanted to hear it
again. I said, it's a lot.

He said something, I can't come.

So at the same time, this happens in
2000, over on HBO, Dave Chappelle does

Killing Them Softly.

Oscar, you are so mean.

Isn't it, kid? He talks about race, you
know, poverty, stuff like that.

It's like, bitch, I live in a fucking
trash can.

I'm the poorest motherfucker on Sesame
Street.

You would catch yourself.

gut -busting laughing, but then being
like, damn, that's true. You know what I

mean? I didn't know he was taking me to
the ghetto at first.

I started looking out the window. I was
like, what the fuck? Gun store, gun

store, liquor store, gun store. Where
the fuck he taking me?

Three years after that, Dave Chappelle
teamed up with Comedy Central.

Bam. Dave Chappelle show.

Yes, they deserve to die, and I hope
they burn in hell.

The Chappelle Show redefined sketch
comedy. It brought in living color back

the fore, but it even took it further.

I always wanted to say this.

We're shizzle.

It passed boundaries that you thought
were, woo, we can't touch. A blind,

black, KKK member.

So Powell was an amazing show.

He was like so on it with the
commentary, but still hard, funny, which

to do, man, to tell that line.

What black man don't have some bloody
gloves on his property? Man, that one

right here. That don't mean I did
anything.

He's willing to tell it like it is, and
sometimes what it is is not comfortable.

But his ability to make us laugh at
those uncomfortable things, that was a

I feel like Dave Chappelle can't exist
because there was a Richard

Pryor. That is the mold.

You have to understand that at the
height of his power, he felt

that the original concept of the show
was not where the show was going.

The Comedy Central star stunned his fans
when he suddenly just walked away from

a hit TV show and a $50 million
contract.

Everybody was like, what the hell is
going on? We were all perplexed and

confused. I was doing sketches that were
funny, but socially irresponsible.

It's like you're getting flooded with
things and you don't pay attention to

things like your ethics.

I mean, I don't want black people to be
disappointed in me for putting that out

there.

What Dave was saying was that... It has
to be my way.

In the 80s and 90s, in comedy,
especially black comedy, it's just hard

to break through. Where are the sisters?

Because sisters have a very distinct
voice that you hadn't seen since Moms

Mabley. You know, people always ask me,
what black women comedians inspired you

to be a comedian?

And I'm like, none, because I didn't get
to see any.

But black women have been funny this
whole time. And so often, we are simply

just not considered star worthy.

Different female comics, they had to do
different things in order to get

exposure. Like with Whoopi Goldberg, she
wrote her own one -woman act, and she

put it out herself.

Nobody would have given Whoopi her set
if she hadn't did it herself.

And she ended up getting it on HBO.

She come up to me and talk about it.

That's in her seatbelt.

I said, fuck you.

She was funny and she was real. And I
really related to her characters. The

little girl who put the shirt on her
head so she could have long hair, that

me. Nancy said, even if you sit in the
vat of Clorox till hell feeds over, you

ain't going to be nothing but black.

And she was right because I sat in the
Clorox and I got burned.

Although it was really successful, she
was the only black female that had a

special for a really long time to come.

2001 was a very important time in black
stand -up because you cannot ignore the

sisters in comedy.

The queens of comedy was Monique,
Samore, Miss Laura, and Adele Given.

And these were ladies who, on their own,
were powerhouses.

Fuck these skinny bitches.

Look at her shaking. Bitch, cause you
hungry.

But to put all that power together, it
exploded.

Oh, no, no.

I think it was just like girl power
unleashed. They got together and they

us women can do it too.

God bless you, people.

People don't know that I wasn't one of
the original queens of comedy. They had

taken it out a couple times, and then I
got the call.

We were and still are the highest
-grossing female comedy tour in history.

Now, you can't talk about black female
comedians and not talk about Wanda

Being gay is not a choice.

It's not a choice.

Wanda gets on stage completely
unapologetic. I am a black woman who is

lesbian. If you believe that it's a
choice, then you're saying that straight

people are straight because they chose
not to be gay.

Right?

And I'm sure a lot of straight guys in
here, you know what I'm talking about.

I'm sure there's on several occasions,
you know, you probably think, you know,

think I'm going to suck a dick today.

She's like, this is me. Accept it. And
we have.

And we love it. So to go from a point
where Moms Mabley has to hide who she is

to Wanda Sykes being able to be
celebrated for who she is, progression

possible in this country sometimes.

When Barack Obama was elected president,
there was such this exhale, and you

felt that the world had shifted. It
changed.

And not only has America changed, but we
have changed as a culture.

We expect their representation.

When Chappelle decided not to renew his
contract and return with the Chappelle

show, Comedy Central knew they needed to
do something to capture that magic

again. And they looked to MADtv alum
Keegan -Michael Key and Jordan Peele and

decided to give them their own show.

Where'd the picture go? We deleted it.
Gross.

What? I had childbirth days. Yeah, it
looks like my grandmother having an

orgasm. Delete it.

Key and Peele was so brilliant to me
because the range of characters was out

this world. Man, how you want me to
smoke somebody when I got poop in my

From the wigs to the voices to the risks
that they were willing to take, it's

unbelievable work.

One of the most iconic sketches on Key
and Peele involved Barack Obama and his

alter ego, Luther.

A lot of folks say that I haven't done a
good job at communicating my

accomplishments to the public.

And it was so popular that Obama himself
invited Luther to come up on stage with

him during a White House correspondent
dinner.

So funny.

We won't always see eye to eye. Oh, and
CNN, thank you so much for the wall -to

-wall Ebola coverage.

For two whole weeks, we were one step
away from the walking dead.

TMPO proved that an all -black sketch
show could be...

something that was bankable. And the
best thing about it is that it paved the

way for the next one.

Kevin was a good boyfriend, okay?

Now, he stole my car one time, but he
brought that shit back.

With a girl in it. The creator of a
black lady sketch show, Robin Thede,

that show with so many talented black
women. So it was huge.

It's so awesome to see black women
really step into so many different

characters. The beauty of sketch is
everyone is different. So you get the

villains, the goofballs, you get
straight -laced characters.

Sources are telling me that you've been
considering switching to another team.

Are you thinking about a crossover to
women? Look, I've taken a lot of

in my career, and I'm always hoping it's
strapping out a new uniform.

And we get to see this awesome ensemble
of Black women play all of these

different characters.

Sometimes I just want to sit down for
five minutes without wearing a waist

up. Oh, this whole trying to take deep
breaths?

Yeah! Read when you die, honey, okay?

This show shows women writing their hand
in history, even giving plain men a

chance. This nigga wear camo like me?
This nigga got a beard like me? Oh, he

does? All right, I'm gonna sit down.

I love what she has created, an
experience that is just us, by us, for

else to enjoy all of our magic.

I think it is important for us to have
our own authentic voices.

the Shonda Rhimes, the Robin Thedes,
Kevin Hart, who's now taking his

productions into the stratosphere.

I know I'm not a fighter. That's why I
carry a whistle.

I'll blow the shit out of a whistle in
somebody's face.

Talk to me if you want to. You're going
to win the fight, but you ain't going to

hear shit tomorrow, bitch.

Like she'll pass out for three seconds
and wait and then peek to see if anybody

looking. Take me, Jesus.

When you watch Kevin's specials, you
know what you're going to get. You know,

you're going to get stuff talking about
his life.

Kevin is vulnerable.

He's authentic.

I just don't feel like I need to whoop
my kids ass.

My voice is enough.

Shut the fuck up. It's enough.

I love it that Kevin Hart can sell out a
football stadium.

You know, I love it that he's the king
of the box office.

Comedy movies, his production company,
he's got a serious satellite, you know,

network. You have a mogul showing that
you can own your own space.

Hi, I'm Kevin Hart. Unless you hate
laughter, click and subscribe.

He's able to do what he wants to do as a
comedian and as a mogul to create an

empire. There's another mogul who was
willing to stand up for his own

Nick Cannon.

We started this show together, and
now...

He's kind of successful.

You're going to get your ass beat by a
star today.

Nick Cannon has literally created a
world out of his personality.

He's quick.

It was like, how spontaneous can you be?

Three words after getting shot.

I'm still pregnant.

We've seen variety shows, but we've
never seen them like this.

He really brought the hip -hop culture
to variety.

Anything you always wanted to say but
never had the gut to say it, this is the

show for that.

Hey, yo, E!

How you know the muffin, man? He stole
everything I had. That's my cousin, man.

Hey, yo, Tim!

How you know the muffin, man? He hit my
chick, put a muffin in her oven, man.

While and now is the springboard.

to the higher level of success.

Because there have been people that have
used that platform and that it's been

monumental for.

Shout out to Nick Cannon, who helped us
very early on in our career.

The way he treated us and took us under
his wing, that will always, like, stand

out to me.

Jesus and Mero are two of the most
hilarious brothers out there.

You know you're in a McDonald's when the
drive -thru says, yo, no walking? Like,

you cannot walk through here?

Just be knocking on the glass like,
hello?

I'm in the car. Don't worry about it.

Look, 10 and 2. 10 and 2. Look.

And they're like, sir. I'm like, hold
up.

How can I help you? Late night TV has
certainly expanded its table of black

voices and people who can not only
entertain but offer black perspectives,

have long been missing from late night
television.

As far as like pressure and feeling
like, oh, I have to represent this, I

to represent that. It's like we are who
we are and we are that. The show we make

is a reflection of black culture in
America.

Part of their success was going viral to
keep the audience engaged.

With cable and streaming, there have
been so many more opportunities and

platforms for black comedians. The more
I think about the future, I think about

the black comics that really sort of
moved me. I think about people like

Ruffin. I think about Sam Jay.

I think about Nicole Byer.

Streaming allows for new faces and new
players to get into the game to find

success. With the explosion of
streaming, black comedians started

record -breaking deals on streaming
networks.

The list goes on and on.

So to see them be established and
getting big checks for doing big series,

shows that there has been some growth in
the industry.

You're looking at half of Netflix's
budget right here on stage.

Thanks, Netflix.

Thanks, Netflix. Not me.

Not me. I made all my millions on the
road.

You mean touring?

No, I got hit by a truck.

As much as we love to talk about the
successes of Dave's $60 million for

Christmas, $50 million, that's amazing,
Redd Foxx died broke.

And he had one of the biggest shows on
television.

Look at the ratings.

50 million people.

It's absurd that he would die broke.

He died with nothing.

You know, Eddie Murphy paid the funeral
cost.

I think it's important that we don't
forget about the great people that came

before us.

When signing these huge deals, because
there were a lot of people who gave

all to the craft and died with nothing
financially to show for it. Looking back

on everything that you've done, if you
could change anything, what would it be?

Writing my underwear.

It's a great time to be a black comedian
right now.

Because when you think about our past
and where we've come from,

the Moms Maybelline, Dick Gregory, Red
Fox.

They weren't getting the opportunities
as Black artists are getting today.

Give me a hand, Rick. Feel my heart.

Ah, that's quite a beat there.

But that has never stopped us.

from existing and thriving and telling
our stories.

The best thing that we can do is use our
platform to uplift other younger Black

artists and give them their time to
shine.

I used to carry extra panties in my
purse in case I got lucky. Now I carry

in case I sneeze.

Black TV is Black life, and it is
intrinsically a part of not just our pop

culture, but of our actual story.

I want to ask so big that if I want to
talk,

Yeah, it's a TV show, but little black
kids are watching, and that's important.

Here's the original Chris.

He drowned in a bath of activated.

We have a voice. It was hard work, but I
think the future of black television is

bright.