Saw Chris Rock at MSG two nights ago. He said he was still working his way through some new material, but it didn't show. He was as funny and polished and efficient as he has been on his last few HBO specials. Until.He rushed through his last few jokes to get ready for his Big Special Guest. He counted down to midnight, Jay-Z music started playing, the jumbotron started running a video images of Jaz-Z hanging with gold bikini'd women, the curtain pulled back, and out walked hip-hop's answers to Horatio Sanz, Biz Markie.
All the energy (built up by a solid emcee work by Mario Joyner, a set by Jill Scott, and Chris freaking Rock) evaporated. Biz had the nerve to croak out something other than "Just a Friend" and then ask that the crowd, already going for its coats, jump up and sing with him. Rock tried to dance along, and just ended up looking every inch the fortysomething he is.
The Times cast the whole thing as a practical joke, but practical jokes are a pretty low-IQ level of comedy . Practical jokes think YouTube videos of a bullfighter being groin-gored are highbrow.
Honestly. Chris Rock is the guy who can name drop Timbaland and Warren Buffett. At that point, he could have gotten the black half of the crowd to cheer for the Moldy Peaches or the white half to cheer for [insert relevant hip hop group.] Instead, somehow someway, Biz freaking Markie used the connections he made over a decade ago to waste more of my time.
