The Funniest Stand Up Comedy Bits About Rap Music
By Gaby Dunn
Rappers and comedians go together like milkshakes and french fries. They’re complimentary art forms. They both stand on stage with a microphone. They both use wordplay to get a message across. They both like to party.
Therefore, comedians LOVE rappers and jokes about rap music. If you’ve ever heard Aziz Ansari talk about seeing 50 Cent order grapefruit juice while doing panel on a late night show, then you know a little about what I’m talking about.
Young Jeezy even got mad at comedian Hannibal Buress for joking that he’d be a bad real estate agent. (Just watch the clip and it’ll make sense.) Hilarious.
Here are some of my favorite videos of stand up comedians joking about hip hop.
Aziz Ansari – R. Kelly & Hanging Out With Kanye West
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oIrRt06pfA&w=600&h=350]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nR5Ax4DjFw&w=600&h=350]
Aziz Ansari is pretty famous for talking endlessly about his rapper friends, but whatever. Both of these stories are pretty epic humblebrags — but they’re also amazing and funny as heck. The first time I heard the R. Kelly bit I almost died from wheezing and laughing.
Hannibal Buress – Odd Future and Young Jeezy
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIyLXXGP6bQ&w=600&h=350]
The Odd Future bit is good but the real killer here is the Young Jeezy closet part. Oh my god. Rooms have rooms? And Hannibal’s deadpan on “Jeezy, those are closets.” I can not. Too good.
Mike Birbiglia – Rap & Dr. Dre
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ5GXPg_gD8&w=600&h=350]
Mike Birbiglia has a few jokes about rap music, which is kind of funny considering how white bread he seems. (That’s also a joke of his!) One of his jokes is about rappers being mad about the date and about having Dr. Dre as an actual doctor. His best one is about playing Scrabble with Jay-Z. It’d be impossible. The man adds “izzo” and “izzle” to everything.
Godfrey – Thugs in Slow Motion
Godfrey thinks it’s funny when thugs are in slow motion. You ever mute a rap video? You can find out what happens when you do, here.
Chris D’elia – Rapper Laughs & Drake
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI5LZEn0qEU&w=600&h=350]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAL_HP1yE_c&w=600&h=350]
Chris D’elia is known as Whitney’s boyfriend on Whitney but he’s also a pretty funny stand up comic. He’s got two great rap jokes — one about Drake being a wimp, which garnered some controversy in the Youtube comments, and one about how rappers always laugh at the beginning of their songs. You’re not ready for this one!
Baron Vaughn – Write It Off
Rappers are starting to sound less like they’re bragging and more like they’re listing their tax write offs. Baron Vaughn pens a new rap jam called “Write It Off” for the financially savvy gangster.
Matt Braunger – Lil Wayne Interview
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2cExcCvaM&w=600&h=350]
Matt Braunger thinks Lil Wayne is this generation’s Orson Welles. His interviews are soaked in cough syrup and weed and they’re hilarious. Weezy is a popular topic for stand up comedians, but maybe it’s because he acts insane?
Donald Glover – Black Nerd
Donald Glover was such a black nerd he couldn’t tell the white kids at his school what hip hop to listen to — instead he preferred The Cranberries. But it’s okay! Donald became a rapper himself under the moniker “Childish Gambino.” Plus, you know who else are black nerds? Barack Obama and Kanye West. Yeah!
Andi Osho – Rappers in Court
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPqMJvBjboQ&w=600&h=350]
From across the pond, we have Andi Osho talking about a rapper taking her MC skills to court via bus and about who made the decision to include dog barking noises on the track. Why not cats? Because it sounds ridiculous.
Chris Rock – Defending Rap
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG5GqmsAi9E&w=600&h=350]
Defending rap music used to mean calling it poetry, but now Chris Rock is having a harder time coming up with reasons why “Move, b-tch” is part of a valid art form. It’s a long clip, but he’s totally on the nose about the change in hip hop over the last 15-20 years.
Andy Haynes – Geriatric Rappers
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCHwCvvP8Xg]
On Conan recently, Andy Haynes talked about rappers who reach their golden years without dying of gangster causes. Diabetes? Cholesterol? What about shootings and drugs? That’s not keeping it real.
Tony Roberts – Lil Wayne Makes No Sense
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji6h-ynjnag&w=600&h=350]
Once again, Lil Wayne makes no sense and Tony Roberts is here to show us how. With dancing and running around and crazy facial expressions. Who’s more energetic and nuts? Tony Roberts or Lil Wayne?
Eddie Pepitone – Rap for the Insecure
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWzRFjB2dZ0&w=600&h=350]
Eddie Pepitone thinks rappers are too confident. He wants rap music for people with depression and self-esteem issues. It…doesn’t quite work the same way.
MC Mr. Napkins – Wu Tang Killa Beatles
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzsdmLgshko]
Napkins is a comedy rapper (what! I know!) and he wrote this awesome comedy rap about how the Wu Tang Clan is just like the Beatles. Give it a listen. It’s pretty genius.
Kevin Hart – Could Never Be A Rapper
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1gSFYr9rKk&w=600&h=350]
Kevin Hart can’t be a rapper. His voice is too high for him to be tough. He’s also too short. Aw, poor baby.
Who’d we miss? There’s got to be more. Comedians + Rappers = <3.