Niggas vs. Black People

"Niggas vs. Black People" is the title of one of Chris Rock's most famous and most controversial comedy routines. This bit, which appeared as track 12 on his 1997 album, Roll With the New, as well as his 1996 HBO special, Bring the Pain, is widely considered to be the breakthrough routine that established his status as a permanent comedy fixture after he left Saturday Night Live.

Essentially an eight-minute rant about behaviors that Rock sees within the black community; he describes "niggas" as a certain segment whose behavior is usually detrimental to the image of other black people. He describes the condition succinctly as being a "low-expectation havin' muthafucka." The "niggas," he said, glorify ignorance and sloth, and show excessive pride for any bearing of token responsibility. Rock rejects the view that this image of African Americans is purely cultivated by the media.

The controversy caused by Rock's constant use of the word nigga led him to remove the piece from his act, although the word was prominent in both of his subsequent specials. In a 60 Minutes interview, Rock said, "By the way, I've never done that joke again, ever, and I probably never will. 'Cause some people that were racist thought they had license to say n-----. So, I'm done with that routine." In the course of the routine, Rock's tone alternates between sarcastic glee at the idea of joining the KKK, and rage at people who refuse to educate themselves.

Excerpts

• "Who's more racist, black people or white people? Black people. You know why? 'Cause we hate black people too!"

External links

• Bennun, David, "Chris Rock," The Guardian, 2000.
• Chris Rock: Bring the Pain at IMDb