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I gotta followRoy Wood Jr.?
I said as I checked the lineup.
It was a sobering moment.
He simply nails every aspect of the job.
His 2017 albumFather Figureis a masterpiece.
Few comedians even aim for an album-wide theme.
Comics discard 15 minutes of unusable crap for every five minutes that works.
My favorite bit onFather FigureisBlack Patriotism?Listen to it now before you read another word.
Somethings wrong, man, Wood begins, his tone intimate and distressed.
He cant believe people act shocked that black people have issues with this country.
He imitates one of these people in a quivery voice full of pathetic surprise.
He doesnt even let them finish their thought.
He cuts them off in his own voice with a dismissive What?
and then a mumble thats almost motherfucker and an exasperated Weve been angry!
A good comedian can drop original insights that instantly seem like common knowledge.
Comics base ten-minute bits on just one such statement.
In the six minutes and fifteen seconds of Black Patriotism?
He manages to sing in an African accent and get the laugh without seeming insulting.
Wood then pays off his blues premise.
After just seven words of setup, he delivers a wordless punch line thats just a sung guitar riff.
Its his third applause break in 75 seconds.
How the hell are you surprised?
Wood pounds in his exasperation.
Then he goes back to his quivering, panicked character.
Black people dont like the national anthem anymore!
he stutters with impotent fear.
Wood then drops his next shrewd observation: Black people dont write patriotic songs.
Its like a truth bomb goes off in each audience members brain.
Its just a premise, but they react as if its a bit-closing punch line.
For the next minute it becomes pointless to differentiate where the applause breaks start or stop.
Every time the comedy beach ball starts to lose altitude, Wood smacks it back into the sky.
Wood now shows his audience the arsenal of techniques available to the expert comic.
He gives two examples of black songs praising fun cities, without naming the songs.
He knows the audience will laugh harder if they figure it out themselves.
Its a crafty game, and the audience cant get enough.
Wood then executes a brilliant move.
After only two examples, Wood stops and changes the subject.
The whole Ray Charles bit is a misdirection.
Its a misdirection with three punch lines, but its still a fake-out.
The audience gets into it, accepting that they wont be getting any more song examples.
Five seconds of sustained applause way more than if he just gave them all three in a row.
He delayed their gratification without them even knowing he was doing it.
Wood knows the crowd has now had enough time with his premise to start poking holes in it.
Wood has his Uncle Derek attack his song theory.
This is a stronger choice than saying Some of you may be wondering, what about Living in America?
They just saw a stellar comedy bit that is also a sound multi-part case for understanding black alienation.
Black Patriotism?is evidence that comedy can indeed provoke unsettling thought and disrupt an oppressive social order.
Wood presents a series of ideas the audience must evaluate if they want to enjoy themselves.
They can only laugh if his insights ring true somewhere in their hearts.
If they dont laugh, they still have to absorb his ideas.
A punch line may relieve the tension set up in a joke, but the comedians words remain.
It has been andstill isa dangerous place for them.
These statements confront widely held beliefs about our country.
Presenting them as jokes does nothing to blunt their impact and makes people listen who might not otherwise.
rebukes this with every applause break.
An audience only cares if they laugh?
Then make them laugh and you might talk about whatever you like.
The only comics who should avoid tackling certain topics are comics incapable of pulling it off.
ThroughoutFather Figure,Roy wonders whether he has done enough to help the struggle for African-American equality.
I hope he counts creating something as hilarious and insightful as Black Patriotism?
as a worthy contribution.
