REFLECTION & REASON

Thank you, Netflix! Having TWO new Dave Chappelle stand up comedy specials to watch and bring in the new year was an excellent, excellent idea! "Equanimity" and "The Bird Revelations" were everything I wanted them to be...and more. Dave Chappelle is wonderfully brilliant in both, and I appreciate him on new levels as a result. His voice, his perspectives, his sense of humour, his honesty, and of course his amazing comedic timing and creativity make him my favourite comedian of all times. I love and appreciate a lot of them. Bill Cosby (yes, still) and Eddie Murphy for what they represented in my childhood. Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and the Wayans brothers for what they were to our generation growing up, and of course Kevin Hart and Dave for their relevance right now. Their commentary, right now. I so appreciated the rawness of these latest specials. Like many, I was obsessed with Chappelle's Show in the early 2000's and have watched those DVDs repea...

I saw Dave Chappelle perform live in Toronto back in 2006 at Massey Hall, and can't believe it's been a little over ten years since the peak of my love and appreciation for this comedic artist. I made sure I purchased those tickets the second they went on sale, and remember how difficult it was to catch a glimpse of this superstar at that time. He was hotter than hot, and I was happy to be in the audience downtown taking part in that experience. Like most fans of Chappelle's Show remember, it was tough when the program came off the air because we all felt a gap in comedy for a minute. In "black" comedy in particular. There was a void that took a long time to fill. Gone were the days of laughing hysterically, and repeating lines by heart. There were hardly any other hilarious shows left on TV. Times were hard. Eventually, Kevin Hart took over and refreshed our smiles as the comic-of-the-moment, but Dave was one of a kind . He was then, and he is now. A...

Dave Chappelle's making his highly anticipated post-SNL television comeback there, Neal Brennan has a stand-up comedy special circulating there now...and Netflix wins . Big time. I stumbled upon " 3 Mics " by accident, after watching Brennan's promotional interview with Charlemagne and the gang on the The Breakfast Club. His stand up special has been on Netflix for a little under three weeks now, and it's really, really good. I'm a fan of Brennan by default . In fact, any fan of the Dave Chappelle show (that Brennan co-wrote, co-produced, and directed with his best friend from 2003 to 2005) has already been predisposed to like his thought processes, and have already spent countless hours laughing at his comedy sketches and sense of humour . Repeatedly. For years. What else has Brennan written? He wrote for "Keenan and Kel," for "All That," for a show called "Singled Out," and of course also for the 1997 movie " Ha...

If she never sings another song, wins another Grammy, makes another dollar, stars in another film, or poses for another cover photo again...she will have still been one of the most powerful and influential musicians in my life. Ms. Lauryn Noelle Hill is still phenomenal , even in her absence. Needless to say, I was so excited to see her face and hear her in the news again this week...but so disheartened that it was for her legal troubles. Lauryn has just been sentenced to 3 months of jail time after pleading guilty to tax evasion, for $1.8 million dollars owed between 2005 and 2007. In her open letter to fans on April 26, 2013 via Tumblr, she stated that she will be starting a new label with Sony, and that she is working on new music. She's described her absence as a battle between "art and commerce," and her fight for financial freedom. After briefly touching on the inquity of the music industry, and manipulation of business arrangements, she hinted that more would ...

I mentioned it back in July 2009 after checking out a comedy show from Toronto's own Trixx , and again in November 2009 with the renaissance of Twitter humour with Affion Crockett, Nile Evans, Craig Wayans, Damian Dante Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Damon Wayans Jr., DeRay Davis , and a few others in their circle of funny men. I was laughing that year...a lot, thanks to them. Kevin Hart was on SNL this past weekend, the Wayans family were on Oprah and it reminded me that I MISS LAUGHTER! Good old-fashioned sitting in front of the TV and actually laughing out loud. Sometimes years go by and there's no one hot out there, no one doing anything overtly hilarious. And then every now and then there's a wave of comedic genius back in the air , and it's stand-up time again. This is one of those times. Who doesn't love comedy? It's a beautiful thing when it's done correctly . I remember the first time I laughed so hard until I cried and couldn't breathe......