Chris Rock Essentials

Anger has always been a reliable and righteous comedic fuel, and few other standups channel that rage with the same precision as Chris Rock. His aim is true when his targets are the subtle—and not-so-subtle—forms of racism in the bold and fearless material that made him a superstar on Roll with the New (1997). He's equally astute about the less-than-truthful things that men and women tell each other in “No Sex,” a collaborative track with producer Prince Paul on Bigger & Blacker (1999), and one of many times Rock blurs the line between comedy and hip-hop.