ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270155
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEVIN L. CARTER KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
This year was going to be it for Chris Rock. If he didn't make it big in 1996, he was going to pack it in.
``I looked at this year as my last shot,'' he said. ``If things had not worked out, I would have thought about doing something else.''
Well, luckily for the ``Saturday Night Live'' alum, things have worked out this year for Rock, 30, who's one of the hottest comics around right now. He worked as a roving reporter for the cable Comedy Central network's coverage of the Republican National Convention in San Diego. He's covering the Democratic convention in Chicago. His HBO special, ``Bring the Pain,'' which ran on heavy rotation in June and still appears sporadically, was wildly funny and wildly popular. His is the voice of the narcissistic, big-mouthed puppet/NBA sidekick Little Penny in Nike sneaker commercials, and he also does spots for MCI's (800) COLLECT.
For any hot artist, part of success is luck. But a larger part of it in Rock's case is attributable to his considerable talent, his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of comedy - he draws on sources as diverse as Steve Martin, Woody Allen, Richard Pryor and Pigmeat Markham - and his hard work.
``I study comedy,'' he said. ``I study it as a discipline. It is my life's work.
``Only when I devoted myself to it, and stopped hanging out and partying all the time, did I start to progress the way I wanted to. I put everything I had into the HBO special. I wanted to be funnier than the rest of the pack. I don't know if I am or not, but if they had a contest, I would be in it.''
So all of a sudden, people are asking this bony guy with an animated, high-pitched voice and devilish eyebrows, who has played crackheads (``Pookie'' in ``New Jack City'') and satirized gangsta rappers (``CB4'') what he thinks about abortion or Bob Dole's tax policy.
Much of Rock's popularity surely springs from the politically incorrect perspective he brings to comedy. Put simply, Rock, especially in his HBO special, says things about Americans and the way they relate to each other that few contemporary comics would dare touch.
His work on ``Politically Incorrect'' is indicative of his style.
When the show's host, Bill Maher asked him this month what some of the Republican delegates were discussing at the convention, Rock said immigration was a hot topic. ``Everyone's talking about, `This is our land, this is our land.' Hey, if this were our land, this place wouldn't be called San Diego! If it were our land, it'd be called something like ... Gus Johnson!''
Rock readily admits to being an advocate of law and order, family values and individual responsibility. Some might call the comic a conservative. But Rock says he is neither conservative nor liberal.
``I consider these to be common-sense issues,'' said Rock. ``These are not black issues or white issues, liberal or conservative issues.''
As for Rock, he describes himself as a Democrat, albeit one with a ``Republican wallet.''
Despite having some of the same political views as many Republicans, he does not count himself among their number. ``I'll vote for Clinton. I don't think he will do anything for black people, but he won't go out of his way to mess with us,'' Rock said. ``The Republicans will go out of their way to mess with us, to do things that go against our better interests,'' he said.
Rock doesn't believe that his views are so different from those of most blacks. ``In my humble opinion, most working-class blacks are very conservative. We live around crime, so we want to get rid of crime. Most working-class blacks are not for welfare. The problem is, most whites cannot differentiate when it comes to black people.''
He's critical of many white Americans who know little about blacks and are proud of it. And he also saves some barbs for the media:
``The hardworking black man that is removed from the street is not very well represented in the media. White people do not understand normal black people, the guy who goes to work every day, the one who's a businessman or lawyer who drives a Lexus and listens to Snoop Doggy Dogg.''
So now this lifelong New Yorker, who seems a lot like the ``normal'' brother he just described, is a hot property after 12 years in the business.
``I have always been a little bit political in my comedy,'' said Rock. ``It's just that I am a man now. Before, these were just things coming out of a boy's mouth. They did not carry the same weight.''
Rock is indeed a man. He's engaged and has more financial stability than ever. And for a guy who became the class clown in high school because he was getting his behind whipped by other students every day, this is a dream come true.
But Rock's feet are firmly planted on the ground. If he had not blown up this year, for instance, ``I would go out and I would have gotten myself a job. I'd probably be driving a truck for the [New York] Daily News, and I'd probably be the funniest guy in the garage.''
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB