We need to talk about Kat Williams because something is missing

We need to talk truthfully about Katt Williams because I watched his latest special on Netflix.I woke up Foke” and I actually have questions. Williams is undoubtedly a comedy icon. We love him. But there’s something missing in his performance and I feel a variety of persons are afraid to say it. In the spirit of comedy, where nothing is unimaginable to say, I’ll say this. In a second. I actually have to prepare for this. I’m afraid of what you all will say. I don’t desire Katt and Kendrick Lamar with me.

You know the old joke about how you’ll be able to go to a Chinese restaurant and eat a whole meal and still be hungry half-hour later? Well, when I’m watching a comedy special, I don’t desire the comedy to slip out of my mind half-hour into the show. I need greater than just laughter; I need jokes, a minimum of one which I can walk away and think about. He said x, then y, then blam! – that was an incredible point. I would wonder why saying x after which y then the punch line will work. I need these well-crafted moments that I can repeat to myself, or perhaps friends, to remind me how good this comic was. Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Trevor Noah and others will at all times give it to me. Or Williams? Sigh.

I feel there are two varieties of comedians – there are individuals who have great material and there are individuals with a funny vibe whose whole stage presence is so funny they might read the phone book and it will be funny. No one might be this or that; you need to have a few of either side, but some comics are much heavier on one side than the opposite.

Entertainment

Chappelle is each. It’s the identical with Wanda Sykes. Rock is a way more material guy. His work is fastidiously crafted and I feel that is what he needs to kill. Tracy Morgan, alternatively, is more like a phone book. His energy is so fun that he can get through a set exuding fun energy. Bernie Mac had good material – a few of his work was really smart — but his success was really based on his vibe, his voice and his energy. He could make a restaurant menu sound funny.

Williams is probably the largest comic within the phone book straight away. His vibe, energy and voice make his comedy come alive. The way he pronounces the N-word is hysterical due to his melodic voice and Midwestern accent. Plus, greater than anyone else, he plays a personality on stage – a troublesome, supremely confident, super black man who may or will not be a pimp. This character adds lots to the humor. Seeing this little man imagine in himself a lot is each hilarious and galvanizing. It makes us want to root for him. It’s interesting that Williams relies so heavily on playing a personality in an era where many comics try to deconstruct artifice and wish to appear to be he’s just being himself.

I’ve said that almost all comics have either side of the dichotomy – funny atmosphere and material – but I feel like Williams is so good at giving off a funny atmosphere that he’s began to omit the jokes. This wasn’t the case early in his profession, but at the tip of “Woke Foke” (and his earlier Netflix special “World War III”) I said, wait a minute, where are the jokes? Williams gives us the wisecracks which are a key a part of a comic book’s arsenal, but as a substitute of real, solid jokes, he focuses on Katt, his voice, and his funny energy. He doesn’t put within the work to write great jokes and I do know he can do it. I need this from him.

I’m afraid the subsequent time Williams appears on “Club Shay Shay” I’ll be verbally assaulted, but I feel like he had more well-crafted comedic thoughts on that couch than on stage. A extremely great comedy show might be printed on a bit of paper and skim by another person and still be funny. If we printed Williams’ special, we might see that there are few real jokes in it, which is a testament to how funny he is. He can pick up a whisper of fabric in an hour. But I wish this truly talented comic would return to making real jokes.