I don't know how this debate ever got started among Black people, but it's one of the many moments where we just have to compare two people who are often nothing like each other stylistically speaking. For years, the question was who's the funnier comedian between Chris Tucker and Chris Rock? Maybe it's because they're both Black and named Chris, but whatever. Most people I know said Chris Tucker was funnier, and I understood it because between Friday, Money Talks and Rush Hour, he frankly made better and funnier movies. On cue, a lot of those same people said that Chris Rock wasn't funny at all...because no two Black folk being compared to each other can both be good. (See the Jay-Z vs. Nas, Beyonce vs. Rihanna or old school hip-hop vs. new school hip-hop debates as the evidence behind my shade.) However, although Tucker was funny as a stand-up comedian, I've always preferred Chris Rock in that capacity because I felt like he injected more social commentary without sacrificing the funny. I thought the whole "you put the money in a book" bit from Bring the Pain (1996) was one of the funniest things that I've ever heard because, like most poignant comedy, there's a lot of truth behind that joke that says so much more about the issues in our community than the punch line can convey. So amidst the most scared section of White America not having the best five-year period regarding race relations let alone the best Black History Month, it was only fitting that Chris Rock hosted the 88th Academy Awards.
