Some of the most hilarious moments in entertainment come from unscripted humor. Lately, many Black comedians have commanded laughs by viciously dissing each other in interviews and on the stage after Katt Williams opened Pandora’s box in January.
However, there remains a select few who truly grasp the concept of “snapping,” “the dozens,” or the classic art of a good old-fashioned “roast” to command laughs from the audience.
Lil Duval, a skilled comedian in his own right and a keen observer of the craft, recently posted on his Instagram page a masterful execution of this art demonstrated by former “Comic View” host Lavell Crawford and Tyler Perry alumnus David Mann.
The clip is an excerpt from Steve Harvey’s 2014 Neighborhood Awards during the presentation of the Best High School nominations by Michael Jai White, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Mann.
The segment was already funny when Harvey misread the teleprompter and called Ross’ show, “Black Fish” instead of “black-ish,” but within minutes the ante was upped when Mann made a comment about being hungry and referenced Crawford, his plus-sized friend in the audience.
After saying that White’s deep voice sounded like it was permanently “chopped and screwed,” a reference to the lean-induced rap sound out Houston, Texas, in the early 2000s, Mann said, “Come on do the nomination so I can go. I’m anybody got some chicken, extra piece of chicken. Lavell, I know you got it.
“Only reason I said that you were messing with my boy Kirk Franklin, and that’s my homeboy. Hey, take your jacket off and cover that side of the audience up,” Mann continued.
At that point, Crawford left his seat and came up on the stage with Franklin waiting near the steps.
“I ain’t the one who wearing the Reynolds Wrap outfit up,” Crawford said once getting the mic. “Looking like a burnt baked potato.”
Mann is seen trying to grab the mic, joking, “Somebody pass this n—ga a snack!”
The mountainous-statured comedian took the mic back and said, “Pass us both a snack and get you in the men’s department. Get out of that little boy department. That shirt small as hell. I can see your t—ty nipples and your heart beat.”
“We don’t wanna talk about t—ties,” Mann clapped back.
“Well, mine’s covered up. Cover yours up. It’s called a sports bar. Just because you got implants don’t mean they look good,” Crawford quipped.
“I bet you got 2% milk coming out of them thangs,” the “Meet the Browns” actor joked.
“You sitting there talking about I got 2%, you got Yoohoo coming out your t—ties and it smell like its spoiled. Looking like a melted Hershey’s Kiss. I know you ain’t up here talking…”
When Duval posted the clip from the show on his social media page on Instagram, he could not help but comment on his comedic hero and OG.
“Lavell Crawford is one of the funniest slept on comedians in the game. One time i watched him roast a in the crowd non stop for 45 minutes,” he captioned. “Him and Bruce Bruce are the best roasters in the game. I dare u to holla out at either one of them.”
His fans agreed that Crawford was a master. Some even gave props also to the actor/ comedian that came out of Franklin’s “The Family” choir.
“Lavell is hilarious of course he’s a pro comedian but for David to hold his own and be bold enough to even try to come at a pro comment is special and wild all in one,” one comment read.
“David Mann held His own though,” one said, as another added, “Lmaooo n—ga said “take your jacket off and cover up that side of the audience.”
As the roasting went on Crawford took a jab at Tamela Mann‘s husband and the “Revolution” singer when told David, “I see why Kirk Franklin your friend. Both of y’all like little outfits. They should call y’all Boyz II Men.”
Franklin then ran up on stage. All agreed that they looked like “Uncles at the cookout bout to make everybody pee on themselves from laughing too much.”
Hands Down, Lavell Crawford and David Mann. 😂😂 https://t.co/BavA0gOtbo pic.twitter.com/E02cTGCHqT
— A.J. (@datdrumaboyAj) June 21, 2023
A few of the comments poked fun at rappers Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole for not knowing that friendly battles can be fun, noting it is a “gift” that many don’t have — even the most successful comedians.
“This is what you call ‘joning,’” a comedic scholar explained. “I only love comedians who know how to ‘jone’ That’s a special gift! That Hollywood comedian s—t for the birds.”
While the clip is from almost 10 years ago, Crawford continues to stay booked and busy. He just completed a comedy festival tour where he shared the stage with other heavyweights like Sommore, Tony Roberts, and Don DC Curry, his website reports.