Chance The Rapper added yet another hyphen to his ever-growing list of skills at a Laugh Factory open mic night, temporarily becoming Chance The Stand-Up Comic. It went “well,” according to Chance, but then again, he said that in response to the flat reception of an earlier joke, so maybe it’s best he stick to what he’s best known for — at least until he gets some better material. At least we know why he calls himself that — apparently, if he didn’t, no one would actually know what he does do.
Chance was apparently on a date with his wife, according to TMZ, who got the video above, when the Laugh Factory opened its stage to any amateur stand-ups feeling the need to test their chops. Although the video is relatively short, it looks like Chance spent most of his time roasting himself for being a corporate shill and unabashed philanthropist, while chuckling/lamenting over the fact he’s still mostly known for his “3” hat and “doing stuff for schools.” He also got off a pretty sharp joke about not trusting the news since he got HDTV — I won’t spoil the punchline for you.
All in all, it’s not a bad set, but it’s clear Chance’s talents are best served doing what he already does. It’s no surprise he can be pretty funny when he wants to be, because his Saturday Night Live sketches about Batman, hockey, and Barack Obama were hilarious. Then again, it’s a lot easier to be funny with a team of writers setting up the jokes’ premises — knocking ’em dead live on stage without a beat is a whole different story.
