Papi ain't no snitch

If you watched the latest Def Comedy Jam you might have noticed that the last comedian up, a skinny guy with a deep voice and soulful eyes named Rasheed, was pretty goddamned funny. And you might also have been shocked at the end of the show when you saw a title card that gave Rasheed Thurmond's date of death, at age 36, just after last Thanksgiving.

How much does it suck to discover someone whose career you'd gladly follow and then find out he's already done? Watch the wonderful YouTube clip, after the jump, you'll see a smooth, natural mimic with a keen eye for characters who could easily put a match to peak Richard Pryor.

Uh, yeah, I just said that.

Here's Rasheed doing some amazing some amazing bits for a Bad Boys of Comedy show in 2006.

It's funny because it's true. R.I.P., Rasheed!

Comments

[ellie]

I'm sorry to see a young man die, but I'm honestly not that impressed with his comedy. Same old racial stereotypes and "let's laugh at people who are not like us" crap.

[kdiddy]

YES. I remember him from BBoC and was shocked to see the RIP on DCJ. The bit on DCJ about junkies was amazing.

[Mrs. Kennedy]

I think what was so good about him was his eye for detail and his timing. The shoulder shrug, the cat on the bread. Talking about people he knows and the audience responds to. Comedy isn't always pretty.

[kdiddy]

plus, while nearly all of the comics on Bad Boys were funny, they all talked about the same stuff and I think that was due to one or both of the following reasons 1) they're "amateurs" trying to get a break and go for something that they know will get a laugh and 2) it's a P. Diddy production and I would be surprised if those topics were somehow compulsory, like gymnastics in the Olympics. They have to do so many flips on the uneven bars, and these guys have to spend so many minutes on Jamaican people. P. Diddy's kind of an ass that way.

[Washington Cube]

I disagree, Ellie. I, too, saw him on Def Jam, saw the dates (obviously of death) and immediately hit Google and You Tube. The man had an eye and ear for the street. The cat sleeping on the bread in the Hispanic corner shop? Priceless. Uncle Dope? Just the timing on Uncle Dope's "nod" alone was perfection. I also immediately thought, "Richard Pryor": another comic with a difficult upbringing who took those life moments and made them shine. I watched everything I could find on You Tube, and I regret we will not see this man's humor evolve. He had sharp eyes and ears--obviously taking it all in and with empathy and love.

Now. If you didn't see Tiffany Haddish on Def Jam going off on waxing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7FjoIMAn80

and more;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdAqJId5_zI

[sweetney]

oh that was good. so sad he's gone.

[Kirsten]

I can't take some of the stuff I see on the Comedy Channel. I will never understand the people that think Will Ferrell is funny in anything other than his SNL stuff, because I haven't been able to tolerate one of his movies since he left the cast.

But that? Was funny. And it's sad to see that some of the good ones go early.