On Thursday, May 31, notorious and internationally-recognized comedians the Wayans Brothers visited UCR for ASPB’s “The Last Laugh” at the Student Recreation Center. Their much-anticipated appearance served as a well-deserved break for students studying for finals and an appropriate cap to a long academic year.
The event was projected on two screens, where a nearby DJ performed onstage to keep the audience entertained and helped build on an upbeat atmosphere. The Wayans Brothers’ performances largely revolved around basic perceptions about a changing generation of mainstream music, sports and politics to life lessons. They also incorporated parental reflections and advice on college life in their separate performances. As expected, all the topics were submerged in a sea of racial satire and sexual innuendos. The inventive use of the stage props, along with the continuous stage-audience interaction, created a successful means of reaching the hundreds of faces that had been lost in the crowd.
After audience members were herded into sections of seating, the house became packed for the night as the show finally began at 8:30 p.m. Kicking off the night was an opening act by the winner of the New York Comedy Festival’s 2007 “Funniest Comic” award, Wil Sylvince, who has also made regular appearances on Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show.” In addition to detailing his arrival to Riverside, Sylvince’s jokes ranged from cheating on exams to the resulting punishments which were carried out by his parents. Sylvince portrayed his flight to Riverside, in which his plane remained on the tarmac for two hours due to the high volume of airborne planes, in which he responded, “Are you freakin’ serious, that’s a big ass sky….how many of you look at the sky and say look at all those planes?”
With the song “Faded” by hip-hop artist Tyga playing in the background, the rambunctious crowd roared with excitement at the appearance of Marlon Wayans, who emerged from behind the scenes and into the spotlight onstage. As the first Wayans brother to appear, Marlon spoke of the desire for a flashier stage appearance in comparison to iconic performers such as Michael Jackson or Jay-Z. “Remember Mike used to pop out the ground like poof and then 10 minutes later his nose would pop out the ground?” expressed Marlon, who then threw out a notorious Jackson pose.
While revering the surrounding recreational center, Marlon moved the topic towards basketball, for which he received boos from the crowd after expressing that he disliked the Lakers. Yet the crowd exploded with laughter as Marlon described Lebron James as having superhuman abilities using inappropriate language. Marlon acknowledged Kobe Bryant’s respectable skills, but denounced his arrogant disposition and scandalous private life, in which Marlon illustrated him as the “P-Diddy of basketball.”
In overwhelming admiration of Michael Jordan, Marlon explained that Jordan would be able to turn his adversaries into his fans, as well incorporate a generation of women into his fan base. The act of deep-throating a microphone drew immense crowds of laughter and shocking, as Marlon referenced the immobilizing feeling of of being dunked by Jordan. Marlon expressed his understanding of this generation’s “Michael Jordan,” through the parenting of his 10-year-old year old son, who had wanted to go to Lebron camp over Jordan camp. Marlon was quickly prompted to respond with “Son, I can send you to Lebron camp but they’re only going to teach you how to play basketball for three quarters!”
In reference to the 60s civil rights movement, Marlon admonished the apathy presented by the current generation, with the exception of homosexuals who Marlon perceived “as the new black,” yet felt that the movement was in need of a gay civil rights leader, along with a speech. Marlon stated his support of the Obama administration and felt that it was disgraceful for the president to be heckled during one of his speeches.
After exiting the stage, Marlon Wayans briefly ran back onto the stage and drew screams from fans. Marlon left little to the imagination as he tore his shirt and tossed it into the crowd.
Shawn Wayans then took the stage, and expressed his dislike for mainstream hip-hop, in which he viewed as vulgar, due to the lowered standards of current artists. While mocking the popularized song, “Get Low” by Lil Jon, Shawn described the apparent “classics” that our current generation are creating and encouraging, by reenacting a grandparent dancing to this song. Shawn also discussed his disapproval of current mainstream music as a form of motivation for an adequate workout, while referring to songs from Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber in the process of performing imaginary pull-ups.
Also, Shawn described his relationship with the current state of music, bashing on the cacophony of techno music while supporting the progression of futuristic advancements in hip-hop, particularly in reference to Tupac’s hologram at the Coachella music festival.
A large portion of his argument relayed back to the idea that women have become further desensitized by the degrading statements made in popularized songs. Shawn also believes that this generation of hip-hop has bred a destructive generation of apathetic women. Shawn further reflected on the perils of meeting strangers in clubs, based on his encounters with women who wanted a “sponsor” to fund their extravagant lifestyles.
Other topics of discussion included dating biracial women and parenthood. Shawn described his roles as a parent, including a potty training session with son which was mistranslated at a Thanksgiving dinner with his family. The end of the discussion resulted in sexual advice to college students and embracing the experience of college in the making.
Positive reviews and reverberated laughter could be heard as the audience of around a thousand audience exited the student recreational center after a night of comedy and fun.
