School shootings, presidential sex scandals, taxes, racism and the big piece of chicken. Despite all the ways that the world has changed since Chris Rock stepped onstage to deliver his third special, “Bigger & Blacker,” which premiered on HBO on July 10, 1999, all you have to do is watch it to realize how much the concerns of our country are still the same. Taking the stage in an oversize leather coat, looking like Morpheus from the year’s hit movie “The Matrix,” Rock pierced the heart of the country with a blade of truth that made us laugh until it hurt — and kept going until the pain felt good.
In an era when comedy specials still felt special because only those in the highest echelon were even allowed to have one, Rock’s follow-up to the groundbreaking “Bring the Pain” was a high-wire act that reminded us that the multi-hyphenate — then at the peak of his celebrity — ultimately values one thing above all else: telling jokes that ring true to Black America, with punchlines that are quotable for anyone with a pulse and sense of humor. On the heels of filming a major movie (“Lethal Weapon IV”) and anchoring hit TV shows (“Saturday Night Live,” “The Chris Rock Show”), Rock could’ve easily played it safe by softening the edges in his act to avoid turning off the mainstream. Instead he cranked up the volume by doing what every great comic does when faced with controversy — doubling down.
Belied by his diminutive frame (which we now know can .