Comedian Eddie Griffin on the Purpose of Comedy, Showing Off in History Class, and His New Special

In a way, longtime comedian Eddie Griffin is the King of the Colloquial. Listening to the man talk or watching his new comedy special, Laughin’ Through Your Mask, which came our last week, one gets the sense that Griffin cares deeply about the (his?) idea of common sense. Griffin, who grew up first in Kansas City, Missouri, and later moved to Compton, California, has seen a lot. He’s also starred in movies like Undercover Brother and played roles in Armageddon and A Star is Born. Over the course of his life, he’s lived in dangerous areas and mansions. Doing so, one picks up on a through line to the world at large and Griffin does his best to express what he sees and what he knows of this thread.

But all that isn’t to say that it’s not brusque, at times. It’s easy to think that many in today’s culture might be put off by what Griffin has to say. But Griffin makes fun of everyone, from people who look and act like him to people who look and act quite differently. Everything is fair game because, as Griffin says below, the point of comedy is to induce laughter. Plain and simple. We caught up with the comedian to ask him how he came to the world of joke telling, what inspired his new special and tour during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what he loves most about entertaining.