Wikipedia User:Matthew Gilbert

Charlie Murphy Stand Up Comedy
Charlie Murphy went into Stand-up comedy at the age of 42. After the Chappelle's Show Charlie Murphy decided to go into stand-up comedy stating in an interview with British newspaper Metro "I went into stand-up comedy after the TV show I was on, Chappelle’s Show, went off air and I needed to pay the bills." "The last time Eddie Murphy did stand-up was 30 years ago. I’m not in his shadow. A lot of other comedians have cast their shadow since Eddie Murphy. There are people who will compare us but look at his last DVD, he was a kid, I’m a grown adult with kids myself. I’ve got a whole different approach." As far as his family ties, Murphy says that can only take someone so far — comedy isn’t a matter of blood. “You can’t really go, ‘Well, I’m laughing because you’re Eddie Murphy’s brother,’” he says. “Because, you know what, I have another brother and I don’t see him making people laugh.” Murphy credits his work as a stand up comic as his breakout from just being Eddie Murphy's older brother "Before stand-up, I didn’t even have an agent. Once I started doing stand-up—boom. I got an agent. In fact, I got three agents. I got a lawyer. Now I get taken seriously. People say your name and everybody knows, like, “We have a reference point. We’ve seen Chappelle’s Show. We know he’s funny.” It evens the playing field—everyone else in the room, they respect you and they’re not looking at you like he’s so-and-so’s brother. The reality is that I’m not “Eddie Murphy’s brother.” I’m Charlie Murphy" Murphy notes that a lot of his material stems from observational comedy such as raising his kids as a single father since his wife past away from Cancer. The Chappelle's Show star debuted his first comedy special on Comedy Central titled I Will Not Apologize which has received mixed reviews. The online DVD reviews website DVD Verdict said that "This is definitely one of the strongest stand-up performances I've seen in a while. (I should note that it's mature material and not for young kids.) If you like Murphy's work on Chappelle's Show, you'll definitely want to pick this up. If you believe him to be a one hit wonder, this will make you reconsider your opinion" Chris Rock "it's like Eddie Murphy on acid!" while other reviews have been polar opposite of DVD Verdicts. Customer reviews from Amazon.com gave it a not so great score of 2.3/5 With comments like "Ironically, an apology is exactly what Charlie Murphy owes anyone who watches this excruciatingly unfunny stand-up project. Murphy's material is stale and poorly-written; his timing and delivery is, to put it kindly, amateurish and off; and most disturbingly of all, Murphy fails -- big time -- to live up to the comic legacy and laugh-inducing expectations derived from his better-known little brother -- as well as his own well-deserved reputation as a hilarious cast member on the stellar "Chappelle's Show." Murphy and his stand up act are currently touring on his Acid Trip Tour “I don’t give them what they’re expecting, but they don’t leave missing it,” “The show is good enough to make you forget why you actually came in the first place.” In a 2007 interview Charlie Murphy said "There may be a point where I stop doing movies and TV, but I ain’t never gonna stop doing stand up. It’s my voice and it’s me. There’s no band behind me, there’s no special effects. It’s just me."

The Making Of A Stand Up Guy
Murphy has even written his own book titled "The Making of A Stand Up Guy" Filled with hilarious Hollywood antics and raw personal insights, The Making of a Stand-Up Guy is Charlie's story of finding his passion, seizing the day, and finally stepping into the spotlight with mic in hand. This is the real Charlie Murphy, unfiltered and unapologetic, in his own words. Amazon.com currently ranks the book on it's best sellers list as #1,590,494 and has generally been well received.

Controversies
In 2007 Murphy hosted the show tited We Got To Do Better which brought a lot of controversy along with it for the Stereotypicalsterotypical portrayal of the African American community. LA Times writer Greg Braxton wrote that "BET had announced earlier this week that the show's original name, "Hot Ghetto Mess: We Got to Do Better," would be chopped to "We Got to Do Better," scrapping the hot-button title and putting more focus of the series' intended mission of social commentary and satire.But that change was not reflected on the air. Though promos and on-air guides listed the series as "We Got to Do Better," host Charlie Murphy greeted viewers with "Welcome to 'Hot Ghetto Mess.' " He repeated that title several times during the half-hour show. In addition, the episode contained no disclaimers or announcements that the show was no longer formally called "Hot Ghetto Mess." The show featured Murphy on the streets asking mostly African-Americans about current events and black history. More often than not, the people answer incorrectly and look foolish, which led many to accuse Murphy of insulting his own race. In 2008 Murphy spoke out about the same comments stating "“As a black man, do you think it would be in my interest to do anything to deface, defame or belittle my own people?”

During the homecoming weekend for Grambling State University in 2010 Murphy stormed off the stage after the crowd started booing him off stage. "This is Your guys money, you can have it back...F**k you" Murphy tweeted the next day in regards to the incident "“Performed at House of Blues last night in Las Vegas. Scored an A will keep doing this till it’s obvious that GSU Is ignorant!”

Awards
Charlie Murphy along with his brother were nominated for a Razzie Award in the category of worst screenplay in 2007 for the film Norbit in 2007. --Matthew Gilbert (talk) 20:33, 12 October 2014 (UTC)