Trevor Noah weighs in on Kendrick vs. Drake, swerves a fan's gift at Hollywood Bowl show
LOS ANGELES − Former "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah wasn't afraid to get political during his Hollywood Bowl stand-up set Saturday night.
And we're not talking about the upcoming presidential election, which he was also asked about during an audience Q&A segment that capped off his nearly two-hour show. No, he waded into more controversial waters: Is he Team Kendrick Lamar or Team Drake?
After pretending to close the show in an effort avoid such a heated topic, Noah fearlessly planted his flag in Team Kendrick while expertly remaining diplomatic.
"In general, I love both. You can't force me to not love both. I don't live in a binary world; I love Drake's music, I love Kendrick's music," he told crowd.
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"In this beef in particular, I think as an amateur fan of hip-hop, not as an expert" − he pauses to warn someone to put their phone away, though devices were not prohibited at the show − "I think in this instance, in my humble opinion, Kendrick won because first of all, he layered it."
His answer earned a healthy amount of applause from the LA crowd.
Noah explained, "Drake had some great rhymes. They were fantastic, but they were like, direct, you know? Kendrick was (doing) like, double, triple, quadruple entendre. And if you didn't get it, he was just like, 'I hate how you walk. I hate how you talk.' And I was like, 'Wow, what an effective way of communication.'
"And then he also made them bops as well! It's hard to lose a rap beef when it's that catchy," he added. Earlier in the day, "I didn't even know I was doing it, like, 'They not like us. They not like us.' Then you've won. When people are singing your demise for fun, I think you've lost the rap beef. So: Kendrick."
Saturday night marked the end of the North American leg of Noah's Off the Record tour (and the penultimate night for the nearly two-week long Netflix Is a Joke Fest), which might have explained his willingness to throw caution to the wind by taking sides.
As the South African comedian said, he "can't be fired now" that he's done performing in the U.S.
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Trevor Noah calls out LA drivers for cutting him off in Hollywood Bowl traffic
Otherwise, Noah stuck to less divisive topics during his set, which started with subjects you simply can't go wrong with when speaking with an LA crowd: weather and traffic.
After an opening set by his longtime friend Wil Sylvince, the visiting New Yorker chastised audience members as he pointed out the passive aggressive way LA drivers don't make eye contact as they screw over fellow drivers.
"I'm trying to come to the show with you!" he said. "People were cutting me off in the traffic."
He discussed his recent travels and bemoaned universally accepted annoyances, like being put on standby on a flight because of an airline's own mistakes. Noah admitted there's a part of his brain that makes him see the humor in the most inappropriate circumstances − and even if it's too soon to find something funny.
"I don’t find everything funny, but I find the funny in everything," Noah said.
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Such an instance was when news broke about the missing submersible (the one with five men inside headed to explore the Titanic wreckage but who died when the Titan imploded). The comedian's first thought: "We know there were no Black people involved in this story."
Whether it's a skiing accident, a camping trip gone wrong, a hot air balloon accident, "there were no Black people involved," Noah joked.
"I think Black people inherently live a life that is fraught with danger," he said, later adding, "Anyone who has Africa in their blood, their DNA, you won't seek out unnecessary danger. You can't. That, my friends, is the purview of white men. That is what white men are destined to do. And white men, I'm not shaming you. I'm encouraging you: You keep going, baby."
Trevor Noah evokes Dave Chappelle incident, graciously swerves a gift from a fan
As he segued into the second half of his set with a sip from a water bottle, Noah was interrupted by someone in the crowd who had a birthday card they wanted to share with Noah, who turned 40 in February.
"She's touching me! It's Dave Chappelle all over again!" he joked as the audience member approached the security-lined stage.
In 2022, during the inaugural Netflix Is a Joke Fest at Hollywood Bowl, a man in the crowd assaulted Chappelle onstage and was later sentenced to prison time.
"I just wanted to see how quick they were. Clearly I'd be dead," Noah said. "Just say it's a birthday card, (and) a person can make it all the way to the stage."
He immediately flung the gift to the side to the stage.
"I'll make sure to take it, but I'm not going to hold it. I like you, but I don't trust you," he told the fan.
"I hope you understand, from my perspective, if I just took every gift people gave me, they're like, 'It's for you!' I'd be like, 'Yeah, pffff,' " he said, making an impression of an explosion. "White comedian, I'd be like, 'Thank you, let's see what it is!' No Black people involved. None."