RAPPER WARRIOR NINJA (ERIC ANDRE SHOW, 2016)
One clear influence on Andre’s standup comes from the Jackass crew of misfits. “Those guys are the best at what they do. They’re daredevils, but they’re likable,” he says. The inspiration is most obvious in the way Andre and the show’s guests constantly put their bodies on the line for the sake of comedy. (Andre shaved his entire body for this new season. Like, all of his body). The sketch that best exemplifies that influence–Andre describes it as “Jackass meets hip hop meets American Gladiators”– is Rapper Warrior Ninja, which returns on the new season.
Andre likes to run musicians through a gauntlet –“The couch guests we prank, but we usually torture the musical guests” he laughs — and this skit takes that literally by asking MCs to freestyle while men assault them with, say, giant Q-Tips or mouse traps. Previous editions have involved Killer Mike and Action Bronson freestyling on treadmills; the rock band 311 going through actual interrogation torture; and making ?uestlove experience an existential crisis.
In this clip, Danny Brown, A$AP Rocky and others spit bars while braving bodily harm.
What makes the bit so effective for Andre is how it deals with the typical rapper persona, which entails delivering hot verses and punchlines with unflappable confidence. But in Rapper Warrior Ninja, you aren’t there to see a dope freestyle. You’re there to see rappers suffer as they attempt to deliver a dope freestyle. “To see a swagged out cool dude get cattle prodded, that’s just good television,” Andre says, adding, “It’s always funny to see someone get cattle-prodded.”
COPS/BAD BOYS (Legalize Everything, 2020)
Even though it’s a stand-up performance, the antics that The Eric Andre Show is notorious for shine through during his latest special. Legalize Everything begins in New Orleans with Andre is dressed as a cop, offering drugs to passersby. That scenario appears again later on in one of the most memorable bits, in which Ande spends a good chunk of time breaking down reggae band Inner Circle’s hit “Bad Boys,” which was used as the theme song for the Fox TV show Cops. “I always thought it was an odd choice,” Andre says. “It was a bad editing choice they committed to for 33 seasons.”