Chris Rock

Chris Rock established himself as a standup comedian whose national profile surged after he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live during the closing years of the 1980s and the opening years of the following decade. That same early-’90s stretch marked the height of his initial fame, a period when he took frequent film roles and issued his debut comedy album, Born Suspect, in 1991. After departing SNL, his visibility declined sharply; throughout much of the mid-’90s he struggled to secure movie parts, and the few projects that materialized drew scant audiences. Turning his focus back to live performance, Rock reclaimed prominence with his second album, Roll with the New, issued in 1997, by which point critics and audiences alike ranked him among the nation’s foremost comedians. The follow-up, Bigger & Blacker, arrived in 1999 and matched the platinum certification of its predecessor while expanding his reach; five years afterward, Never Scared achieved comparable commercial results. In late 2007 he compiled highlights from his catalog on the release Cheese and Crackers: The Greatest Bits.