Comic D. L. Hughley might be the hardest working bullshit detector around today. Ever since he was freed from the shackles of reciting Aaron Sorkin’s self-indulgent dialogue on the failed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Hughley has been pretty much able to tell it like it is. Already set to emcee the new season of HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Hughley headlined his own HBO special, Unapologetic, in September and hosted BET’s button-pushing prank show, S.O.B. (Socially Offensive Behavior) during the fall.

Oh, and then there was that incident here in Texas. Last June, African-American leaders in Fort Worth protested his appearance there. They were upset about comments Hughley made on The Tonight Show regarding the infamous Don Imus controversy. (“He called them nappy-headed hoes, and they weren’t hoes, but it was some nappy-headed women on that team. Shut up, I’m gonna say it. I don’t give a damn if you like it or not. Them was some of the ugliest women I ever seen in my whole life.”) “The only thing I’m an expert at is my opinion,” says Hughley. “And since I’m paid to give my opinion, particularly when I’m performing, that’s what I do. And I don’t see the need to apologize or kinda second-guess how I feel.” See what he says to ring in the New Year today at 8 p.m. Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas. For tickets and information, call 713-230-1600 or visit www.livenation.com. $55.50 to $65.50.

Mon., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., 2007

This article appears in Dec 27, 2007 – Jan 2, 2008.