When Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan began work on The Chappelle Show, they knew they needed one man: Donnell Rawlings. They hired the comedian, who’d gotten his start on the Brooklyn comedy scene and also toured with the Bad Boys of Comedy, as a principle writer; his mix of topical and racially charged humor was a perfect fit with the show. Rawlings would become famous as Chappelle Show character Ashy Larry.

No one is safe from Rawling’s biting wit — not even his friends. In one bit, he talks about a buddy who says 9/11 is the reason he can’t find a job. “I’m like, ‘Man, you ain’t have a job in 4/11, 5/11, 6/11 [or] 7/11.’” He even crosses oceans for material. On a recent trip to Amsterdam, he got a ticket for $100 — “for pissing in a street where prostitution is legal,” he says. “Man, I could’ve pissed on a hooker for $50.” See what else Ashy Larry has to say about domestic and foreign policies at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. today and Saturday, and 8 p.m. Thursday. The Improv, 7620 Katy Freeway. For tickets and information, call 713-333-8800 or visit www.improv2.com. $15.

Thu., Dec. 20, 8 p.m.; Dec. 21-22, 8 & 10:30 p.m., 2007

This article appears in Dec 20-26, 2007.