Waiting for 2042

If you want to understand the magic of comedian Hari Kondabolu, take a little of his back story (he's part of the avant comedy event the Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Project, a project he hosts with his younger brother Dap from the electro-hip-hop group Das Racist), then add the way he's introduced on this, his live comedy album debut ("My best friend since the fourth grade..."). Waiting for 2042 is a wonderful mix of progressive (to the point where you can call it "lefty") and approachable (to the point where you can call it "warm," "fuzzy," and "cuddle-able"), where a trip to the store to buy cocoa butter (he's a proud, attractive cuddly fellow with "skin that's so f*cking beautiful") turns into something akin to Noam Chomsky giving surly observations in a drug store's "ethnic needs" aisle ("Great! An end to police brutality, more access to health care, more educational opportunities..."). Free thinkers don't come much more free than Kondabolu, as his liberal friends' constant decree that they're "Moving to Canada" drives him to bring up the point that those Northern neighbors want some proof of persecution in exchange for citizenship ("It's practically Somalia down there. I mean, Rush Limbaugh's an idiot and they put high-fructose corn syrup in everything"), and while he tows the common sense line on "Breastfeeding" ("I mean, babies gotta eat. You don't buy a sandwich and then run and hide"), he goes beyond sound reasoning for the sake of comedy ("...or are we questioning the baby's motivation?"). Coming to terms with his teenage, multiple man crush on indie rockers Weezer ("High school's weird? Of course high school is weird. You guys are forty!") and his surprising love of sports ("Why would I root for my natural predator: the athlete?") bring more big laughs, but the most refreshing thing about Waiting for 2042 is that it is housed in a familiar comedy-routine style, but the socially conscious material is maverick stuff, and with no smug or self-satisfied aftertaste. Cocoa butter tips or not, this is a knockout debut. ~ David Jeffries