Michael Blackson

Getting beat up by Ice Cube in Next Friday was probably not the most rewarding character for comedian Michael Blackson (no, not his real name), but it did help raise the profile for his standup career. The Ghanaian comic came up in the 1990s with appearances on ComicView and Def Comedy Jam and has gone on to make memorable cameos on 30 Rock, The Mo'Nique Show and Chappelle's Show. Even if his name doesn't ring a bell, there's a good chance you've seen Blackson somewhere. Pull up his set from the rebooted Arsenio Hall Show then head down to the Improv for one of his four shows this weekend.