''Craps (After Hours)'' is the second album by American comedian

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

, released in 1971 on the

Laff Records Laff Records was a small American independent record label specializing in mainly African-American comedy and party records founded in 1967 in Los Angeles. Kliph Nesteroff, author of the book ''The Comedians'', wrote that "no other company cra ...

label.

History

''Craps (After Hours)'', like his other early-1970s albums ''

'' and '' Live At The Comedy Store, 1973'', captures Pryor during his most transformative period as a comic, when he evolved from a family-friendly comic in the mode of

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

into the challenging, politically aware comedian of his most famous albums. In the early 1970s, Pryor moved to

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, and had begun to consciously immerse himself in black culture and history, educating himself through conversations with writers and revolutionaries such as

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

Huey Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African American revolutionary and political activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. He ran the party as its first leader and crafted its ten-point manifesto with ...

, and

Ishmael Reed Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, composer, playwright, editor and publisher known for his Satire, satirical works challenging American political culture. Perhaps his best-known wor ...

. In contrast to his earlier career performing for mostly white audiences, he began working at

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...

's club in a black neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he felt free to talk about issues of politics and race without restraint.

Reception

On its initial release, ''Craps (After Hours)'' was a cult success, heard mostly by a black audience, but clearly laid the groundwork for his breakthrough album, 1974's ''

That Nigger's Crazy ''That Nigger's Crazy'' is the third album by American comedian Richard Pryor. It was recorded live at Don Cornelius' and Dick Griffey's Soul Train nightclub in early 1974. The album's title was derived from a remark made by Pryor himself in ''W ...

''. A 1971 review in ''

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'' said that "Pryor's funky material not only tickles the laugh centers on taboos between black and white, sex and the city, cops and politics, but also brings humor to subjects that people find difficult to laugh at."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Steve Kurutz called the album a "perfect example" of how Pryor "honed his more raunchy material in black comedy clubs, road-testing the controversial act about sex, racism, and his own screwups that he would use to great effect later in his career", adding that "though his monologues and segues aren't as razor-sharp and seamless as they would become on records like ''

Bicentennial Nigger ''Bicentennial Nigger'' is the sixth album by the American comedian Richard Pryor. David Banks produced the album, while Warner Bros. Records released the album in September 1976. It is often considered one of his most influential recordings. Th ...

'', they're still pretty damn funny." Reviewing the album in 2023,

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writer Tony Sokol said that despite Pryor's "casual and loose" delivery, his evolution is unmistakable: "The tone is more aggressive, the attacks are direct, the confessions are intimate and relentless. Pryor is unafraid to get naked, admitting to extreme paranoia and horrific bouts of jealousy. Listening to it now, he’s harder on himself than anyone he aims his jabs at." Joe Marchese of The Second Disc noted that the freedom Pryor felt in performing in front of a largely black audience at Redd Foxx's club allowed him to take "his art to the next level, freed of expectations and censorship."

Releases

''Craps (After Hours)'' was originally released in 1971 on

. Some of the original LPs were accidentally mispressed with another comic's album on the B-side, Detroit comedian and musician Cha Cha Hogan's ''Brother Eatmore & Sister Fullbosom'', which was released on Laff the same year as Pryor's album. Laff also released ''Craps (After Hours)'' under the name ''Blackjack'' with different cover art, and side two was re-released in a 1973 split LP with Redd Foxx, ''Pryor Goes Foxx Hunting''. The album was re-released on CD in 1994.

Omnivore Recordings Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore R ...

released an expanded edition in 2021 with bonus material selected from the box sets '' Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years'' and ''No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert''. Liner notes for the reissues were written by Scott Saul, author of the biography ''Becoming Richard Pryor'', with an introduction by ''

Dolemite Is My Name ''Dolemite Is My Name'' is a 2019 American biographical comedy film directed by Craig Brewer and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The film stars Eddie Murphy as filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore, who is best known for having portrayed t ...

'' screenwriter Larry Karaszewski. It was re-released on vinyl by Stand Up! Records on May 26, 2023 as a double LP, with side four featuring an engraving of the original cover art.

Track listing

*Tracks 1-32 from ''Craps (After Hours)'' (

, 1971) Recorded at the Redd Foxx Club, Hollywood, California, December 1970 *Tracks 33-36 from '' Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974)'' and ''No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert''.

Credits

*Executive producer: Louis Drozen *Original producer: David Drozen,

* Original album art direction/cover design: Howard Goldstein * Known original producer (bonus tracks): Richard Pryor * Compilation produced by Reggie Collins & Steve Pokorny (bonus tracks) *Reissue producer: Jennifer Lee Pryor, Reggie Collins and

Cheryl Pawelski Cheryl Pawelski (born April 11, 1966 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American record producer and record-company executive. Since 2010, she has been one of the founder/owners of Omnivore Recordings, a Los Angeles-based record label specializing in ...

*Remastered by

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, and principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Group and ...

*Booklet design by Greg Allen *Liner notes by Scott Saul and Larry Karaszewski

References

{{Authority control 1971 live albums Laff Records albums Omnivore Recordings albums Stand Up! Records albums 1970s comedy albums 1970s spoken word albums Richard Pryor live albums