Hannibal Buress’ Meta Musical Comedy as Eshu Tune

Dexterous rap and stand up integration at Creek & the Cave

Eshu Tune at the Creek & the Cave (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

The many comedic accolades Hannibal Buress has amassed over his 20-year career include appearances on the Eric Andre Show, Broad City, and 30 Rock, along with infamously calling out Bill Cosby’s sexually abusive behavior during a 2014 stand-up set.

Buress put out his first EP, Eshu Tune, in April 2022, which carried the comedic storytelling of MF Doom over trap beats. He’s been in the studio ever since.

In his musical comedy performance at the Creek & the Cave this Sunday, the Chicago-born multi-hyphenate blurred the line between comedy and rap. As Hannibal Buress and Eshu Tune (his musical alter-ego), the performer hit his stride when he was just Hannibal, in front of a cheering audience. The show began as a comedy, became a soundtrack, and ended on a rap encore – and it all worked.

For what is comedy but fine-tuned truth-telling, and what is rap but truth-telling to a killer beat?

Sugar Joiko (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

Houston singer and keyboardist Sugar Joiko opened, spouting funky R&B singles like “Your Love” before spurring the Texas crowd on with Selena cumbia hits. Austin-based comedian Casey Rocket spit some rowdy, high-energy jokes before Buress himself hit the stage, opening with the declaration he doesn’t “really do raw-dog standup anymore.” Joiko and drummer Drumsmoke set the rhythm with relaxed background music.

Buress hit a few jokes – including one set at Austin’s Sahara Lounge, where a lady recently cursed ten generations of his family because she lost her purse (with zero confirmation of the culprit) – as he bopped to the beat. Around 7:30pm, he intro’d his musical performance and took a short break before coming back on stage amidst blasting synth horns and blue lighting.

High-energy single “Airport” established that the artist could rap as dexterously as he delivered punchlines. He deemed second track “1-3 Pocket” to be “the hardest rap about bowling,” as he donned a pair of sunglasses. Buress maintained the confidence of a seasoned performer from beginning to end, but hit his stride with third track “No Whip,” a hilariously honest depiction of how he doesn’t have a car to this day. The comedian left his used Toyota Highlander in Hawaii, where he found out he was going to have a daughter.

Hannibal Buress (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

“No Whip” essentially offered stand up to a jazzy backup band, each lyric enunciated with a pause, a smile from Buress, and a chuckle from the crowd. The headliner pushed his sunglasses up, and finally trusted his own rhythm. He held the crowd in a reverential daze throughout next track “Kept About 3,” and by the time he debuted latest single “Knee Brace,” he fully relaxed into himself – not rapper Eshu Tune, not comedian Hannibal Buress, but Hannibal having a fucking great time.

“As performers, as artists, we evolve,” he mused before doubling the speed on an additional, impressively fast-spitting rendition of “Knee Brace.” He closed on “Veneers” (“My locs are 100% real, but these top four teeth…”) and walked off stage before the crowd called for an encore. They were rewarded with high-energy groove “Where’s It At?”

The show was a successful, and very meta, integration of comedy and rap, with “Veneers” and “No Whip” showing Buress at his purest – ridiculously self-aware of human ridiculousness. The pseudonym Eshu Tune references the Yoruba trickster god Eshu, who serves as a messenger between heaven and Earth, a truth teller who keeps people on their toes. No matter what Buress does, he is at his best when telling the truth.

Hannibal Buress (Photo by David Brendan Hall)
Casey Rocket (Photo by David Brendan Hall)

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KEYWORDS FOR THIS POST

Hannibal Buress, Eshu Tune, Sugar Joiko, The Creek & the Cave

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