A biography for Tony Rockhasn’t been written yet.
“Sometimes I might get in the door a little quicker than somebody else because of my last name. But if I'm not prepared, I'm not afforded the luxury of, 'Oh, he's a little green.' It's, 'He's not talented,' where the next guy can have a bad day.”
“I never knew I was poor until I got older because we just had so much fun. I thought everyone had grilled cheese night and that everyone had Cup-O-Noodles for dinner on Fridays.”
“Like everybody, I started out doing 'bringer' shows - the kind where if you show up with a certain number of people, you get to perform. Sometimes I would actually pay strangers off the street to come in and see my set.”
“When I was growing up with Chris, I was the little brother that was kind of annoying: 'Can I come?' 'Get out of here.' 'Can I play?' 'Get out of here.' So that's our relationship. I just do my own thing. I leave him alone.”
“You can live with diabetes. It's not the worst thing to have, but you have to manage yourself and have some self control.”
“My pops, the whole time while I was growing up, was conscious of what we ate. He made sure we exercised and had time outside. He knew having a healthy lifestyle meant exercise.”
“I hate when rappers do interviews. They say stuff like, 'If I wasn't doing this, I'd be dead or in jail.' Like, damn, those are the only two options? What about managing Kinkos?”
“Every day of my life is a dream goal.”
“My brother nurtured the love of stand-up comedy in a skinny little black kid named Tony.”
“Every time I go onstage, it's a little less 'Chris Rock's brother.'”
“Everybody cheats on the Kardashians.”
“Never steal jokes.”
“If you enjoy and become a fan of Tony Rock, I really appreciate it! But, I do my comedy for me, so I don't try and please everyone or appease anyone. In the end, it's for me.”
“There's nothing like the freedom of being in a roomful of strangers and trying to make them laugh... You either sink or swim. It's like verbal boxing.”
“I haven't been offstage for more than two days since I started doing comedy.”
“I talk about everything - politics, the economy; the news will give you more material than you can ever use. But relationships? That's the ongoing battle. You talk about men and women, and across-the-board everyone can relate to that.”
“I talk to the audience like I talk to my friends on the stoop.”
“It's too expensive to eat healthy. You ever go to Whole Foods? A carrot is, like, seven dollars. McDonald's got double cheeseburgers for a dollar.”
“Ask Frank Stallone how far your name gets you.”
“Any club has more than enough comics, so if you're not there every night talking to the booker, you're not going to get on. You have to be there more than they are.”