Many Eastern students spent Friday evening being entertained by comedian Jay Phillips.

Phillips, booked as part of Eastern’s African-American Heritage Celebration, is currently on a 50-stop college tour promoting an upcoming comedy DVD titled “Black em Out.”

Phillips will appear on the DVD, which is hosted by by well-known comedian Tommy Davidson and also contains a guest appearance by superstar Chris Rock. Phillips has been touring U.S. campuses since January and will continue through May.

Phillips’ set hit on an assortment of topics: television game shows, sex, his native Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, Forrest Gump and even his 10-year-old son. The main focus of his show, however, was discussing and poking fun at the world of hip-hop music.

“Hip hop is really important to me; it’s what I’m really into,” Phillips said after the show.

Most of Phillips’ best-recieved jokes stemmed from his interest in hip hop.

“You’re all looking at me like you just saw R. Kelly going back to the prom!” he said at one point, getting his loudest laughs of the night.

He also talked about the way some performers talk and sound, declaring that “Busta Rhymes must have Tourrette’s or something,” and mimicking some of the noises rapper DMX makes in his songs.

Afterward, Phillips seemed pleased with the performance, although not so much with the acoustics of the ballroom.

“I think it was a good show,” he said. “I had fun, and the people who could hear me had a good time. That’s all that really matters to me.”

The talkative crowd of approximately 250 seemed to have fun throughout the half-hour set, and Phillips used a fast pace to avoid letting them slip into a lull.

Phillips, who has made a number of TV appearances including BET’s Comicview and Showtime at the Apollo, saidhe enjoys performing for smaller crowds like this one over his televised events.

“The TV shows are important, but I like this a lot more,” Phillips said.

After the show, students had good things to say about the performance.

“I really like the show; it was fun and I had a good time,” said Dannette Deters, a freshman English major.

Laura Hankins, a freshman Psychology major, also enjoyed herself.

“He was funny, and it was a really good show,” she said.